Mineral Resources (GEOS3141)

Overview

The UNSW Mineral and Energy Resources (GEOS3141) course introduces the nature and formation of mineral energy and resources. During the course, you’ll examine the fundamental concepts and processes relating to the genesis, geological characteristics and exploration of archetypical ore deposits. This course is designed for students who wish to work as Geologists and Resource Engineers or in other fields of Geoscience.

In Australia, we produce numerous metals and other geological materials from over 350 operating mines, including gold, aluminium, iron, nickel, zinc, lead, copper and uranium. Australian mining operations are closely linked to the successful discovery, mining and export of these mineral commodities.

At the small scale, ore deposits can be viewed in terms of their host rocks, structure, mineral distributions, geochemistry and geophysical characteristics. At the larger scale, the nature and location of mineral deposits can be explained in terms of crustal and upper mantle processes.

During this course, you’ll get the chance to work within our labs, studying mineral resources, including hand specimens, cores and ore suites. Laboratory work will provide you with the practical skills to identify the key features of ore deposit samples and how to place them within the geological framework. You’ll also develop skills in report writing and group work.

Course breakdown

The Mineral and Energy Resources course introduces the following concepts:

The geological setting
The characteristics and genesis of metallic resources
Introduction to methods used for mineral exploration
Current ore deposit models

It’s also co-taught with the Minerals and Processing (MINE2810) course, which is part of the UNSW School of Minerals and Energy Resources Engineering.

Conditions for enrolment 

Pre-requisites for this course include the following courses:

Career opportunities

There are numerous career opportunities within the mineral resource sector, which is the largest exporting industry of Australia and is responsible for much of our export earnings. Besides working directly for mining and exploration companies, there are many job positions in supporting sectors, including analytical laboratories, geological and environmental consultancies and state and federal geological surveys.