Short Courses
Pre-conference Short Courses
Exploration of sediment-hosted metals
Instructor: Ali Jaffri (Applied Stratigraphix)
- 2 Days
-
Professional rate: $250 / Student rate: $125
A diverse suite of metals is hosted in sedimentary strata. This includes the world’s most prolific gold deposits in paleoplacers, copper deposits like the Central African Copper Belt, the world’s largest Zinc deposits and the highest-grade Uranium deposits.
This 2-day comprehensive course covers the entire suite of sediment-hosted metals including Carbonate Replacement Deposits, modern and ancient placers, stratiform and exotic copper, MVT deposits, sediment-hosted Uranium and Vanadium and Lithium Clays.
The highlight of this course are exercises on actual hand samples collected by Dr. Jaffri from deposits in the US.
Orogenic Gold
Instructors: Jochen Kolb (Karlsruhe Institute of Technoloy), Georges Beaudoin (Laval University), Iain Pitcairn (Stockholm University), Nicolas Thébaud (University of Western Australia), and Richard Goldfarb (Colorado School of Mines)
- 1 Day
-
Professional rate: $250 / Student rate: $100
Orogenic gold deposits are a major gold source and a major target for mineral exploration. This short course will feature up-to-date geology, structure and geochemistry of orogenic gold deposits. The short course will delve into the origin of hydrothermal fluids from source rocks P-T-X-t conditions to gold deposition mechanisms in localized mineralized zones. We will discuss current deposit models and challenges related to exploration. We have global experience and will show various examples from different deposits through space and time
Ore Microscopy
Instructors: Simon Kocher (Colorado School of Mines) and Tobias Fusswinkel (RWTH Aachen)
- 2 Days
-
Professional rate: $350 / Student rate: $150
Reflected light microscopy and detailed ore petrography can shed light on ore deposit formation and can help to identify potential problems in the beneficiation process during early stages of exploration. This 2-day workshop is aimed at economic geologists and mineral processing engineers seeking to refresh and improve their ore microscopy skills. Participants will learn to identify key minerals and textural relationships by examining a series of samples representative of various deposit types.
Tectonic and Structural Framework for precious metal deposits in north america
Instructors: Dave Rhys (Panterra), Franck Valli (Newmont), and Amanda Hughes (University of Arizona)
- 3 Days
-
Professional rate: $750 / Student rate: $375
This course will review the tectonic development of North America, from Archean to present, and the position and structural controls on precious metal deposits within it as well as other associated deposit types. Participants will gain knowledge in the relationships between regional tectonic patterns and local deposit controls. Orogenic gold, epithermal, Carlin and other precious-metal enriched deposits will be discussed through district examples and case studies within their structural contexts. In addition, structural methods for their evaluation in outcrop and drill core, as well as geophysical interpretation of deposit structural settings will also be addressed for the different deposit types and settings.
Advanced open-source tools for mineral predictive mapping
Instructors: Johanna Pesonen (GTK), Bijal Chudasama (GTK), Andreas Knobloch (Beak Consultants GmbH), Roberto De La Rosa (Beak Consultants GmbH), Niko Aarnio (GISPO), Graham Lederer (USGS), Joshua Coyan (USGS), Joshua Rosera (USGS), Erick Vega (MTRI), and Justin Gawrilow (JATAWARE)
- 1 Day
-
Professional rate: $250 / Student rate: $125
In the first part of the short course, a short review will be provided about the concept of mineral predictive mapping. Following up, different machine learning algorithms are being presented and discussed on how they may be used for mineral predictive mapping.
The second main part of the short course is strongly focusing on the practical hands-on-training for a newly developed open source tool for mineral predictive mapping (MPM) for exploration and assessment of critical raw materials called “EIS” – Exploration Information System.
In the third and final part, new digital tool developments for critical raw materials assessment are showcased and demonstrated, being introduced through CriticalMAAS – Critical Mineral Assessments with AI Support: “Polymer” and “StatMaGIC”.
All demonstrated software tools are open-source and will be able to run on the computer of the participants. Participants are required to bring their own laptop running in Windows 10 environment with administrator rights to be able to install and run the software tools. Before the short course, the installation packages will be provided together with tutorial data for the hands-on training.
Database design to capture and archive geological observations
Instructor:Wiley Skewes (Alamos Gold )
- 1 Day
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Professional rate: $120 / Student rate: $60
Make your data match your deposit and work for your business goals. This course will address foundational principles of data organization and how to use them in mineral deposit applications. Topics will include geologic driven design, efficient data capture, functional precision, and database transitions. This course is intended for everyone from geologists with no database experience to database managers.
