85 The Power of Hard Rocks: Driving the Energy Transition and Serving Society

This session examines how mafic and ultramafic rocks contribute to the energy transition by 1) generating hydrogen gas, 2) trapping CO2 through carbon mineralization, and 3) providing critical minerals for climate change mitigation and renewable energy production.

Monday, 20 October 2025
8:00 AM - 11:30 AM
HBGCC, 216AB

Evaluating the potential for basalt carbonation in the North Mountain Basalt, Atlantic Canada

Paper number: 85-3
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 8:40 AM – 9:00 AM

Authors

Abstract

Basalt carbonation presents robust opportunities for durable, long-term carbon removal from the atmosphere. Indeed, global assessments indicate effectively inexhaustible capacity for CO2 injection into basaltic rocks. Yet, the number of pilot-scale CO2 injection operations remains small, and the diversity of basalt reactivities and hydrogeologic properties remains underexplored. In this study, we combine geophysical analysis, core characterization, laboratory experiments, and reactive transport simulations to explore the possibilities for basalt mineralization in the North Mountain Basalt, which outcrops in and underlies the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The target layers are generally relatively shallow, with maximum depths of several hundred meters. Analyzed samples of these layers are characterized by relatively low (<10%) porosity, pore-filling alteration minerals (e.g., zeolite), and a high degree of heterogeneity in both porosity and mineralogy. In water-rock±CO2 interaction experiments, the zeolitized samples showed enhanced ability to buffer pH relative to less altered basalts, but the latter produced higher concentrations of carbonate-forming cations (Ca and Mg). Reactive transport simulations indicate that the heterogeneity of the North Mountain Basalt aquifers plays a strong role in mineralization rates and capacity. Together, our work suggests that the North Mountain Basalt can provide a scalable carbon sink, up to 100s of megatonnes of CO2, but that the degree of alteration and the overall heterogeneity of the system will likely limit the ability to meet these capacities.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 57, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-412835

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