Isabelle Goddard

Profile

I completed my integrated masters degree in Earth Sciences at the University of Oxford in 2024. My research thesis examined the metamorphic and metasomatic aureole around the Loch Borralan Intrusion, northwest Scotland, including assessing its REE potential, as well as characterising the aureole as a fenite. I was involved in the Oxford University Geological Society, including various committee positions, as well as participating in outreach efforts for Oxbridge admissions for under-represented groups within the universities. In 2022, I won the Keith Cox Prize for best mapping exercise of the Assynt Window, northwest Scotland.

During my undergraduate studies, I undertook a Women in Mining internship with Green Lithium, assessing the viability of potential feedstock suppliers, including mineral resource estimations, tracking causes for and patterns in variations in lithium prices over years, and developing a framework for estimating the efficacy of ESG policies of these companies. I also contributed to a project at the University of Oxford and Cambourne School of Mines (University of Exeter) that examined tin and tungsten mineralisation in greisen veins in the Cornubian Batholith granites, where I was responsible for fieldwork, namely mapping and documenting observations of the greisen veins, collecting structural data, and gathering and preparing a sample suite into thin sections and powders.

I worked as a geotechnical engineer for a year prior to starting my PhD in the southeast of the UK, and have developed a strong interest in considering the long-term impacts of contamination from mining, and the importance of considering this at the outset of the exploration process as opposed to this being an afterthought.

I am a fellow of the Geological Society of London (FGS), and am working towards Chartered Geologist status.

Research interests

My research examines the controls on types and grades of sulphide mineralisation across the Tethyan Ocean floor in the Alps. I am especially interested in how varying metamorphic conditions through the Alpine subduction channel impacts the mineralogy and ore grades we observe today. By understanding the ‘why’ of a system as opposed to simply the ‘what’, we can better inform exploration efforts for higher-grade ores in the region.

Copper, one of the base metal sulphides this project examines, is a metal that appears on the EU Critial Raw Materials list (in line with the Critical Raw Materials Act 2024), identifying it as one of a suite of metals crucial for strategic technologies, including green applications. Given EU targets for 10% domestic production of these metals by 2030, identifying new exploration targets and developing existing operations is essential to achieve these goals. Furthermore, obtaining these resources in a way that builds ESG considerations into the operations from the outset is vital in contributing to the new legacy of mining as a clean, ethical, and green industry.

I am supervised by Dr Taija Tovela, Dr Jason Harvey, and Professor Rob Butler, and we also have the input of Liam Hardy from European Copper. Their work spans a range of topics, including VMS deposits, behaviour of sulphides, and the tectonic and mineralogical characteristics of the Alps.

Qualifications

• MEarthSci Earth Sciences

Research groups and institutes

• Ores and Mineralization