This 3 years project aims at furthering the work from the earlier stages of the WAXI program to unravel the making of mineral systems not only in the Birimian terranes but also in the neighbouring Archean, Pan-African Meso-Proterozoic and Phanerozoic basins. The key overarching philosophy will be to characterise and evaluate the role of both the lithospheric and crustal architecture on the development of mineral systems through time. Just as the Archean may provide insights into the early architecture of the Birimian; we can study the Pan-African in the context of how Birimian systems.
Reduce data and information gaps relevant to mineral exploration geoscience, in particular in tectonics, geophysics, geochemistry, geochronology, and regolith evolution.
Build upon and maintain an Exploration GIS combining existing and newly assembled datasets.
Assist exploration companies in focusing their activities in areas of maximum prospectivity in both greenfields and brownfields areas.
Assist local governments and Geological Surveys in the region in their role of providing pre-competitive data and information, beyond which point the exploration industry takes over.
Maximise the collaborative involvement of local researchers and students, and ensure the proper transfer of knowledge, supported by training as appropriate, to local geoscientists to enable them to support the future requirements of the exploration and mining industry.