Critical minerals for a low CO2 future (ERTH1005)

Course overview

The course is designed to appeal to Science, Engineering, and Business students interested in how mineral sciences and mineral availability impact our society's ability to implement a low-carbon future and protect the environment. It introduces mineralogy to first-year students and is a prerequisite for students pursuing several second-year level courses in Earth Sciences. Minerals are the fundamental building units of the rocks that make up the Earth and other planets in the solar system. This course will examine the chemical and crystallographic features that distinguish different groups of minerals from one another and explain why different types of mineral are found in specific parts of the Earth and solar system. You will learn about the major classes of mineral including silicates, carbonates, phosphates, oxides, hydroxides, sulphates and sulphides, their significance, common uses, and how to recognise their defining features in hand specimen and under a microscope. Silicates are the main building blocks of the terrestrial planets and are used in ceramics, electronics, buildings and as aggregates. Minerals have been critically important in the evolution of life, carbonate and silica form invertebrate exoskeletons, and vertebrate teeth and bones are made of phosphates. Engineered precipitation of carbonate minerals provides one possible mechanism of removing CO2 from the atmosphere. Phosphates are a major host for rare earth elements and sulphides and oxides host Cu, Ni, and Co, which are strategic elements needed for electric cars and smart phones. The course will briefly examine how different minerals contain the elements needed for modern society and how the mineralogical controls on these elements impact strategies for their extraction.

The transition from a fossil-fuels-based to an electricity-based economy will require an unprecedented amount of minerals, many so called Critical Minerals. Finding, extracting, processing, and delivering these minerals to the market place poses a major geological, economic, engineering, and environmental challenge. Minerals are the building blocks of rocks, sediments, dust, and other solid materials on Earth and all terrestrial planets, asteroid, comets, and interstellar dust in the universe. They contain clues about planetary origin and evolution, including their oceans and atmospheres. This courses investigates modern quantitative scientific approaches to the discovery of new mineral wealth, including the physico-chemical investigation of mineral properties and how these properties can be used to decipher the clues that minerals preserve in terms of past events and environments that may aid in their discovery.ﾠThe course blends fundamental theoretical and descriptive aspects of chemistry, mineralogy, crystallography, and mineral chemistry with modern quantitative mineralogical analysis. Lectures and practicalﾠclasses focus on the physical, chemical, and optical properties of minerals of specific interest, ﾠhow we measure these properties,ﾠ and the processes that control mineral formation in igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary environments. The closely integrated lecture-practical components teachﾠ students how to recognize the main rock-forming minerals in hand specimens and thin sections, and how to use modern analytical techniques, such as ﾠX-ray diffractometry (XRD),ﾠ scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and electron microprobe analysis to identify mineral phases, to obtain information about crystalline structure, and to acquire high-resolution surface images and chemical analyses of minerals. Characterization is essential for developing pathways for the beneficial use of these resources.

Course requirements

Recommended prerequisites

We recommend completing the following courses before enrolling in this one:

ERTH1000 or ERTH1501

Incompatible

You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:

ERTH2005

Course contact

Course staff

Timetable

The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.

Additional timetable information

There are two 3-hour contact sessions, which will include both lecture and practical material at various times.ﾠ

• Thursday 9:00 am - 12:00 pm, Building 3 (Steele Building), Room 229
• Friday 9:00 am - 12:00 pm,ﾠBuilding 3 (Steele Building), Room 229

Note: Attendance ﾠis mandatory.

Please see section 4 (Learning Activities) or the Blackboard site of this course forﾠa schedule of weekly lectures and practicals, and course quizzes ﾠand exams.

Aims and outcomes

This course aims to be of broad interest to Science, Engineering and Business students interested in how mineral science can help address some of the biggest challenges faced by society moving to a low-carbon future. In addition, it aims to teach students the characteristics of major mineral groups, how to identify minerals in hand specimen and with an optical microscope and introduce students to concepts around mineral stability, some mineral reactions, and how minerals are formed (e.g. mineral paragenesis). This course is a prerequisite for second year Earth Science courses.

