CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE IN MINERALOGY

PROGRAMME OF STUDIES OFFERED

The Centre offers Ph.D. and M.Phil. degree programmes. All programmes are research oriented and require extensive field and laboratory work. Strong aptitude for high level independent and/or guided research is the pre-requisite for all the programmes. All admissions are subject to the approval by the Academic Committee of the Centre and the Committee for Advanced Studies and Research, University of Balochistan. The Centre follows the admission and registration policies of the University of Balochistan. Each academic year is divided into two terms as per following schedule:

First Term                                                        5th March to 20th July

Second Term                                                    1st August to 15th December

Winter Field work Season        15th December to 28th February

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS FOR M.PHIL

(1)                    M.Sc. in Geology 1^st Division or equivalent qualification from HEC recognized University

(2)                    GAT (General Aptitude Test) through NTS

 DEGREE REQUIREMENTS FOR M.PHIL

1.         The candidates will need to complete 30 credit hours out of which 24 credit hours will be reserved for course work and 6 credit hours for thesis. The course work should be completed in the first two terms of the programme followed by comprehensive examination.

2.         . Two seminars, first in the second term and the second one in the fourth term

3.         Each student presents four copies of the thesis on the topic that he chooses prior to registration or in the first semester of the programme.

4.         Physical presence of the students is necessary during the first two years

 ENTRY REQUIREMENTS FOR PH.D

 1.                     M.Phil. or MS in Geology/Mineralogy in 1^st division or 3.00 CGPA from HEC recognized University

2.                     Subject GRE (International) test or equivalent 

 DEGREE REQUIREMENTS FOR PH.D

1.                    18 credit hours course work followed by comprehensive examination.

2.                    Acceptance/publication of at least one research paper in HEC recognized/ approved journals

3.                    Thesis will be evaluated by at least two expert from technologically advanced countries

4.                    Open thesis defense

DESCRIPTION OF COURSES

Research Methodology

This course is compulsory for all the students and is taught by the Research Supervisor. The course contents are determined by the concerned research supervisor considering the Research Project of the student and the field of specialization.

 Course No. MP1.       Industrial Geology

Introduction to processes of formation of mineral deposits and their classification. Distribution of ore deposits in relation to plate tectonics. Geology, occurrence and important features of deposits of chromite, platinum group elements and gold. Types of uranium deposits. Important features of porphyry deposits, Cu-Ni-Fe deposits, volcanic hosted massive sulphide deposits, Mississippi valley type deposits, kimberlites, carbonatites, greisen deposits, skarn deposits and placer deposits. Geology, occurrence, properties and uses of clays, ceramic materials, structural and building materials, sand, gravel and lightweight aggregates, gypsum, anhydrite, lime, magnesite, pigments and fillers, heat and sound insulators, fluorspar, graphite, refractories, asbestos, mica, talc, barite, glass sands, potash, sulphur and abrasives. Ore reserves calculations. An introduction to geophysical exploration methods. Exploration of massive sulphide ores, disseminated sulphide ores, iron ores. Radioactivity surveys. Geiger and scintillation counters. Underground mining methods. Coal. Coal depositional models. Chemical analyses of coal. Mechanical tests of coal. Coal formation and coalification. Coal constituents, lithotypes, coal macerals. Coal utilization, combustion and coke manufacture. Gasification.

 Course No. MP2.       Applied Mineralogy

Classification of minerals. Atomic structures and important diagnostic properties of feldspars, pyroxenes, amphiboles, micas, garnets, epidote, zeolites, oxides, hydroxides, carbonates and sulfides. Atomic structure, classification and identification of clay minerals and mixed layer clay minerals. Gemstones and their mineralogical properties. Introductory crystallography. Crystal lattices. Fluid inclusion studies. Ore mineral textures. Powder method of X-ray diffraction: principles, sample preparation. loading the camera, operating conditions, diffractometer techniques, indexing lines and mineral identification. Electron probe microanalysis: principles, carbon coating, X-ray spectrometers, the Si (Li) detector, computing techniques in EDS analysis, ZAF corrections. Cathodoluminescence.

