Biography

Maurice Brodbeck is a postdoctoral researcher in the SFI Research Centre for Applied Geosciences (iCRAG). His fields of interest include geochemistry, petrology and economic geology. Maurice graduated with a BSc and an MSc in geoscience from the University of Tübingen, before joining iCRAG in January 2016. Maurice graduated with a PhD in geology from Trinity College Dublin in 2020. Maurice has worked on layered intrusions in his master’s project (Bushveld), but his scope has extended to porphyry copper deposits during his PhD. Maurice is currently operating the raw materials LA-ICP-MS laboratory at Trinity College and is examining novel methods for sulfide matrices.

With our facilities we can analyse trace element concentrations in all kind of materials, such as ore, magmatic, metamorphic and sedimentary minerals. This helps us to understand the formation history of rocks, their age, and whether they contain valuable metals, or elements that are harmful for the environment. My research focuses on analytical method development, with the aim to broaden the scope of our laboratory and to produce even more accurate data.

Technical Description

Part of my role as a postdoctoral researcher is to operate the LA-ICP-MS/OES facility of the geology department at TCD. Thereby l am training and assisting researchers in data acquisition and processing. My research focuses on method development, in particular on the techniques to analyse non-traditional matrices, such as sulphides by LA-ICP-MS/OES. Commonly used reference materials have different ablation behaviour to non-traditional matrices. The absence of appropriate calibration materials for these matrices leads to a systematic bias. Hence, I am characterising natural sulphides and aim to produce synthetic doped sulphides to determine their usefulness as standard materials. The project also targets to establish fully quantitative LA-ICP-MS mapping of heterogenous and multiphase samples. This will be achieved by integrating spatially identical major element ICP-OES data into the LA-ICP-MS data reduction. This approach will make time consuming prior micron-beam analysis unnecessary.

Publications

Brodbeck, M., McClenaghan, S. H., Kamber, B. S., & Redmond, P. B. (2022). Metal (loid) Deportment in Sulfides from the High-Grade Core of the Bingham Canyon Porphyry Cu-Mo-Au Deposit, Utah. Economic Geology, 117(7), 1521-1542. https://doi.org/10.5382/econgeo.4954

Gisbert, G., Tornos, F., Losantos, E., McClenaghan, S., Pons, J. M., Videira, J. C., & Brodbeck, M. (2022). Vectors to ore in replacive volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits of the northern Iberian Pyrite Belt: major and trace element mineral chemistry. Ore Geology Reviews, 104963. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oregeorev.2022.104963

Brodbeck, M., McClenaghan, S. H., Kamber, B. S., & Redmond, P. B. (2020). Redistribution of Rare Metal(loids) during digenite exsolution in porphyry copper ores. Goldschmidt 2020 conference abstract. https://doi.org/10.46427/gold2020.264

Brodbeck, M., Ubide, T., Kleinhanns, I. C., Schoenberg, R., & Kamber, B. S. (2019). Quantitative data extraction from orthopyroxene trace element maps and its potential to examine the formation of the UG2 Unit, Bushveld Complex. Minerals, 9(2), 73. https://doi.org/10.3390/min9020073

Brodbeck, M., Zhou, L.& Kamber, B. S. (2017). The distribution of precious and energy critical elements at the scale of a copper deposit. Applied Earth Science, 126(2), 44-45. https://doi.org/10.1080/03717453.2017.1306234

Kleinhanns, I.C., Brodbeck, M., Drost, K., Wenzel, T. & Schoenberg, R. (2016). In situ Sr isotope evidence for plagioclase mingling in the UG2 layer of the Bushveld Complex (South Africa). 35th IGC conference abstract.