MDSG ECR Distinguished Lecturer Awardee 2025 – Dr Mizuki Ishida
We are delighted to announce that Dr Mizuki Ishida has been awarded this years’ MDSG Early Career Researcher Distinguished Lecturer Award.
Dr Mizuki is a post-doctoral researcher at the Natural History Museum working towards integrating tectono-magmatic understanding with magmatic-hydrothermal mineralisation. After finishing her PhD at The University of Tokyo in 2023 on epithermal gold deposits in Japan, Mizuki has worked at ETH Zurich and Kwansei Gakuin University, before being awarded a JSPS Overseas Research Fellowship to study integrating the tectono-magmatic understanding of Japan with the formation of large epithermal mineralisation at the NHM. Mizuki has worked on a variety of magmatic-hydrothermal systems, including seafloor mineralisation in the Kermadec arc, and is passionate about building a well-connected and open mineral deposit research community.
Mizuki will be funded to give a series of talks at institutions around the UK and Ireland throughout 2025. If you are interested in hosting Mizuki please get in touch by email to: mdsgUK@gmail.com.
Talk options:
Unlocking the tectono-magmatic controls on metallogeny in Japan
Metal extraction from ore deposits accounts for a significant proportion of the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions of various items used in our daily lives. Mineral exploration should be able to focus on larger, higher-grade deposits that can be mined more energy-efficiently, but relatively little is known about the factors controlling mineral deposit size and grade. Case studies of mature and historic mining districts may be able to provide insights into resource endowment controls that can be used in future exploration elsewhere. Situated at the convergent margin of four plates, Japan is a natural laboratory for subduction-related processes whose geological setting can be related to that of metallogenic provinces in other parts of the world. Two case studies of large, high-grade epithermal deposits in Japan are presented to illustrate the potential importance of tectonic settings in sustaining long-lived magmatic-hydrothermal systems capable of producing mineralisation with extensive tonnages. With its diverse mineral deposit types, complex tectonic evolution and wealth of historical exploration and mining records, international collaboration is likely to be the key to unlocking scientific discoveries from the metallogeny and geology of Japan. Information on potential opportunities in Japan for students and researchers in the UK (and elsewhere) is also
presented.
Importance of magmatic input at the periphery of magmatic-hydrothermal systems
Ore deposit models have had a significant impact on the conceptual framework and design of mineral exploration. For mineral deposits formed at the periphery of magmatic-hydrothermal systems, namely intermediate and low sulphidation epithermal deposits and their submarine equivalents, magmas are often considered to have played a minor role as heat sources due to the largely neutralised, diluted nature of the hydrothermal fluid. However, there is increasing evidence that the mineralised heavy metals in these environments are derived from fluid phases exsolved from magmas. To address this point, heavy metal isotope data from the Brothers volcano in the Kermadec arc, the Toyoha polymetallic deposits in the Northeast Japan arc and the Higashi-Aogashima knoll caldera in the Izu arc are presented, as well as cases from previous work. These studies suggest that magmatic input may not be apparent from alteration assemblages and stable isotope data of gangue minerals, and that such input may be relatively common. Although the details of the transport mechanism should still be investigated, the importance of magmatic input at the margin of magmatic-hydrothermal systems may or should open new opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration and a new paradigm for mineral exploration in these environments.