Disciplinary field: Solid Earth
Level: M1 or M2
Credits: 3 ECTS
Non-carbon mineral resources
Teachers: Louis Raimbault (MINES), Vincent Lagneau (MINES), Laurent De Windt (MINES), Irina Sin
Teaching type: Cours/TD/TP
Hourly volume: 5 jours (disjoints)
Evaluation: Examen, contrôle continu et mini projet
Keywords: Matières premières, formation, enjeux, exploitation, remédiation
Prerequisites:
An introduction to mineral resources (excluding hydrocarbons)
The needs of infrastructure development in emerging countries, as well as of new technologies, both lead to an increase in the amount of raw materials we use. Metals and industrial minerals are produced by the mining industry worldwide, with renewed challenges due to a variety of factors, including economical constraints, environmental and/or societal expectations, and geological constraints with more and more difficult-to-find ore deposits.
The module is divided in three parts. An introduction to economic geology attempts to highlight those challenges and the relations between them. A more technical part deals with the application of numerical simulation tools applied to various parts of the
life-of-mine cycle. In a final exercise small student groups study either academic or company-derived documents focused on a common specific theme and report their findings to the others.