Metallic Mineral Resources

Recommended Prerequisites

The required course units are: Mineralogy, Igneous Petrology, Metamorphic Petrology, Sedimentary Petrology, Structural Geology, Geochemistry and Tectonics.

The students should have a comprehensive knowledge of the geological processes responsible for the origin of magmatic, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks and also the processes that lead to the deformation of rocks; the students should also know and characterize the different geotectonic settings.

The prerequisites skills include the ability to study minerals and rocks on a mesoscopic and microscopic scale and to read and understand Basic English.

Teaching Methods

Face-to-face teaching with the following components:

Theorical: expository teaching using audiovisual means to make easier to understand the concepts, models and methodologies; presentation and discussion of synthesis reports.

Practical and laboratory: methods of identifying “opaque” phases and ore textures using reflected light microscope; study of examples of metallic mineral deposits. 

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course students will be able to:

1. To recognize the geological characteristics of the main types of mineral deposits and to understand how do they fit into the Earth System.

2. To recognize and understand the principles that rule the natural concentration of minerals in the Earth's crust.

3. To know the optical and physical properties of metallic minerals and know how to use them in their characterization and identification, using appropriate laboratory methods and techniques.

4. To communicate, in written and oral language, information concerning studied examples of mineral deposits, using literature sources and appropriate methodologies of analysis.

5. To understand and describe autonomously the geological characteristics and the processes of formation of the types or examples of mineral deposits Portuguese and all over the world, not taught in formal classes.

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

1. INTRODUCTION

Mineral deposit. A classification scheme for ore deposits. Viability of an ore deposit. Mineral resources and ore reserves.

2. MAGMATIC ORE DEPOSITS

Igneous ore processes (layered intrusions, podiform chromitites, komatiites, anorthosites, kimberlites and lamproites, carbonatites).

Magmatic-hydrothermal ore-forming processes (pegmatites, porphyry Cu-(Mo), porphyry Mo-(Cu) and porphyry W-type deposits, skarn deposits, epithermal Au-Ag-(Cu) deposits).

3. HYDROTHERMAL DEPOSITS

VMS-SEDEX; Stratiform sediment-hosted copper (SSC); Mississippi Valley type (MVT).

4. SEDIMENTARY/SURFICIAL DEPOSITS

Lateritic deposits. Bauxites. Placer deposits. Banded Iron Formations (BIF). Ironstones. Mn deposits.

5. TECTONIC SETTINGS AND METALLOGENY

Patterns in the distribution of mineral deposits.

6. Basic principle of reflected light microscopy. Study of ore hand samples and polished sections of metallic minerals of mineral deposits in Portugal and from other regions in the world.

Assessment Methods

Assessment
Synthesis work: 30.0%
Exam: 30.0%
T1 - 20% + T2 - 20%: 40.0%

Bibliography

ARNDT, N., KESLER, S., GANINO, C. (2015). Metals and Society. An Introduction to Economic Geology. Heidelberg: Springer.

CRAIG, J. R., VAUGHAN, D. V., SKINNER, B. J. (2001). Resources of the Earth: origin, use, and environmental impact. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

DILL, H. G. (2010). The "chessboard" classification scheme of mineral deposits: Mineralogy and geology from aluminum to zirconium. Earth Science-Reviews, 100, 1-420.

NEWMAN, U. (2015). Guide for the optical identification of some important ore and gangue minerals. University Tübingen: Udo Neumann.

PIRAJNO, F. (2009). Hydrothermal processes and mineral systems. Geological Survey of Western Australia. East Perth: Springer.

PRACEJUS, B. (2008). The ore minerals under the microscope. An optical guide. Amsterdam: Elsevier.

ROBB, L. (2005). Introduction to ore-forming processes. Oxford: Blackwell.

TAYLOR, R. (2009). Ore Textures. Recognition and Interpretation. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.