Timing of mineralization in the palm of your hand: Cross-cutting relations, copper minerals and ore-forming hydrothermal fluid evolution
This lab is designed to familiarize students with the geologic history of an ore-deposit, deciphered in the palm of your hand. By determining cross cutting relations of veins and mineralogy, students decipher the evolution of mineralizing fluids that formed the minerals of a copper ore deposit.
Context
Audience: This exercise is used in a sophomore or junior level required course in petrology.
Skills and concepts that students must have mastered: Students should have an understanding of basic geologic principles (cross-cutting relationships) and basic petrology.
How the activity is situated in the course: This activity is a stand-alone exercise.
Goals
Content/concepts goals for this activity: This activity is designed to teach students about the formation of ore deposits by utilizing information from cross-cutting relationships and order of mineralization.
Higher order thinking skills goals for this activity: This activity involves analyzing data.
Other skills goals for this activity:
Description of the activity/assignment
This lab is designed to familiarize students with the geologic history of an ore-deposit, deciphered in the palm of your hand. By determining cross cutting relations of veins and mineralogy, students decipher the evolution of mineralizing fluids that formed the minerals of a copper ore deposit.
This lab accompanies lectures/classes in economic geology and ore mineralogy, either in a mineralogy or petrology course. It can also accompany studies of fluid rock interactions, fracture flow, fluid evolution, or geochemistry; or these topics be woven together using this lab as a base. This lab exercise also integrates previously learned material: cross-cutting relationships (Introductory Geology),with determination of mineralogy (Mineralogy), review of idochromatic elements producing color and their use in mineral identification (Mineralogy),chemistry of the fluids (Geochemistry), and changes in fluids with time during hydrothermal alteration events (Economic Geology). It also demonstrates the linkage between fluid composition, igneous petrology, ore geology and mineralogy.
Determining whether students have met the goals
Students have met the goals of this assignment if they are able to complete the laboratory exercise accurately and completely.
More information about assessment tools and techniques.Download teaching materials and tips
- Activity Description/Assignment (Acrobat (PDF) 57kB Jul14 03)
- Instructors Notes (Acrobat (PDF) 72kB Jul14 03)
Other Materials
- Images of slabs and activity diagrams (Acrobat (PDF) 142kB Jul14 03)
Supporting references/URLs
