A feasible approach to measure metal concentrations in drill hole waters on site for mineral exploration

The new technologies used in the green transition towards carbon-free societies typically demand extensive use of metals. This leads to a heavily growing need for exploration and extraction of ore deposits. Exploration can be facilitated by measuring metal concentrations in ground and surface waters carrying trace concentrations of metals leached from nearby deposits. Currently, measuring metal concentrations in water is slow and expensive and it cannot be done on-site, which hinders the discovery of new ore deposits. To address this challenge, we have developed a method to collect and concentrate the dissolved metals in a solid filter and measure the metal concentrations directly from the filter with a portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer. The permeable filter is made of mesoporous silicon modified with bisphosphonates. Two types of adsorbing materials for the filters were prepared based on scalable production methods: i) regenerative etching of metallurgical grade silicon powder, and ii) magnesiothermic reduction of silica from barley husks. Empirical calibrations were prepared in a concentration range of 10-200 μg/L for Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, and Pb using water samples prepared by spiking well water with standard metal solutions. Both filter types were tested for their ability to adsorb metals from the real water samples taken from drill holes. The developed system was able to detect metal concentrations down to 12 μg/L (ppb) showing its potential for on-site measurements of dissolved metals in water samples, which could be feasible in the discovery of new mineral deposits. This innovation enables smart sampling during exploration and provides real-time information on metal concentrations in water.