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Marek Locmelis

Research Assistant Professor
ARC Centre of Excellence for Core to Crust Fluid Systems (CCFS)
Centre for Exploration Targeting (CET)

Contact details

Address
Room 511, Building E7A
ARC Centre of Excellence for Core to Crust Fluid Systems (CCFS)
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia

Phone
+612 9850 8372
Email
Marek.Locmelis@uwa.edu.au
Marek.Locmelis@mq.edu.au

Marek Locmelis joined the research team on Magmatic Mineral Systems at CET to unravel the mysteries associated with the formation of nickel-sulfide ore systems in the deep lithosphere and metal and fluid transport processes in the Earth’s mantle. This work is carried out within the framework of the newly established ARC Centre of Excellence for Core to Crust Fluid Systems (CCFS). Marek is currently based at Macquarie University in Sydney as CET’s eastern outpost.

Marek obtained his Diploma in Geosciences at the University of Hannover in Germany in 2005. In collaboration with the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources, he studied oxidized platinum-ores of the Great Dyke in Zimbabwe to contribute to the development of new beneficiation techniques. Since then he has specialized in linking the academic world with the industry. Shortly after completing his Diploma degree, Marek moved to Sydney to undertake a PhD at Macquarie University as a joint PhD student with the CET. He investigated the mechanisms of platinum-group element (PGE) fractionation in mafic and ultramafic melts within the framework of the AMIRA P710A project. Marek also studied how to apply PGE signatures of specific mineral phases to the exploration for komatiite-hosted nickel deposits.

After the completion of his PhD, Marek joined the CET where he is now involved in a CCFS project led by Marco Fiorentini that investigates the genesis of deep-seated magmatic nickel-sulfide deposits. Most world-class nickel deposits formed relatively close to the Earth’s surface, but a few uncommon and small deposits originated deep in the Earth, up to 200 km below the surface. This project combines experimental studies with novel analytical approaches to investigate how these deep deposits form with a particular focus on metal sources and transport mechanisms in the deep lithosphere.

Publications

Peer-reviewed publications

Locmelis, M., Fiorentini, M. L., Barnes, S. J., Pearson, N. J. (2012, submitted). Ruthenium variation in komatiitic chromites - a potential mineralogical indicator for nickel-sulfide mineralization: Economic Geology.

 Locmelis, M., Pearson, N. J., Barnes, S. J., and Fiorentini, M. L. (2011). Ruthenium in komatiitic chromite: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, v. 75, no. 13, p. 3645–3661.

Barnes, S. J., Godel, B., Locmelis M., Fiorenitni, M. L., Ryan, C. (2011). Extremely Ni-rich Fe-Ni sulphide assemblages in komatiitic dunite at Betheno, Western Australia: results from synchrotron X-ray fluorescence mapping: Australian Journal of Earth Sciences, v. 58, no. 7, 691-709.

 Dadd, K. A., Locmelis, M., Higgins, K., Hashimoto, R. and Daniell, J. (2011).  Cenozoic volcanism of the Capel-Faust Basins, Lord Howe Rise, SW Pacific Ocean: Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, v. 58, no.7-8 , p. 922-932

 Locmelis, M., Melcher, F., and Oberthür, T. (2010). Platinum-group element distribution in the oxidized Main Sulfide Zone, Great Dyke, Zimbabwe: Mineralium Deposita, v. 45, p. 93-109.

 Locmelis, M., Barnes, S. J., Pearson, N. J., and Fiorentini, M. L., (2009). Anomalous sulfur-poor Platinum-group element mineralization in komatiitic cumulates, Mount Clifford, Western Australia: Economic Geology, v. 104, no. 6, p. 841-855.