Potential strategic ore deposits on Mars: Implications for in situ resource utilization

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

The discovery and utilization of natural resources on Mars will be crucial for supporting the sustainability of future human exploration and habitation. Decades of data obtained from fly-by missions, orbiters, landers, and rovers suggests that Mars hosts a range of minerals and metals, many of which are vital for building infrastructure, life support systems, and spacecraft for further interplanetary travel. Ore-forming processes on Earth are well understood, allowing many parallels to be drawn with features observed on the Martian surface. As Mars is broadly chondritic in composition, mafic volcanic rocks and magmas forming large igneous provinces, such as in the Tharsis Region, should be enriched in chalcophile elements (e.g., Ni, Co, Cu, PGE, and Au), akin to terrestrial examples. These elements play critical roles in the production of electronics, catalysts, and batteries. Weathering and erosion of lavas during the Noachian (4.1–3.7 Ga) and Hesperian (3.7 to c. 3.3–2.9 Ga) periods, when Mars recorded an active hydrological cycle, would have generated placer and lag deposits containing heavy minerals such as magnetite, ilmenite and zircon in fluvial and deltaic environments. Such deposits represent concentrated and easily obtainable sources of Ti, Fe, Cr, and Zr, which have critical uses in construction, including the production of strong and lightweight alloys, stainless steel, and corrosion-resistant materials. Interactions between ascending sulphur-rich magmas and descending or trapped subsurface water in the fractured Martian upper crust likely promoted formation of acidic volcanic–hydrothermal systems, producing sulphate minerals similar to those observed in mid-ocean ridge or crater lake environments on Earth. Chemical sediments, such as evaporites, would have formed during loss of the Martian hydrosphere and will likely host halogens and alkali earth metals that have important uses for chemical engineering and agriculture, being critical ingredients in the manufacture of fertilizer, fuels, construction materials, and energy storage and life-support systems. Finally, given the importance of meteorite impacts in shaping Mars' geological history and their close association with high-grade ore systems on Earth (e.g. Sudbury), we predict that a wide range of progenetic, syngenetic, and epigenetic ore deposits exist within the shallow Martian subsurface, particularly in and around large craters present in the southern highlands. Importantly, we argue that ore deposits uniquely associated with plate tectonic processes on Earth, such as subduction, are not expected to occur on Mars since it never established a mobile lid geodynamic regime. In situ resource utilization will reduce the dependency on Earth-based supply chains, cutting the cost and complexity of long-term missions. Tapping into Mars' ore resources is essential for ensuring the viability and sustainability of exploratory missions, enabling a self-sufficient presence on Mars, and facilitating the future of interplanetary exploration. Additionally, new investigations of the geological processes that control mineralization on Mars are also likely to advance our understanding of terrestrial deposits.