Economic Geology and Mineral Deposits
The main themes of the Research Unit in Economic Geology of the University of Napoli are the following:
- Zn-Pb and V deposits (sulfides and oxidized ores)
- Volcano-sedimentary Li-B deposits
- Granite-pegmatite Li deposits
- Clay-hosted mineral systems
- Bauxite deposits
- Ni-Co laterite deposits
- Rare Earths (REE) deposits in weathering and hydrothermal environments
- Hydrothermal and epithermal systems
- Hyperspectral remote sensing
The research of the Unit is mainly devoted to the geological-mineralogical characterization of the Zn-Pb sulfide and nonsulfide deposits, Vanadium ores, laterites, epithermal systems, and to the study of lithium deposits in volcano-sedimentary and granite-pegmatite systems. The Research unit has carried out several studies on the deportment of critical elements (e.g., Ge, Ga, REE, Co) in supergene ore deposits. Research activity also include the metallogenetic aspects and the development of exploration tools for lithium mineral systems, including volcano-sedimentary basins (from clay- to jadarite-type deposits) and granite-pegmatite systems, with case studies in western US and Europe.
In the latest years, new research projects have been focused on the development of multiscale methods of digital survey of areas of mining interest for mineral exploration and environmental monitoring, based mainly on multispectral and hyperspectral remote sensing using space-borne (e.g., PRISMA; EnMAP; Sentinel-2) and field samples-based data.
Active scientific collaborations:
INGV – Osservatorio Vesuviano (Italy), Natural History Museum of London (UK), Dipartimento di Geoscienze, Università di Padova (Italy), GeoZentrum Nordbayern, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (Germany), Oxford University (UK), ISPRA (Italy).
Active collaborations with industry and mining companies:
SRK Consulting, Clariant, Rio Tinto, Jindalee Resources.
Link at publications:
https://www.iris.unina.it/cris/rp/rp16122?sortBy=2&order=DESC&type=all
https://www.iris.unina.it/cris/rp/rp45593?sortBy=2&order=DESC&type=all
https://www.iris.unina.it/cris/rp/rp23083?sortBy=2&order=DESC&type=all
Examples of lithium mineralizations with micas (Cornwall) and jadarite (Jadar, Serbia) 
Examples of drill cores with nickel and cobalt mineralizations (Australia)
Examples of drill cores with oxidized Zn-Pb mineralizations (Peru)
Exploration camp at the Florida Canyon prospect (Peru)
Sphalerite mineralization with calcite gangue in black shales (Gorno, Italy
Underground work at Gorno (Italy)
Fluorite and barite mineralizations at Silius (Italy)
