Experimental petrology is about subjecting rocks and minerals to pressure, temperature and other conditions that occur in the Earth, in order to investigate and understand processes that lead to diverse processes including volcanism, plate tectonics, ore deposit formation, differentiation of the Earth and many others.

Revising the chlorite geothermometer to understand the formation mechanisms of ore deposits

Pyrochlor is the main ore mineral for the critical metal niobium, and is most commonly found in carbonatites. This project aims to use experimental petrology to understand the conditions under which economic deposits of pyrochlor can form, during crustal evolution of carbonatite magmas.

Copper ore

The rocks of the Sydney Basin and Lachlan Fold Belt exposed along the south coast of NSW contain numerous basaltic (basalt and dolerite) intrusions (e.g. Bingie Bingie Point, Dolphin Point, Snake Bay, Long Reef, North Bondi).  The ages of these dykes and sills are unknown, however, they are assumed to be Tertiary...

New analytical techniques, developed to analyse the platinum group elements (PGEs) at the ultra low levels in which they are found in granitic rocks, allow us to make the first reliable analyses of the PGEs in these rocks. The aim of this fundamental research is to identify the timing of, and understand the causes...

Classical petrological and geochemical tools provide only limited insights into extreme metamorphism because fast diffusion of major elements and annealing effectively eliminate crucial information.We are developing new and innovative tools for high-resolution investigation of partial melting and high-grade...

The recycling of elements through convergent plate boundaries strongly influences the chemical differentiation of Earth. It is widely accepted that hydrous fluid sourced from dehydrating subducting crust promotes melting in the mantle wedge and the formation of arc magmas. We investigate the liberation of volatiles...

The amount and site of hydrogen in the upper mantle is important for understanding the geochemical recycling of volatiles, and the evolution of the mantle, atmosphere, and oceans. It has been proposed that the entire water budget of the upper mantle may be accommodated at defect sites in nominally anhydrous...

Zircon (ZrSiO4) and monazite (CePO4) are common minor minerals in granites.  Although they are not abundant they are important because they are the host of many elements that are incompatible in the rock-forming minerals.  For example, the ability of zircon to incorporate U has made it the...

Zircon and monazite are the two most important accessory minerals in metamorphic and igneous rocks that can be dated by the U-Th-Pb method. Garnet is a key-mineral to establish metamorphic or magmatic conditions encountered by rocks. These minerals all contain significant amounts of trace elements such as Y and REE...