Mercedes Fuertes-Fuente

I began my research career as predoctoral research fellow (FPI) and my PhD focused on the potential as a rare element source of some pegmatites from Galicia. During PhD I conducted research stays at the Laboratoire de Minéralogie at Université Paul Sabatier (Toulouse, France), the Geology Laboratory at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and the Centre de Recherches Sur la Géologie Des Matières Premières Minérales et Énergétiques of CNRS (Nancy, France). I maintain a collaboration with the latter research team in investigations on paleofluids and in recent years I collaborate with the GeoResources and Geomaterials Research Group from the Institute of Earth Sciences (ICT) of Portugal. After PhD, I worked as a research fellow under a contract between the Department of Geology of the University of Oviedo and the mining company Rio Narcea Gold Mines (1996-1998). In 1999, I started my professional career as an assistant professor in the Geology Department of the University of Oviedo. Since 2003, I have been associate professor in this department. From 2014 to 2019, I was the coordinator of the Official Master's Degree in Geological Resources and Engineering Geology at the University of Oviedo. My research focuses on the modeling of mineral deposits, primarily related to magmatism with emphasis on Au-Cu deposits (skarn, epithermal, mesothermal, porphyry) and rare element deposits. I have participated in 9 R + D projects funded by the National Research Plan, being IP in 3 of them, and also IP of a project from the International Projects Subprogram (National Program for the Internationalization of R+D). Additionally, I have been involved in more than 20 cooperation projects with mining companies, as a scientific advisor in both exploitation and exploration phases. The outcomes of my scientific activity are reflected in 25 articles in renowned SCI journals in the field of mineral deposits (e.g., Ore Geology Reviews, Lithos, Mineralium Deposita), 9 articles in non-indexed peer-reviewed journals, 5 book chapters, and 18 contributions (last 10 years) to international conferences related to ore deposits and paleofluids. I have been in the organizing committees of the XXXVI Meeting of the Spanish Mineralogical Society (2017) and the XII Iberian Geochemistry Congress (2019). I was a board member of the Spanish Mineralogical Society (2011-2014). I was guest editor for 2 indexed journals: Canadian Mineralogist (2019, pegmatites monograph) and Minerals (2021, monograph on gold hydrothermal deposits). I have acted as a referee for indexed journals (e.g. Economic Geology, Lithos, Journal of Geochemical Exploration, Ore Geology Review, Mineralium Deposita). Since 2008, I have been evaluator and scientific-technical committee member for project evaluations for the national Agency of Evaluation and Prospective. I have been in doctoral thesis committees at national and international universities (e.g. University of Salamanca, Complutense de Madrid, University of Porto, University of Évora, University of Lorraine). I consider my main achievements to be a solid training in the methodology of mineral deposit study, staying updated on the evolution of this field of knowledge and the advancement of applied techniques, and the ability to train future researchers. Finally, I emphasize my collaborations with companies throughout my years as a researcher, which I plan to continue in the future as a means of transferring research results to the industrial world. My interests for the future include continuing the research lines of the Research Group on Mineral resources, ore deposits and environment (REYACMIMA) to which I belong, focusing on the characterization of the geological processes that generate mineral deposits.