Post-conference Short Courses
Mineral Markets: How Economics informs strategy
Instructor: Rod Eggert (Colorado School of Mines)
- 1 Day
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Professional rate: $250 / Student rate: $120
This course develops a framework for assessing the market environment in which a mining company operates – and how this assessment informs strategy. After this course, participants should be able to use basic microeconomics to understand the nature and extent of competition in mineral and metal markets and then use the insights from this analysis to develop business strategy.
UAV-borne hyperspectral mapping approaches within mining environments- lessons on best-practice from a legacy mine and tailings site within the M4Mining project
Instructors: Frederike Koerting (HySpex) and Katerina Savinova (University of Queensland)
- 1 Day
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Professional rate: $300 / Student rate: $150
The M4Mining project champions sustainable mining practices through integrated remote sensing data for monitoring of mining-related masses, both at active mining operations, as well as across legacy mine sites and tailings storage facilities. The project’s overarching mission is to develop comprehensive remote sensing solutions for mining and tailings sites. M4Mining workflows include a multi-sensor hyperspectral infrastructure (hardware and software) on an uncrewed aerial system (UAS), establishing best practices, resolving resolution gaps between satellite- and UAS-based data, real-time mapping approaches, effective data analytical techniques and user-friendly interfaces to present results to operators and decision-makers. Within the short course, we aim to give you an introduction to the full UAS workflow, including perspectives and best practices needed to acquire good UAS-based hyperspectral data in such an environment, a showcase of the Breeze GEO and Breeze AIR software packages developed by Prediktera AS for M4Mining, and effective visualization of hyperspectral data with the end-user in mind. If you ever find yourself on-site with a hyperspectral drone or have access to data collected by such a system, we hope this short course will give you the right tools and insights to handle the data. This means assessing the data quality, doing preliminary data analysis and visualization to reveal patterns of the site, and providing good resources to educate yourself further. Lessons learned from the three years of running the M4Mining project will be condensed and shared in this 1-day workshop.
Concepts and Application of Machine Learning to Mining Geoscience: A Practical Course
Instructors: Francisca Maepa (BHP), Natalie Caciagli (ALS Geochemistry), Antoine Caté (SRK Consulting), Jean-Philippe Paiement (VRIFY), and Lori Wicket (EarthDaily)
- 2 Days
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Professional rate: $500 / Student rate: $250
Over the last 10 years Machine Learning has been a growing subject of conversation in the mining industry. From targeting of mineral deposits to connected mining environment, there is no doubt that Artificial Intelligence plays an increasingly important role in the industry. However, the subject can still seem obscure and is often hard to grasp, which creates apprehensions from geoscientists.
This workshop intends to introduce the participants to the applications and evaluation of Machine Learning in mining geoscience. The main concepts and best practices for applied Machine Learning to exploration and mining will be reviewed. The course will be set in a practical framework, with a focus on the understanding and usage of different algorithms without detailing the mathematics behind each algorithm. Through a series of case studies, examples, and hands-on exercises, the attendees will learn how to best apply Machine Learning to different datasets and most importantly, evaluate the results produced by the algorithms.
No prior coding or data science knowledge is required, but a strong interest in either statistics, modeling, or data analysis is recommended. Exercises will be completed using a user-friendly and intuitive interface for data mining and machine learning. Attendees will need their own laptops and to install software prior to the course.
Geological mapping in mineral exploration
Instructor: Andreas Dietrich (DIETRICH Consulting)
- 1 Day
-
Professional rate: $400 / Student rate: $100
The workshop discusses practical aspects of geological mapping in academic research, mining, and the mineral exploration industry. Lectures in combination with lab exercises will take the participants through a complete cycle of a mapping job from preparation stage to typical questions during field work and preparation of final map, GIS products, and report writing.
Starting with the basic concepts of geologic mapping the course will include a refreshment of 3D construction and 4D interpretation skills followed by an outline of the currently available modern and traditional toolbox assisting field work, data capture and processing. Specific problems of geological mapping in and around hydrothermal systems include the use and interpretation of satellite imagery, methods of alteration mapping and useful techniques of structural mapping. Case examples will touch on epithermal vein and high-sulphidation systems, breccia- or diatreme-hosted mineralization, porphyry deposits, and lithocap systems.
The course is meant for students and early-career geologists but will contain valuable insights for geologists of all experience levels.