| Summary: | The variety and amount of metals consumed by human society is ever increasing. Meeting the demand requires exploration for new ore deposits, efficient production of active mines, and improved efficiency in metal recycling. A key element in mining-related enterprises is the improvement of ore characterisation. The study of the geology and mineralogy of ore deposits allows us to infer the processes behind ore genesis. This knowledge guides important exploration and processing decisions. Over the last few decades, technological advancements have enabled ore characterisation at increasing levels of detail. This has brought the trace metal mineralogy of ore deposits into focus. In many cases, trace metals occur as extremely fine-grained minerals or as lattice-bound impurities in the more common minerals in ore deposits. Hence, their study requires the use of micro-analytical techniques. Trace metals and their minerals can carry crucial information on the conditions of ore formation. They can be of economic value, harmful to the environment, or of strategic economic and geopolitical interest (e.g. Critical Raw Materials). Trace metal characterisation is therefore highly relevant to research, industry, and society. In this project, micro-analysis was performed on the Liikavaara Östra Cu-(W-Au) deposit in northern Sweden to research the trace metal mineralogy of Au, Ag, Bi, Mo, Re, and W. The main goal of the project was the development, optimisation, and integration of various micro-analytical techniques for ore characterisation. The project was subdivided into four studies (scientific contributions): (1) Drill core logging, whole-rock geochemistry, and light microscopy were applied to identify lithology, alteration, and mineralisation of the deposit. An intrusion in the footwall, potentially related to ore genesis, was dated with LA-ICP-MS. Scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectrometry was used to gain insight into the trace metal mineralogy of the deposit. This study provided an overview of the ...
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