Resources

Resources that aid research and that are available to our members include:

• The John Gammon Mines Library of the Ontario Geological Survey
• Teaching and research laboratories, and access to research petrographic microscopes, video conference/teaching facilities, and the MIRACO 4-D Virtual Realty Laboratory.
• Four state of the art Laboratory Facilities within the Willet Green Miller centre:​
  • The Geo-Fingerprinting Lab is joint LU-OGL trace element and isotopic geochemical laboratory that houses a state-of-the-art Quadrupole Laser Ablation ICP-MS Thermo Electron X Series II for trace element and isotope analysis. Utilizing a fully automated in situ analysis via ArF excimer laser ablation (Resonetic Resolution M-50 193 nm probe) permitting analysis of trace elements at ppb level. The facility can also perform U/Pb zircon dating on 25 micron spot sizes. Zircon can be prepared for analysis mounting and mapped with SEM based cathodoluminescence in the LU Central Analytical Facility.
  • The Solid Phase Section of the LU Central Analytical Facility contains 1) a JEOL JSM-6400 scanning electron microscope equipped with a Oxford Instruments INCA EDS system, 2) a Cambridge S-250 scanning electron microscope with electron backscatter diffraction and cathodoluminescence detectors, 3) an Enraf Nonius Diffractus X-ray generator used for single grain work with Gandolfi and Debye-Scherrer cameras, and 4) a Philips PW-1710 Powder X-ray diffractometer used for mineral identification often in conjunction with Rietveld Analysis.
  • Fluid Inclusion laboratory: The Ontario Geoscience Labs is a state-of-the-art major and trace element laboratory operated by the Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, which MERC researchers utilize under a special access agreement.The facility has extensive analytical equipment including full sample preparation facilities, multiple AAS, ICP-OES, and ICP-MS instruments, an XRF spectrometer, excellent SEM facilities, Cameca X50 and Cameca SX100 electron probe microanalyzers, and complete petrographic and image analysis facilities. For a complete listing of the analytical facilities within the Geolabs please refer to www.mndm.gov.on.ca/mndm/mines/labs.