Exploration Field Skills Mapping
Dates: 1st Feb 2026 - 8th Feb 2026
Time, Date, Location of first Meeting: Tasmanian based students (or interstate students already in Hobart) are to meet at the Mineral Resources Tasmania (MRT) Core Library carpark (93 Mornington Rd, Mornington) at 9:00 am on Sunday 2nd of February . Students flying in from Victoria should be on Flight No. JQ703 departing Melbourne at 6.35am (T4) and arriving in Hobart at 7.50 am . Upon arriving, interstate students should should wait in the public drop-off/pick up area directly the terminal . You will be collected from there by the course leader/s around 8:30 am.
We return to Hobart by ~2.00 pm on the final day of the mapping camp. So, you should not book a return flight to Melbourne that departs before 3.00 pm on Sunday 9 February 2024. Jetstar have return flights leaving Hobart at 3.35 pm (JQ708) and 4.45 pm (JQ710), which would both be suitable returning flights on Sunday 9 February.
Enrolled students will be emailed contact information so that instructors can be notified of delayed flights etc.
Costs and How to Pay:
You will need to book and pay for their your own accommodation in Hobart for Sunday night (2nd February) and for any previous nights in Hobart if you arrive earlier. From Monday 3rd to Sunday morning (9th February) we will be based at the Mountain View Motel in Queenstown. Accommodation (6 nights) in Queenstown is covered by the course fee of $500. Rooms are basic twin-share back-packer style with all bedding provided. You will be advised on how to pay for the course at a later date.
Course Description:
The Exploration Field Skills (EFS) mapping camp provides you with the opportunity to develop skills (or enhance existing skills) in geological mapping, core logging and structural analysis, within a mineral exploration context.
During the week-long camp in western Tasmania, you will map, interpret and ultimately assess the exploration potential of a 4−5 km2 area of Cambrian Mount Read Volcanics. The rock sequence exposed in the mapping area is similar to that hosting the nearby Rosebery and Hercules volcanic-hosted massive sulphide (VHMS) deposits, located 5−10 km to the north. The mapping area could also be prospective for Devonian base metal deposits. The Devonian deposits are typically much smaller than the Cambrian VHMS deposits and structurally- rather than stratigraphically-controlled. To date, eight diamond drill holes have explored the subsurface geology of the
mapping area. You will log and inspect cores from three of these drill holes during on the first day of the mapping camp. One of these holes intersected a narrow interval of low-grade base metal mineralisation.
Over the course of the week, you will combine the insights from field mapping and core logging to unravel the stratigraphy and structure of the area, as well as the nature and extent of any hydrothermal alteration. This provides the basis of an assessment of the future exploration potential of the area.
Further course and assessment information can be found at:
Teacher: Robert Scott