GEO4812 – Ore-Forming Processes
Course description
Schedule, syllabus and examination date
Course content
The course comprehensively introduces processes forming the Earth’s mineral deposits. The main purpose of the course is to provide a better understanding of processes and the nature, origin and characteristics of economic mineral occurrences and how they fit into the Earth system. Examples of Norwegian and worldwide deposits are introduced and discussed.
In the practical exercises, ores will be examined, discussed and described at the micro-scale (optical microscopy and SEM), hand-specimen scale (using the Natural History Museum's collection material), and macro-scale (during the excursion).
Learning outcome
After successful completion of the course, you will
- have a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental processes of creating economic mineral resources and how they can be identified, classified and described
- be able to identify important ore minerals, how to treat and evaluate mineral chemistry data (XRD and EPMA) and whole rock data (XRF and ICP-MS), and which methods and approaches are required to describe an ore deposit in terms of geology
- be equipped with basic knowledge suitable for a future career in academia as well as in the mining industry
Admission to the course
Students admitted at UiO must apply for courses in Studentweb. Students enrolled in other master's degree programmes can, on application, be admitted to the course if this is cleared by their own study programme.
Nordic citizens and applicants residing in the Nordic countries may apply to take this course as a single course student.
If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures for international applicants.
The courses GEO4812 and GEO9812 have a joint admission, with a joint capacity of 20 students.
If there are more than 20 applicants for GEO4812/9812, applicants will be ranked after the following categories:
Master's students in Geosciences admitted to the following programme option:
Master's students in Geosciences admitted to one of the other programme options
PhD candidates in Geosciences at the Department of Geosciences
Master's students in Chemistry at the Department of Chemistry
Exchange students and other master's students at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences
Visiting PhD candidates who have been admitted to another higher education institution
Single course students at master’s level
Applicants will be ranked by the number of ECTS credits within each category: all applicants within category 1 are ranked before applicants in category 2. If there are space limitations in the course, available places will be given to students selected randomly among those with the same amount of ECTS credits.
Formal prerequisite knowledge
- Applicants registering for this course must hold a bachelor's degree in Geosciences or in Chemistry.
The course includes a compulsory field course and excursions. A HSE-course for safety in the field must be passed before you can go on these:
Recommended previous knowledge
Overlapping courses
- 10 credits overlap with GEO9812 – Ore-forming Processes.
Teaching
Teaching consists of 2 hours of lectures and 2 hours of mandatory practical lab per week.
There will be up to 3 days on a mandatory field trip with accommodation. Approved attendance to the practical lab and field trip is required to sit the final exam.
Attendance at the first lecture is compulsory. Students who fail to meet are considered to have withdrawn from the course unless they have previously given notice to the Student administration (studieinfo@geo.uio.no).
We reserve the right to change the teaching form and examination of the course in semesters where 5 or fewer students have been admitted.
General information about excursions at the Department of Geosciences
As the teaching involves laboratory and/or fieldwork, you should consider taking out a separate travel and personal risk insurance. Read about your insurance coverage as a student.
Examination
- The mandatory field trip(s) and attendance in the practical lab work must be approved before sitting the written examination for the course.
- A final written examination counts 100% towards the final grade.
Mandatory activities/assignments are valid for 5 semesters starting from the semester they were approved the first time.
It is possible to take the exam up to 3 times. If you withdraw from the exam after the deadline or during the exam, this will be counted as an examination attempt.
It will also be counted as 1 of the 3 attempts to sit the exam for this course if you sit the exam for the following course:
Examination support material
Language of examination
The examination text is given in English. You may submit your response in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English.
Grading scale
Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.
Resit an examination
Students who can document a valid reason for absence from the regular examination are offered a postponed examination at the beginning of the next semester.
Re-scheduled examinations are not offered to students who withdraw during, or did not pass, the original examination.
More about examinations at UiO
- Use of sources and citations
- Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
- Withdrawal from an exam
- Illness at exams / postponed exams
- Explanation of grades and appeals
- Resitting an exam
- Cheating/attempted cheating
You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.