Education of geologists for positions within the minerals industry has been a hallmark of the Colorado School of Mines since its inception. The Department of Geology and Geological Engineering's program in economic geology focuses on an integration of both traditional descriptive and genetic understanding of the broad geological environment of mineralization. This approach provides training for individuals to contribute to the full range of minerals industry's activities: exploration, development, production, environmental planning, and management, as well as to government service and academia. We believe our program is currently rare, perhaps unique, for geoscience departments in North America.
The Department of Geology and Geological Engineering has nine faculty members directly involved in economic geology, with others who participate in specific projects. Besides interactions with the faculty in the Department students also have the opportunity to broaden their appreciation of mineral deposits geology and its role in society through both formal and informal contact with professionals from the allied departments of mining engineering, mineral economics, geophysics, geochemistry, metallurgy and materials science, and environmental sciences. Many graduate students supplement their graduate coursework with offerings from these programs.
Senior undergraduate courses provide basic geologic and economic information about the entire range of metallic and nonmetallic mineral deposits. A wide selection of graduate courses builds on this coverage, but also meets the specialized interests of students pursuing careers in the minerals industry.
Field trips are a key part of the program and are aimed at extending students' knowledge of ore deposits, their regional and local geological settings, and their distribution, both nationally and internationally. Field trips also provide a means for students to meet a number of professionals in the minerals industry and discover individual mineral company styles. We try and undertake at least one economic geology field trip each year with major international trips every several years. Our last major international trip was to Brazil in 2006. Past field trips have been to the northwestern US and southern British Columbia. and a 1999 transect across the Andes from Antofagasta, Chile to Salta, Argentina with a number of mine visits and stops to examine the geology of the Andes. The trip included three mapping exercises at different mineral deposits. In 1998 a field trip was organized to the Vancouver Stock Exchange so that students could learn how junior mineral exploration companies are started and how they operate.
The Charles F. Fogarty Chair in Economic Geology, which was funded in 1982 through a substantial endowment from Texas Gulf Sulfur Company, and relatives and associates of the late Charles Fogarty, is a central part of the Department's activities in economic geology. It supports the Charles F. Fogarty Chair in Economic Geology, occupied by Murray W. Hitzman, and contributes to numerous other aspects of student support including research and field studies.
Graduate student research studies cover a wide range of deposit types and ages throughout the world. They are funded by grants from mining companies, individual faculty research grants, departmental teaching assistantships, the Fogarty Endowment, and institutional sources such as the Society of Economic Geologists, Geological Society of America, Colorado Scientific Society, and Sigma Xi.
Colorado School of Mines is the site of the first Student Chapter of the Society of Economic Geologists. The Student Chapter is extremely active and organizes field trips, short courses, guest speakers (one to three a month during semesters), dinners, and the biannual Student Showcase which highlights student research.
We are always looking for motivated individuals direct from university or from private industry who are looking to increase their knowledge and expertise in economic geology. Please contact any of the faculty in the economic geology program for further information concerning the program or graduate applications.
Economic Geology Program Faculty
Graduate Courses in Economic Geology
Ransome Ore Deposit Collection
CSM Student Chapter of the Society of Economic Geologists
Department of Geology and Geological Engineering
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