Towards Exploration Tools for High Purity Quartz: An Example from the South Norwegian Evje-Iveland Pegmatite Belt

High Purity Quartz (HPQ; quartz containing less than 50 ppm trace elements) is of increasing economic significance due to its use in certain high-tech components (computer chip/semiconductor manufacture) and in green technologies (silicon wafer production). Current HPQ deposits (hydrothermal veins/leuco-granites/alaskites) are rare and volumetrically small. Unless significant new deposits are found, increasing demand will raise its prices, elevating the strategic nature of this limited commodity. The large volumes and simple mineralogy of pegmatites and the high chemical purity of their constituents make them an attractive target for HPQ. PhD studies are being carried out on quartz from the Evje-Iveland pegmatite field of the Bamble-Evje pegmatite cluster, southern Norway. The area was targeted due to its well constrained geological setting and previously identified potential for HPQ. The aim of the investigation is to develop exploration tools for HPQ by determining the genetic history of the pegmatites and mode of HPQ formation. The study is focussing on 7 pegmatites and their country rocks. Each shows typical pegmatite zonation, with quartz/feldspar intergrowths at the margins, a massive quartz core and a variety of accessory (including REE-bearing) phases. The proximal Høvringsvatnet granite was previously suggested to have supplied late-stage, highly fractionated melts to form the pegmatites. However, from their trace element systematics (no relationship was observed between trace element content and degree of fractionation in each pegmatite body), and a difference in U/Pb age of approximately 70 Ma, the pegmatites cannot be related to the granites. From field evidence (corroborated by geochemical modelling) the pegmatites formed by ‘in situ’ anatexis of country rocks; some locally, some from distal sources. Some pegmatites contain brecciated feldspar and replacement quartz. From LA-ICP-MS analyses, hydrothermal quartz, compared with magmatic quartz, typically contains lower quantities of trace elements. Hydrothermal material shows relatively elevated levels of Al and Li, low Ge and a complete absence of Ti, indicating relatively low temperature hydrothermal formation. Different quartz domains (from SEM-CL imaging) show distinct δ18O values; late stage low trace element zones show values consistent with meteorically derived fluids. In situ LA-ICP-MS studies will provide further information about the characteristics of the fluids which have replaced/refined magmatic quartz to form HPQ. This beneficiation process is a potential mechanism for the generation of economically significant HPQ deposits.Camborne School of Mines (CSM)Norwegian Geological Survey (NGU)Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3)Geological Society, LondonSociety of Economic Geologists (SEG

Appropriations for FY2001: VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies

Appropriations are one part of a complex federal budget process that includes budget resolutions, appropriations (regular, supplemental, and continuing) bills, rescissions, and budget reconciliation bills. This report is a guide to one of the 13 regular appropriations bills that Congress passes each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate Subcommittees on VA, HUD and Independent Agencies Appropriations

Appropriations for FY2001: VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies (P.L. 106-377)

Appropriations are one part of a complex federal budget process that includes budget resolutions, appropriations (regular, supplemental, and continuing) bills, rescissions, and budget reconciliation bills. This report is a guide to one of the 13 regular appropriations bills that Congress passes each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate Subcommittees on VA, HUD and Independent Agencies Appropriations

Appropriations for FY2004: VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies

Appropriations are one part of a complex federal budget process that includes budget resolutions, appropriations (regular, supplemental, and continuing) bills, rescissions, and budget reconciliation bills. This Report is a guide to one of the 13 regular appropriations bills that Congress passes each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies

Appropriations for FY2003: VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies

Appropriations are one part of a complex federal budget process that includes budget resolutions, appropriations (regular, supplemental, and continuing) bills, rescissions, and budget reconciliation bills. This Report is a guide to one of the 13 regular appropriations bills that Congress passes each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies

Appropriations for FY2004: VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies

Appropriations are one part of a complex federal budget process that includes budget resolutions, appropriations (regular, supplemental, and continuing) bills, rescissions, and budget reconciliation bills. This Report is a guide to one of the 13 regular appropriations bills that Congress passes each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies

Appropriations for FY2002: VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies (P.L. 107-73)

Appropriations are one part of a complex federal budget process that includes budget resolutions, appropriations (regular, supplemental, and continuing) bills, rescissions, and budget reconciliation bills. This report is a guide to one of the 13 regular appropriations bills that Congress passes each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies

Appropriations for FY2003: VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies

Appropriations are one part of a complex federal budget process that includes budget resolutions, appropriations (regular, supplemental, and continuing) bills, rescissions, and budget reconciliation bills. This Report is a guide to one of the 13 regular appropriations bills that Congress passes each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies

Development of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy for drug response analysis

The feasibility of FTIR-based spectroscopy as a tool to measure cellular response to therapeutics was investigated. Fourier transform mid-infrared spectroscopy has been used in conjunction with multivariate analysis (MVA) to assess the chemistry of many clinically relevant biological materials; however, the technique has not yet found its place in a clinical setting. One issue that has held the technique back is due to the spectral distortions caused by resonant Mie scattering (RMieS), which affects the ability to confidently assign molecular assignments to the spectral signals from biomaterials. In the light of recently improved understanding of RMieS, resulting in a novel correction algorithm, the analytical robustness of corrected FTIR spectra was validated against multi-discipline methods to characterise a set of renal cell lines which were selected for their difference in morphology.After validation of the FTIR methodology by discriminating different cell lines, the second stage of analyses tested the sensitivity of FTIR technique by determining if discrete chemical differences could be highlighted within a cell population of the same origin. The renal carcinoma cell line 2245R contains a sub-population to contain a sub-population of cells displaying 'stem-cell like' properties. These stem-like cells, however, are difficult to isolate and characterise by conventional '-omic' means. Finally, cellular response to chemotherapeutics was investigated using the established renal cell lines CAKI-2 and A-498. For the model, 5-fluorouracil (5FU), an established chemotherapeutic agent with known mechanisms of action was used. Novel gold-based therapeutic compounds were also assessed in parallel to determine their efficacy against renal cell carcinoma. The novel compounds displayed initial activity, as the FTIR evidence suggested compounds were able to enter the cells in the first instance, evoking a cellular response. The long-term performance, tracked with standard proliferation assays and FTIR spectroscopy in the renal cancer cell model, however, was poor. Rather than dismissing the compounds as in-active, the compounds may simply be more effective in cancer cell types of a different nature. The FTIR-based evidence provided the means to suggest such a conclusion. Overall, the initial results suggest that the combination of FTIR and MVA, in the presence of the novel RMieS-EMSC algorithm can detect differences in cellular response to chemotherapeutics. The results were also in-line with complimentary biological-based techniques, demonstrating the powerful potential of the technique as a promising drug screening tool.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceEPSRCRSCGBUnited Kingdo