Modern human society cannot function without minerals and the products made from them. As a major primary producer of a wide range of metals, mining plays a vital role in Australia’s economy and prosperity. However, major ore deposits are becoming increasingly difficult to find. Particularly in ‘mature’ extensively explored terrains, like Australia, major new discoveries are likely to be deeply buried ‘blind’ ore deposits, where even the host rocks are buried beneath significant thicknesses of unrelated (post-minral) cover. Future exploration success will increasingly depend on the drill testing of conceptual targets, coupled with the development and application of more robust, more sensitive discriminators of spatial zonation within ore-related, hydrothermally altered rocks. This unit aims to equip students with the knowledge and skills needed to drive successful mineral exploration into the future. The unit covers current thinking on (i) the genesis of a wide range of ore deposit types – particularly base metal and gold deposits, (ii) the tectonic settings and environments in which these deposits form, and (iii) the latest exploration strategies and techniques used detect them. Emphasis is placed on integrating a range of geological, geochronological, geochemical and geophysical data both in the development of robust ore deposit genetic models, and in mineral exploration.
The course draws on the expertise of scientists from the Centre for Ore Deposits and Earth Sciences (CODES) at UTAS, as well as invited experts from the minerals industry, government and academia. Students will gain the knowledge and skills required to recognise and interpret the mineralogy, paragenesis, geochemistry and geophysical signatures of a range of ore deposit types. Practical mineral exploration exercises reinforce the theory and exploration case studies covered in lectures. Ore deposit types covered typically include porphyry, epithermal, and skarn deposits, IOCG deposits, orogenic, Carlin and Witwatersrand gold deposits, volcanic-hosted massive sul¿de and sea-¿oor hydrothermal deposits, sediment-hosted-Cu deposits, sedex and Broken Hill-type Zn-Pb deposits.