The School of Earth Sciences, which includes the ARC Centre of Excellence in Ore Deposits (CODES), is a nationally and internationally important centre for undergraduate and postgraduate research in the geological sciences. Research strengths are economic geology (metallic mineral deposits), volcanology, igneous petrology, tectonics, marine geology, geophysics, geochemistry and geometallurgy. In addition, the School is a partner in the CRC for Optimising Resource Extraction (CRC ORE) and is building research strength in environmental mineralogy and geochemistry. Research is both fundamental and applied with funding coming from government agencies and the exploration and mining sectors.
CODES has five linked research programs. Program 1 (Location) investigates magmatic, volcanic and tectonic processes in diverse tectonic settings. Program 2 (Formation) encompasses an integrated approach to solving metal source, transport, trap problems. Program 3 (Discovery) includes ore deposit geophysics that compliments the expertise in ore deposit geology and geochemistry. Program 4 (Recovery) conductes leading-edge research into geometallurgy. Program 5 (Technology) incorporates new developments in the geochemical analytical equipment and data processing.
The School of Earth Sciences offers research projects at the Honours, Masters (Master of Science, Master of Economic Geology, Master of Exploration Geoscience) and PhD levels. Past research graduates of the School occupy many key positions in the exploration and mining industries, in Government geological surveys, and in Earth Science Departments of other universities, both in Australia and overseas.