Degree type
PhD
Closing date
1 February 2025
Campus
Hobart
Citizenship requirement
Domestic / International
Scholarship
$33,511pa for 3.5 years
About the research project
Join the quest to unlock the secrets of our planet's past and pave the way for a sustainable future! Sediment-hosted ore deposits are major sources of Co, Cu, Pb, and Zn – vital metals underpinning society's transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy technologies. However, these deposits can also shed light on past tectonic and climatic events on Earth that led to their formation. Despite their importance, the processes controlling the formation and distribution of sediment-hosted ore deposits are still not well understood. This PhD project aims to investigate the geological factors that influenced the formation of these deposits, focusing on the dynamic interplay between tectonic settings, paleogeography, climate events like the Neoproterozoic 'Snowball Earth', and the geological evolution of sedimentary basins.
This PhD project is part of Dr. Sheree Armistead's Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Research Award (DECRA) fellowship starting in 2025, focusing on the interplay of tectonics and climate over the last billion years of Earth history and its influence on the formation of sediment-hosted ore deposits. By integrating global plate tectonic models, ore deposit datasets, and regional geochemistry data, the project seeks to uncover the processes that drive the formation of sediment-hosted ore deposits. This research offers an exciting opportunity to delve into the dynamic interactions between Earth's tectonic movements and climatic changes, contributing to our understanding of geological processes on a global scale.
The Central African Copperbelt hosts the world's largest sediment-hosted Cu-Co deposits and provides the premier natural laboratory to understand the processes that drive their formation. The PhD project will focus on this region, providing crucial data and context to inform the global scale analysis. The PhD candidate will play a vital role in unravelling the tectonic, climatic, and metallogenic evolution of key areas within the Central African Copperbelt. The project can be tailored to the candidate's interests and skills, but will include some of the following techniques:
- Field work in Zambia to collect samples for analysis
- Structural geology field work and mapping to better understand the deformation history and the role of structures in controlling the distribution of Cu-Co deposits
- Geochronology including detrital zircon U–Pb and Lu–Hf, in-situ dating (monazite, xenotime, apatite, rutile etc.), garnet Lu–Hf, and others to improve constraints on the timing of host-rock deposition, metamorphism and metal sulphide mineralisation
- Calcite U-Pb and Lu-Hf dating to constrain the depositional age of carbonate-rich sedimentary sequences, such as the Snowball Earth glacial cap carbonates
- Pb isotopes to determine the source (e.g. mantle vs crust) of sulphides, and provide age constraints on initial sulphide mineralisation
- Plate tectonic reconstruction modelling using GPlates software
The project will involve supervision and collaboration with CODES researchers including Dr Sheree Armistead, Dr Robert Scott, Dr David Selley, Dr Jeffrey Oalmann and others.
Primary Supervisor
Funding
The successful applicant will receive a scholarship which provides:
- a living allowance stipend of $33,511 per annum (2025 rate, indexed annually) for 3.5 years
- a relocation allowance of up to $2,000
- a tuition fees offset covering the cost of tuition fees for up to four years (domestic applicants only)
If successful, international applicants will receive a University of Tasmania Fees Offset for up to four years.
As part of the application process you may indicate if you do not wish to be considered for scholarship funding.
Other funding opportunities and fees
For further information regarding other scholarships on offer, and the various fees of undertaking a research degree, please visit Scholarships and fees.
Eligibility
Applicants should review the Higher Degree by Research minimum entry requirements.
Ensure your eligibility for the scholarship round by referring to our Key Dates
Additional eligibility criteria specific to this project/scholarship:
- Applicants must be able to undertake the project on-campus
Selection Criteria
The project is competitively assessed and awarded. Selection is based on academic merit and suitability to the project as determined by the College.
Application process
- Select your project, and check that you meet the eligibility and selection criteria, including citizenship;
- Contact Dr Sheree Armistead to discuss your suitability and the project's requirements; and
- In your application:
- Copy and paste the title of the project from this advertisement into your application. If you don’t correctly do this your application may be rejected.
- Submit a signed supervisory support form, a CV including contact details of 2 referees and your project research proposal.
- Apply prior to 1 February 2025.
Full details of the application process can be found under the 'How to apply' section at Research degrees.
Following the closing date applications will be assessed within the College. Applicants should expect to receive notification of the outcome by email by the advertised outcome date.
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