is expected to outpace global supply<\/a>. Demand is forecast to as much as triple within 20 years.<\/p>\nVolcanoes, it turns out, could provide a unique glimpse into the geology of copper formation. \u201cAll magmas have a little bit of copper, but it\u2019s very, very rare\u201d that the metal accumulates, Ubide says. To thread that needle, magma that forms deep within the earth must ascend to the surface\u2014surviving a complex gauntlet of geochemical processes, recharging with new injections of magma, and precipitating crystals along the way\u2014until it finally reaches pressures low enough that it can release volatile gases rather than erupting.<\/p>\n
If all these stars align, however, the magma heats up sea- or groundwater. That produces a hydrothermal system of geofluids that circulate through the shallow crust and precipitate the increasingly valuable metal into fractured rocks as the fluids cool. \u201cYou want the volcano not to erupt because you lose the copper to the atmosphere,\u201d Ubide says.<\/p>\n
The crystals document all these processes, Ubide explains. But while clinopyroxene proves especially useful for studying why a volcano erupts, it\u2019s not the only crystalline material that doubles as a dutiful geological notary.<\/p>\n
![\"An]()
\n An oblong figure made up of concentric rings of various colors. A color legend in the lower-right corner indicates the percentage of chromium concentration, ranging from dark blue at 0.1% to red and orange at 0.2\u20130.3% to yellow and white at 0.4% or higher. Another legend in the top right shows that the crystal is about 4 mm wide.<\/p>\n
A map of a clinopyroxene crystal, collected from Mount Etna, shows an intense accumulation of chromium (orange) in its outer layer just prior to eruption.<\/p>\n
Credit:
\n Teresa Ubide<\/p>\n
Plagioclase, a type of feldspar, is more common than clinopyroxenes in the shallower, silica-rich regions that also produce copper. That means the mineral can help indicate which volcanoes have accumulated the metal. Ubide also uses LA-ICP-MS to analyze this subterranean substance.<\/p>\n
As the race for copper intensifies, Ubide and her cohorts have discussed the possibility of outfitting a vehicle to aid in the search for copper deposits. \u201c[If] we get to the point where we can analyze the plagioclase, and if the plagioclase gives you reliable information, you could, in the future, envision a van where you go around the region, get the sample with your hammer, zap the plagioclase, and say, green light, let\u2019s drill here! Or red light, let\u2019s move on,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
While Ubide develops her science, she remains keenly aware of the communities on the receiving end of volcanic hazards that have the most to gain or lose from the coming copper boom. She especially remembers a local guide in Indonesia who shepherded her to the lahar, volcanic mudflow from an eruption decades earlier. \u201cThe samples we got there\u2014stunning,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd this was all because this local person said, \u2018Oh, if you\u2019re interested in crystals, this lahar deposit has lots.\u2019 And he was right. It\u2019s unforgettable,\u201d she recalls. Every time she visits, Ubide draws on knowledge from Indonesian researchers, mine workers, and experienced guides in a multidisciplinary collaboration that is crucial to her work, she says. \u201cWe made long-lasting human connections.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jonathan Feakins is a freelance science and history writer based in Chicago. A version of this story first appeared in ACS Central Science: cenm.ag\/volcanologist.<\/p>\n
\n Chemical & Engineering News<\/p>\n
ISSN 0009-2347<\/p>\n
Copyright \u00a9
\n 2026 American Chemical Society<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u00a0 Vitals Hometown: San Sebasti\u00e1n, Spain Current position: Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellow and associate professor of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":420504,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[74796,7692,61,60,52405,82,2811],"class_list":{"0":"post-420503","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-analytical-chemistry","9":"tag-geochemistry","10":"tag-ie","11":"tag-ireland","12":"tag-physical-chemistry","13":"tag-science","14":"tag-spectroscopy"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=420503"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420503\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/420504"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=420503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=420503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=420503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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