Tellurium prospectivity
across the USA & Canada.
Epithermal gold–silver and polymetallic tellurium, ranked and explained — validated across the USA and Canada.
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What the model reads for tellurium.
Every tellurium target is scored on the same seven lines of evidence — with a pathfinder-geochemistry signature tuned to this system.
Host rock
rock type and age
Gravity & magnetics
buried structures and intrusions
Radiometrics
potassium, thorium, uranium
Terrain shape
elevation, slope, aspect
Surface texture
radar (Sentinel-1)
Alteration
mineral signatures from satellite
Pathfinder chemistry
the elements that point to your commodity
Pathfinder geochemistry the model weighs
Lead signal: Gold, bismuth and selenium. These are the elements this national model actually reads to rank tellurium ground.
What is tellurium?
Tellurium is a rare, brittle, silver-white metalloid with a strong geochemical affinity for gold. It seldom forms minerals of its own in bulk; instead it occurs as gold, silver, lead and mercury tellurides — calaverite, sylvanite, petzite, hessite, coloradoite and altaite — and as native tellurium, typically hosted within precious-metal veins. Because economic concentrations are scarce, most of the world's supply is recovered as a by-product of copper electrolytic refining rather than mined directly. MineDSS models tellurium through two seeded families: epithermal gold–silver and polymetallic systems. Each is marked by hydrothermal alteration, structurally focused veining and a distinctive multi-element geochemical halo — the mappable footprint a prospectivity model is built to read across large, partly covered terrains.
The deposit model
Both seeded systems are hydrothermal and precious-metal dominated. Epithermal gold–silver systems form at shallow crustal levels from cooling, often boiling fluids; tellurides crystallise late alongside gold and silver, and many of the richest examples — Cripple Creek in Colorado, the Emperor mine at Vatukoula in Fiji, Porgera and Ladolam in Papua New Guinea — are genetically tied to alkaline magmatism. Polymetallic systems concentrate the same telluride mineralisation in structurally controlled veins that also carry base-metal sulphides of lead, zinc and copper. Both are marked by adularia–sericite and silicic alteration, zoned sulphide and telluride assemblages, and a strong precious-metal association. MineDSS reads these settings by combining mapped host geology and structure, geophysical responses that resolve intrusions and mineralised structures, satellite-derived indications of altered ground, and the pathfinder geochemistry that trails a mineralising system, ranking ground by its resemblance to well-characterised epithermal and polymetallic tellurium settings.
Why it matters
Tellurium is classified as a critical mineral in the United States and features on strategic-minerals assessments in other major economies, because it underpins low-carbon energy technology yet has an unusually fragile supply chain. Almost all production arrives as a by-product of copper refining, so output cannot readily scale to meet demand, and refined supply is geographically concentrated in a small number of countries. That combination — rising demand from solar and thermoelectric applications set against inelastic, concentrated supply — gives transparent, defensible identification of tellurium-enriched ground real strategic weight for explorers and for the governments that permit and rely on them.
Where it's used
The dominant use of tellurium is in cadmium telluride thin-film photovoltaics, which account for the majority of consumption and make the metal a strategic input to solar electricity. A further share goes into thermoelectric devices — bismuth and lead tellurides that convert heat to electricity and drive solid-state cooling — used in aerospace, defence and precision instrumentation. As a metallurgical additive, small quantities improve the machinability of free-cutting steel and the properties of copper and lead alloys. Remaining uses include vulcanising agents for rubber, catalysts, pigments, and compound semiconductors for infrared optics and detectors.
How MineDSS reads it
Tellurium travels with the precious- and base-metal chemistry of the systems that carry it, so MineDSS reads a co-located pathfinder suite qualitatively rather than through fixed weights. The seeded elements are gold, bismuth, selenium, antimony, silver, copper and molybdenum, with gold, bismuth and selenium carrying the lead signal — gold for the intimate telluride association, and bismuth and selenium for the chalcophile chemistry that accompanies telluride deposition. This geochemistry is interpreted alongside mapped host geology and structure, geophysical expressions of intrusions and mineralised structures, and satellite indications of altered ground. The model is trained on a national geochemical foundation of more than 100,000 assayed samples, learning to recognise ground that resembles anomalously tellurium-enriched sites rather than relying on any single element.
Tellurium prospectivity — common questions
Which tellurium deposit types does MineDSS model?
MineDSS models two seeded families: epithermal gold–silver systems and polymetallic systems. Epithermal systems host gold, silver, lead and mercury tellurides — such as calaverite, sylvanite, petzite and hessite — in shallow, structurally controlled veins, and the richest are commonly tied to alkaline magmatism. Polymetallic systems concentrate the same telluride mineralisation in veins that also carry base-metal sulphides of lead, zinc and copper. Although most tellurium reaches market as a by-product of copper refining, the model targets primary tellurium enrichment in these precious-metal systems, ranking ground by its resemblance to these well-characterised settings rather than unrelated styles.
How is the model's accuracy measured, and where is tellurium available?
We validate every model the hard way — held-out spatial cross-validation. We hide known deposits, rebuild the model without them, then test whether it still finds them, with test blocks kept spatially separated so it cannot memorise nearby points. We are currently refreshing our published national skill figures so they reflect deployment-time performance, and will republish them per model. Coverage today spans the United States and Canada; the figures are model-level skill, never a specific site's measured accuracy, and never a discovery or JORC / NI 43-101 resource claim.
Which pathfinder elements does MineDSS use for tellurium?
The seeded pathfinder suite is gold, bismuth, selenium, antimony, silver, copper and molybdenum, with gold, bismuth and selenium carrying the lead signal. Gold reflects the intimate association between tellurium and precious metals in these systems, while bismuth, selenium and the remaining elements trace the chalcophile and sulphide chemistry that accompanies telluride deposition. MineDSS interprets this co-located suite qualitatively and alongside other evidence — mapped host geology and structure, geophysical signatures of intrusions and mineralised structures, and satellite indications of altered ground — rather than applying fixed numeric weights to any one element.
Does a high MineDSS score mean a deposit or a resource estimate?
No. A high score means ground is geologically similar to known tellurium-enriched systems and merits closer exploration attention. The model is trained to recognise ground resembling the most anomalously tellurium-rich samples in the national dataset — broadly the top tenth of assayed values — not to certify a deposit. It is not a discovery, not a JORC or NI 43-101 resource or reserve estimate, and not drilling or investment advice. Confirming whether tellurium is present, and in what quantity and grade, still requires field programmes, drilling and independent assessment by qualified professionals.
Other commodities we model
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