CODES – Centre for Ore Deposit and Earth Sciences

About Us

Outcome-driven Research – Built on Teamwork, Worldwide Collaborations, and Excellence in Education

Students on White Island, New Zealand

CODES, the Centre for Ore Deposit and Earth Sciences was formed in 1989. Based at the University of Tasmania, the Centre has grown substantially over the years and is widely regarded as a global leader in ore deposit research, particularly in relation to the formation of base and precious metal deposits. It is home to 59 highly qualified research staff and 128 postgraduate students.

CODES has developed a strong and long-standing reputation for delivering high quality research outcomes of direct relevance to the mining industry. This has been achieved over a period in excess of 25 years, which includes terms as a Federal Government-funded ARC Key Centre (1989-1996), ARC Special Research Centre (1997 to 2005) and ARC Centre of Excellence (2005 to 2013).

Location and Global Reach

CODES is located within the University of Tasmania's School of Natural Sciences, which is part of the College of Sciences and Engineering (CoSE).

Highly productive worldwide collaborations have been developed with 45 industry companies, plus a host of joint research initiatives with more than 130 institutions and universities. It currently has major research projects spanning 28 countries, and is the leading academic group to publish in Economic Geology. During the past year, it has maintained its reputation for delivering excellence in technology transfer by producing 208 reports to industry and conducting 24 workshops, short courses, conferences and field trips in 7 countries.

CODES at a glance

59 academic research staff
128 postgraduate students
59 major research projects
28 countries involved
An average of >150 research reports to industry per annum
An average of >60 publications in journals per annum
An average of 20 industry-focused workshops and short courses per annum

The Centre's team of world-class researchers are highly valued for their wealth of knowledge and experience. Many industry companies have gained great benefit from tapping into this resource and see significant value in CODES' ability to tailor research projects to meet their individual requirements.

Read about the benefits of becoming an 'Industry Partner' of the Centre.

Looking Forward

Consolidate, grow and adapt

CODES' team of world-class researchers has developed a wealth of fundamental and applied ore body knowledge over a period spanning more than two decades. It is this knowledge that has formed the foundation of its success, enabling it to build collaborations, gain industry support, and be known around the world for supplying a steady stream of first class geoscientists to industry.

The team will consolidate and build on these strengths, while continuing to evolve in a proactive manner to meet the changing needs of industry. This will be achieved by further developing a comprehensive, ore-systems-based research model that addresses the diverse range of geoscience-related factors that are vital to the successful operation of a modern minerals organisation. This integrated strategy encompasses an array of disciplines from district architecture and ore characterisation, through to mineral processing, mine optimisation and environmental science.

The Centre will use its wealth of ore body knowledge to provide the tools and techniques to gain a better understanding of specific rock properties and relate these to ore body and halo footprints in a modern mining setting, thus enhancing the prospects for new discoveries, and ensuring optimisation of existing reserves.

In parallel to the globalisation of the minerals industry, CODES has developed into a truly international organisation, with projects and collaborations on six continents. These international collaborations will be expanded even further in the future, while it ensures that relationships with all current stakeholders are fostered and developed.

Range of postgraduate study options available

The Centre and Discipline offer a wide range of national and international research projects at Honours, Masters and PhD levels. You can study full time or complete our Master of Economic Geology by coursework whilst working full time.

We are very highly regarded for our research and teaching in the geological sciences. Our strengths are in economic geology (metallic mineral deposits), volcanology, igneous petrology, tectonics, marine geology, geophysics, geochemistry and geometallurgy. Many of our Honours and postgraduate projects involve travel to interesting and remote world-wide locations (e.g. Antarctica, Asia, Russia, South America, China, Mexico, Alaska, Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, USA, Europe). Research is both fundamental and applied, with project funding and student scholarships provided by the University of Tasmania, government agencies and the exploration and mining sectors.