Lee A Groat

Research Interests

Although my background is in crystal chemistry, my work has expanded to cover three main areas of mineralogy: critical minerals, especially in granitic pegmatites, the geology of gem deposits, and the crystal chemistry of minerals.

One of the reasons I became a geologist was that I enjoy working in the outdoors. Before starting graduate school I had summer jobs in exploration geology in British Columbia, the Yukon, and Labrador. When I came to UBC I initiated a study of critical mineral-bearing granitic pegmatites in the Canadian Cordillera. Since the early 1990s I have been studying the Little Nahanni Pegmatite Group, an 11 km long swarm of lithium-, tantalum-, niobium-, and tin-rich pegmatites in the Northwest Territories. My students and I have also studied the gem tourmaline-bearing O’Grady aplite-pegmatite complex in the Northwest Territories, lithium-rich pegmatites near Revelstoke in British Columbia, the Tanco lithium and cesium mine in Manitoba, lithium-rich pegmatites in northern Manitoba, and the Taylor 2 pegmatite in northern Ontario, with its attendant emerald occurrence. I intend to continue studying pegmatites across Canada.

I became interested in the geology of gem deposits after recognizing that most are rare because the necessary geologic conditions are seldom attained. These exceptional requirements also make gem deposits fascinating for scientific study. My research to date has concentrated on emerald and sapphire occurrences in Canada and the United States. In 2007 I edited a volume on the geology of gem deposits (updated in 2014, and to be updated again in 2027), and in 2008 and 2019 I authored and coauthored comprehensive reviews of emerald deposits and occurrences. One of the things I am most interested in is how scientific research can aid exploration, which until recently has been non-systematic and, in many cases, nonexistent for any gem mineral except diamond.

I became interested in mineralogy after taking a course in X-ray crystallography. In the world of crystal chemistry I am probably best known for my work on vesuvianite, a common mineral with chemistry and structure that is both complicated and variable. I am currently studying beryl and borosilicate minerals, concentrating primarily on correlations between chemical composition, crystal structure, morphology and conditions of formation.

I have also worked on the crystal chemistry and mineral physics of the isostructural minerals titanite (CaTiSiO₅), malayaite (CaMnSiO₅), kieserite (MgSO₄·H₂O), and the amblygonite (LiAlPO₄F)-montebrasite (LiAlPO₄OH) solid solution. The crystal chemistry of oxysalt minerals containing heavy elements (e.g., tellurium, barium, mercury, and lead) has also been one of my research priorities.

Recently my students and I have also been describing new barium-silicate minerals from the Gun property in the Yukon Territory, and there is still work to do on this occurrence. Much of my research is done in collaboration with others at UBC, within Canada, and around the world.