Learning outcomes

After successfully completing this course you should be able to:

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment details

MID-TERM EXAM

Mode

Written

Category

Examination, Quiz

Weight

15%

Task description

Exam details

Submission guidelines

Deferral or extension

You may be able to defer this exam.

Deferral according to University rules, with School/Faculty approval.

FINAL PRACTICAL EXAM

• In-person

Mode

Written

Category

Examination

Weight

20%

Other conditions

Student specific.

See the conditions definitions

Task description

Exam details

Submission guidelines

Submit to course coordinator at the end of the exam.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to defer this exam.

Deferral requires School/Faculty approval.

CRITICAL MINERAL GROUP PROJECT

• Team or group-based

Mode

Written

Category

Paper/ Report/ Annotation, Project

Weight

30%

Due date

28/10/2024 4:00 pm

Task description

Submission guidelines

Critical Mineral Project to be submitted via Turnitin.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

Must be approved by School/Faculty.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

Final Exam (Theory)

• In-person

Mode

Written

Category

Examination

Weight

35%

Due date

End of Semester Exam Period

2/11/2024 - 16/11/2024

Other conditions

Student specific.

See the conditions definitions

Task description

Exam details

Submission guidelines

Deferral or extension

You may be able to defer this exam.

Deferral according to University rules, with School/Faculty approval.

Course grading

Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.

Additional course grading information

The course grade will be established by combining the marks for all assessment items according to the weighting given in section 5.1. However, to pass this course you must also attain a mark of 50% or above in the final theory examination.

Supplementary assessment

Supplementary assessment is available for this course.

Should you fail a course with a grade of 3, you may be eligible for supplementary assessment. Refer to my.UQ for information on supplementary assessment and how to apply.

Supplementary assessment provides an additional opportunity to demonstrate you have achieved all the required learning outcomes for a course.

If you apply and are granted supplementary assessment, the type of supplementary assessment set will consider which learning outcome(s) have not been met.

Supplementary assessment can take any form (such as a written report, oral presentation, examination or other appropriate assessment) and may test specific learning outcomes tailored to the individual student, or all learning outcomes.

To receive a passing grade of 3S4, you must obtain a mark of 50% or more on the supplementary assessment.

Additional assessment information

Applications for Extensions

Information on applying for an extension can be found here - my.UQ Applying for an extension

Extension applications must be received by the assessment due date and time.

If you are unable to provide documentation to support your application by the due date and time you must still submit your application on time and attach a Word document outlining why you cannot provide the documentation and upload the documentation to the portal within 24 hours.

Please note: While your extension request is being considered, you should work towards completing and submitting your assessment as soon as possible.

If you have been ill or unable to attend class for more than 4 weeks in a semester, we advise you to carefully consider whether you are capable of successfully completing your courses. You might need to consider applying for removal of course. We strongly recommend you seek advice from the Faculty that administers your program.

Extensions with Student Access Plans (SAP)

For extensions up to 7 days, your SAP is all that is required as documentation to support your application. However, extension requests longer than 7 days (for any one assessment item) will require the submission of additional supporting documentation e.g., a medical certificate. A maximum of two applications may be submitted for any one assessment item, unless exceptional circumstances can be demonstrated. All extension requests must be received by the assessment due date and time. 

The assessment tasks in this course evaluate students’ abilities, skills and knowledge without the aid of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Students are advised that the use of AI technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and may constitute misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.

Turnitin

By submitting work through Turnitin you are deemed to have accepted the following declaration “I certify that this assignment is my own work and has not been submitted, either previously or concurrently, in whole or in part, to this University or any other educational institution, for marking or assessment”.

