Explore Pegmatite Austria – Assessment of lithium pegmatite potential and muscovite composition as an exploration tool

The aim of the project is to develop a statistics-based exploration tool for the identification and prospection of potentially economic pegmatite deposits.The application and validation of the tool will take place in the Bohemian Massif and in selected areas of the Austroalpine Unit. In this way, the project will significantly contribute to advance the geoscientific understanding of Austria’s pegmatites.

The new research project ExPeg builds on two successfully completed projects (MRI Peg I and MRI Peg II) that investigated lithium-bearing pegmatites in the Austroalpine Unit. In cooperation between the Geosphere Austria and the Montanuniversität Leoben, the previous results are being further refined and methodologically advanced. The aim of the project is to evaluate the resource potential of selected pegmatite fields within the Austroalpine Unit Pegmatite Province (AUPP). These specific rocks may contain valuable elements such as lithium, a key raw material for future technologies including batteries and energy storage systems. The project results will therefore provide an important scientific basis for assessing the strategic relevance of domestic raw material deposits. A central component of ExPeg is the development of the Muskovite Exploration Tool (MS-ExploTool) – an analytical tool that uses modern methods of data analysis and statistical modeling to automatically evaluate geological information. This approach aims to create new strategies for the targeted exploration of economically interesting pegmatite deposits. The tool will be applied and tested in the Bohemian Massif as well as in other areas of the Austroalpine Unit. In this way, the project will also contribute to expanding the geoscientific knowledge of Austria’s pegmatites. With ExPeg, both a systematic potential assessment of pegmatite fields and a data-driven exploration tool are being developed for the first time. Both approaches hold scientific and economic relevance.