Who We are
At LithoAtlas Geoscience, we are driven by a vision to transform the discovery of critical minerals, playing a vital role in contributing to a sustainable society.
Our mission is to revolutionise the success rate of resource exploration by pioneering the world’s first fully four-dimensional integrated architectural and geodynamic map of the 60-300 km-thick continental lithosphere.
We create and deliver digital maps and related products encapsulating the structure and history of the Earth’s crust and Sub-Continental Lithospheric Mantle (SCLM). By identifying critical processes intrinsic to the formation of world-class deposits of critical minerals and energy resources including hydrogen, we generate thematic maps depicting where such processes have, or are likely to have, occurred. Our work deepens the understanding of global geodynamics, lithospheric and continental evolution, and metallogeny, offering powerful insights that drive discovery and innovation.
Step Change Discovery of Critical Minerals
Resource exploration expenditures on a discovery cost per unit basis have steadily climbed over decades. A large proportion of wealth creation from resource exploitation comes from a small proportion of deposits. Exploration of readily accessible terranes with potential for near-surface deposits is maturing rapidly, and increasingly exploration is being driven to blind plays at greater depths and beneath ever-thicker veneers of post-mineral sedimentary cover.
A consequence of the above observations is a need for a step change in the predictive side of exploration project generation. Lithospheric architecture mapping of both crust and lithospheric mantle, coupled with the latest understandings of mineral systems science, provide the opportunity for such a breakthrough.
Global Lithospheric Architecture Mapping
The GLAM (Global Lithospheric Architecture Mapping ) Product Suite – Mapping the full lithosphere in detail – a global first and world leader in understanding the structure and evolution of continents. With over 22 years of dedicated mapping and knowledge development, GLAM integrates the multidisciplinary, multi-scale contributions of thousands of geoscience researchers and government surveys. This extensive effort is combined with a vast global compilation of geophysical, geochemical, and geological data, creating a powerful framework designed to thrive in a data-rich world.
- Delivers specific product for Project Generation
- A breakthrough for Minerals and Energy Resource Exploration and the Targeting for Giant Deposits, enabling:
- High quality First Mover opportunities
- Rejuvenated exploration in “mature” regions
- A project Pipeline
- A consistent global framework for Informed Decisions
World-Leading Collaborations
Coupling fundamental research with applied multi-disciplinary mapping of the lithosphere has been central to the creation of the GLAM process-oriented four-dimensional map of the continental lithosphere.
GLAM was initiated in 2001 within Western Mining Corporation (WMC; taken over by BHP in 2005) to address declining discovery rates. Under the direction of lead developer Dr Graham Begg WMC formed a collaboration with Macquarie University in 2002 to leverage the expertise within the GEMOC ARC Key Centre led by Professors Suzanne O’Reilly and William Griffin, global leaders in research on the continental mantle and full lithosphere. After forming LithoAtlas Geoscience (initially known as Minerals Targeting International) and commercialising GLAM in 2008 Dr Graham Begg continued GLAM-related collaborative research with GEMOC and the CCFS ARC Centre of Excellence until 2018, resulting in numerous high-profile publications on continental evolution and the processes controlling major mineral deposits. Collaborative research between LithoAtlas and GEMOC/CCFS tackled other key issues related to the properties of the continental mantle until 2023. Documenting this work in a series of major scientific publications is ongoing.
Delivering Discoveries
GLAM and its WMC prototype has directly or indirectly contributed to the discovery of a number of significant mineral deposits, including the giant Babel-Nebo Ni-Cu deposit (WMC), the giant Tropicana Au deposit (AngloGold Ashanti), the Karlawinda Bore Au deposit (WMC & Independence Group), the Dablo PGE deposit (Newgenco), and at least one other major Andean Au deposit.
In addition, GLAM mapping conducted prior to the following major deposit discoveries successfully predicted their location: Sakatti Ni-Cu-PGE (Anglo American), Kamoa sediment-hosted Cu-Co (Ivanhoe), Degrussa Cu-Au VHMS (Sandfire), Oak Dam West Cu-Au IOCG (BHP), Nova Ni-Cu (Sirius), Julimar PGE-Ni-Cu (Chalice), and Mt Kathleen Li (Liontown). It is in use by a broad spectrum of mineral resource companies, including most of the global majors, and is applied as both a proactive (project generation) and reactive (evaluation) tool.