All students must ensure they receive their Turnitin receipt on submission of any assessments. A valid Turnitin receipt will be the only evidence accepted if assessments are missing. Without evidence, the assessment will receive the standard late penalty, or after five days, will receive zero.

In the case of a Blackboard outage, please contact the Course Coordinator as soon as possible to confirm the outage with ITS.

Weekly practical exercises:

Weekly practical exercisesﾠ to gain experience in using ﾠphysical properties, microscopy techniques, and spectroscopic techniques in mineral identification and evaluation.

There are 11 exercises in total, which will be undertaken during class. Practical exercises commence in class on Thursday and continue in class on Friday.

In-class quizzes and practical exams:

Four in-class quizzes, each of about 10 minutes' duration, will be administered at unspecified times at the beginning of class throughout the semesterﾠ and are designed to: (1) encourage you to keep on top of lecture and laboratory/practical lessons and exercises; (2) to assess your mastery of the material; and (3) most importantly, to provide feedback regarding your progress throughout the semester.

Study material for "in-class quizzes" will come from lecture material, lecture notes, and the exercises carried out in the practicals.

In-class quizzes and practical exams should be completely legible with well-labelled sketches and drawings when applicable. Responses that are not readable will receive a score of zero.

Final exams

There will be one "theory" and one "practical" final exam. The "theory" final exam will assess your overall command of: (1) principles of crystal chemistry, (2) fundamental physical, crystallographic and chemical properties of common rock-forming silicate and nonsilicate minerals, (3) modern methods used to study minerals, (4) mineral paragenesis, (5) uses and importance of common rock-forming minerals in understanding Earth materials, processes and evolution, and (6) using basic command of (1)-(5) to secure resources for growing population in a resources- and capacity-finite planet.

The "practical" final exam will assess your overall command of: (1) use of a petrographic microscope to identify and characterize minerals, (2) identification of minerals in hand samples, and (3) understanding of mineral associations and textures in rocks, using this information to interpret something about geological formation conditions and history of a rock in hand sample or thin section, and using the gathered information to decide where to find and how to extract resources from specific minerals.

NOTE: obtaining a mark of 50% or above on the final theory exam is a hurdle that must be cleared in order to pass the course as a whole. Failing the theory exam will result in an overall 'fail' grade, irrespective of marks for other assessed items.

Learning resources

You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.

Library resources

Library resources are available on the UQ Library website.

Other course materials

Additional learning resources information

• MINDATﾠ- a constantlyﾠupdated database with all known mineral species, physical properties (although not as complete as Web Mineral, below), site and specimen photographs, and discussion fora. It links to Web Mineral (below) and other databases.
• RRUFFTM- a growing database of spectroscopic, X-ray diffraction and other data for minerals, originated at the University of Arizona.
• Web Mineral - a mineralogical database with a complete set of chemical and physical data of minerals. This is a great place to look for reliable mineral data, and links to other databases.
• Mineralogical Society of Antwerp - a Europe-centred base from which to find other mineral sites including rock shops, science sites, etc.
• Bob's Rock Shopﾠ- another motherlode of links, but this time based in the USA.
• Mineralogical Society of Queensland - your local society for mineral and gemstone afficionados.
• 3D Rocks: https://sketchfab.com/nate_sid/collections/igneous-petrology
• 3D Minerals: https://sketchfab.com/nate_sid/collections/minerals
• https://jp-minerals.org/vesta/en/download.html
• Mineral structural data:ﾠhttp://rruff.geo.arizona.edu/AMS/amcsd.php
• http://www.designlife-cycle.com
• https://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/minerals/critical-minerals/critical-minerals-and-their-uses
• https://www.usgs.gov/news/national-news-release/us-geological-survey-releases-2022-list-critical-minerals

ﾠ

Learning activities

The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.

Policies and procedures

University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:

• Student Code of Conduct Policy
• Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
• Assessment Procedure
• Examinations Procedure
• Reasonable Adjustments - Students Policy and Procedure

Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.