The Faculty of Science at the University of Copenhagen is proud to announce a short-course to be given by Professor Laurence Robb, University of Oxford, on the topic of ore-forming processes and metal resources – the course addresses pertinent issues related to the nature and origin of metal supply for sustainable technologies of the future.

Aim and content The course will last 5 days, starting at 9:00 and ending at 16:30 each day, for a workload of 40 hours. Students will need to spend 10 hours of preparation by reading the textbook 'Introduction to Ore-forming Processes' by Laurence Robb. Finally, the students will spend 5 hours preparing an essay that reflects on one aspect of the course that they think needs to be prioritized in order to secure the sustainable supply of metals to modern societies in the future. The total course load is therefore 55 hours or 2 ECTS. The PhD course ‘Ore-forming processes and the supply of future metal resources’ is focused on the geological processes involved in the formation of the entire spectrum of magmatic, hydrothermal, and surface-derived mineral deposits that are critical to the existence of modern societies. We additionally discuss the concepts of critical metal supply, the circular economy and limiting factors for development of “green” technologies. We begin by outlining ore mineral classifications, metal uses, global production trends and economic feedbacks. We then systematically review the main geological processes that are responsible for the concentration of economic metal resources in different geological environments, and relate these to plate tectonics and crustal evolution on a global scale. Finally, we discuss the environmental impacts of mining, as well as the fundamental importance of continuous metal supply for the development of advanced technologies and for the transition towards sustainable energy. This course is lecture-based, but requires substantial additional reading as support to the presentations. The deadline for course registration is August 24th 2022. As a PhD-student, you can enroll in the course free of charge. The venue is the Øster Voldgade 10, Department of Geosciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

If you have any questions, please get in touch with Assistant Professor Kristoffer Szilas, University of Copenhagen: krsz@ign.ku.dk

About the lecturer:
Professor Laurence Robb´s geological and research interests are in the field of ore genesis, in particular the processes by which mineral deposits form and the factors that control their distribution in space and time. He has worked on many of the great mineral districts of the African continent (Witwatersrand Basin; Bushveld Complex; Central African Copperbelt; Birimian gold deposits of West Africa), but his principal expertise is in granite petrogenesis and associated mineral deposits.