MinSouth recently provided sponsorship to the Imperial College chapter of the Society of Economic Geologists to support a field trip to sites in Morocco. Chetan Nathwani, the student representative, has provided this summary of the trip which was compiled by George Fry, President of the SEG chapter.

“Field experience is an essential part of a well-rounded and effective geological education. Furthermore, interaction with professionals from the mining and mineral exploration industries provides an invaluable opportunity for students to learn and to share ideas. To this end, the Imperial College SEG student chapter organised a field course to Morocco in July of 2017, in order to gain an understanding of the regional geology and diverse ore-forming processes of the country.

The modern-day structures of Atlas Mountains represent the superposition of phases from a complex history of deformation. With multiple contrasting phases of deformation and different styles of mineralisation associated with each stage, the crust of Morocco is enriched in a diverse range of metals and deposit types. Recent legislative developments in Morocco have paved the way for an expansion of the country’s mining industry which, given the diverse and abundant basket of minerals, makes Morocco an exciting country in which to study economic geology.

Visits on the trip included a polymetallic volcanogenic massive-sulphide deposit, a hydrothermal vein copper deposit, a polymetallic molybdenum containing skarn deposit, a porphyry-style copper-gold prospect, a manganese karst deposit and the world-class silver deposit of Imiter. As well as site visits, two days were spent in the Jbel Saghro region of the Anti-Atlas Mountains studying field evidence for magmatic-hydrothermal mineralisation in igneous terranes.

Students were able to participate in the trip at greatly reduced cost due, to the generosity of thesociety’s sponsor organisations and of the industry participants on the trip. The Imperial SEG gratefully acknowledges the support and contribution of those organisations.”

We at MinSouth would also like to thank our sponsors, without whom we would not be able to support activities such as this field trip, which aid the development of young people entering the mining industry.

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