Exploration Field Skills mapping camp

Dates: 05 - 12 February 2023

Time, Date, Location of first Meeting: Tasmanian students (or interstate students already in Hobart) are to meet at 9:00 am on Sunday 05th of February in the MRT Core Storage carpark (in Mornington). Students flying in from Victoria on the morning of Sunday 05 February should be on Flight No. JQ710 departing Melbourne at 7.00am and arriving in Hobart at 08.15 am (see recommended flight information below). Upon arriving, interstate students are to gather at the SE-end (i.e. the far end) of the public drop-off/pick up area, from where they will be collected by the course leader/s around 8:30 am. If you prefer to come over a day (or more) earlier, that would be OK too. You will need a “Plus” or “Max” ticket that allow you to bring 20 or 30 kg of checked luggage in addition to 7 kg of hand luggage.

 

The most suitable departing flight would be: tba

Enrolled students will be emailed contact information so that instructors can be notified of delayed flights etc. 

Costs and How to Pay: Students need to book and pay for their own accommodation in Hobart for Sunday (05 February) night, and for any previous nights if arriving earlier. From Monday 17 to Sunday morning (23 February) students will be based in Queenstown. Accommodation will be at the Mountain View Motel. Students have two room options. You can stay in basic twin-share back-packer accommodation for $290 or shared motel room with en suite for $400. You will be advised on how to make these payments at a later date.  

Course Description: The Exploration Field Skills (EFS) mapping camp provides participants with the opportunity to develop skills (or enhance existing skills) in geological mapping, core logging and structural analysis, within a mineral exploration context. 

During the week-long camp in western Tasmania, participants map, interpret and ultimately assess the exploration potential of a 4−5 km2 area of Cambrian Mount Read Volcanics. The rock sequence exposed in the mapping area is similar to that hosting the nearby Rosebery and Hercules volcanic-hosted massive sulfide (VHMS) deposits, located 5−10 km further north. The area may also be prospective for Devonian base metal deposits. These are typically much smaller than the Cambrian VHMS deposits and structurally- rather than stratigraphically-controlled.To date, eight diamond drill holes have been drilled in the mapping area. Three of these will be inspected (and two re-logged) by participants during the mapping camp. One of these holes intersected a narrow interval of low grade base metal mineralisation. 

Participants evaluate textural, structural, mineralogical and geochemical features of the mineralized interval, and together with an assessment of its stratigraphic position, decide whether mineralization is more likely to be Cambrian (i.e. early, stratigraphically-controlled) or Devonian (i.e. late, structurally-controlled).

Data collected during field mapping and core logging are used to unravel the stratigraphy and structure of the area, as well as the nature and extent of any hydrothermal alteration. This information provides the basis for an assessment of the exploration potential of the area, with participants asked to identify any previously untested areas in which base metal deposits could potentially occur within 500 m of the surface

Further course and assessment information can be found at:  https://handbook.unimelb.edu.au/subjects/geol90045