 Course No. MP3.       Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology

Magmatic evolution. Fractionation in magmas. Convection and mixing in magma chambers. Contamination. Mixing of magmas. Hybridization. Assimilation. Partial melting. Basalts. Basalt petrogenesis in relation to tectonic environments. Alpine peridotites. Serpentinization. Ophiolites. Semailo ophiolite. Troodos ophiolite. Ophiolites of Pakistan. Kimberlites. Lamprophyres. Alkaline rocks. Nephelinites and carbonatites. Layered intrusions. Introduction to phase diagrams. Phase Rule. Binary diagrams. Lever Rule. Fractional crystallization and melting. Congruent melting. Systems MgO-SiO₂; albite-anorthite and forsterite-fayalite. Ternary systems diagrams. Field relations of metamorphic rocks. Structures and textures of metamorphic rocks. Metamorphic rocks of the ocean floor. ACF and AFM diagrams. The concept of metamorphic facies. Facies of regional metamorphism. Facies of contact metamorphism.

 Course No. MP4.       Applied Geochemistry

Variation diagrams for igneous rocks. Igneous rocks geochemistry as petrogenetic indicator. Trace elements and rare earth elements in magmatic evolution. General chemical properties and abundances of rare earth elements. Geochemistry in mineral exploration. Introduction to inductively coupled plasma spectrometry. Atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Presentation of chemical data of rock and mineral analyses. Eh -pH diagrams. Various types of chemical surveys. Primary and secondary dispersion. Automated X-ray fluorescence in geochemical exploration. Isotope geoscience. Nuclear systematics. Nuclear stability and abundance. Decay mechanism of radioactive atoms. Various methods of dating. Radioisotopes and their use in petrogenesis. Stable isotopes and their applications in petrogenesis and ore genesis. Introduction to mass spectrometry. Isotope dilution analysis. Kar method of dating Rb-Sr method of dating and its applications in petrogenesis. Sm-Nd method and its applications in petrogenesis and dating igneous rocks. The U-Pb method of dating. Environmental geochemistry. Meteorites, their classification, mineralogy and composition. Use of rare earth elements in meteoritics.

 Course No. MP5.       Sedimentology

Sedimentary textures, grain size, particle morphology, fabric and statistical parameters. Sedimentary structures: Structures on the upper and lower bedding surfaces, paleocurrent analyses. Depositional structures in mud, mudstone, shale, sand, sandstone, gravel, conglomerate, breccia. Depositional structures of chemical and biochemical origin. Structures formed by deformation. Classification of sedimentary rocks. Classification and petrography of sandstone. Classification and petrology of shales. Classification of limestone, petrography of limestone and dolomite. Limestone facies. Sedimentary environment and facies analysis. Continental environment. Fluvial, aeolian and lacustrine and glacial environment. Deltaic, beach, barrier islands, estuaries, linear clastic shorelines, shelves, lagoonal, carbonate- evaporite shorelines. Oceanic environments. Oceanic processes. Clastic oceanic environment. Pelagic oceanic sediments. Sedimentary basins and tectonics. Mechanisms, concepts and classification of basins. Global tectonic settings and sedimentation. Interior basins. rifts and aulacogens. Passive continental margins. Ocean basins and rises. Subduction related settings. Strike-slip transform fault related settings. Collision related settings. Provenance: Definition and concepts. Mineral source rock, mineral stability, heavy mineral zones, factors controlling heavy mineral assemblages. Methods of separation and analysis. Diagenesis, major diagenetic processes, diagenetic environment, major effects of diagenesis. Diagenesis of sandstones, coal and carbonate.

 Course No. MP6.       Structural Geology And Tectonics

Measurement of attitudes. Geological structure sections. Types of cross sections. Busk method of constructing sections. Balanced cross sections. Block diagrams. Stereographic projection and its use for folded rocks. Stereographic poles and rotations. Faults, kinds of faults. normal faults, strike-slip faults, thrust faults, shear zones, fault zones. Folds classification, mechanism of folding. Joints. Columnar joints. Sheet structure. Cleavage. Wrench zones. Rift zones. Diapiric structures. Melanges. Properties and deformation of lithosphere. Stress generation in lithosphere. Mantle convection. Plate movement. Various kinds of plate boundaries. Triple junctions. Divergent tectonic regimes. Convergent tectonic regimes. Intraplate tectonism. The oceanic crust. Morphology and structure of ocean basins. Hot spots and mantle plumes. Island arcs. Back-arc basins. Active continental margins. Continental rift zones. Collision zones. Rates of uplift. Present day magmatism in relation to plate tectonics. Geomagnetism. Lithosphere tectonics and plate boundaries of Pakistan. Tectonics of the Himalayas and the Karakoram.

FEE FOR M.PHIL AND PH.D. 

                                                                        M.PHIL                                  Ph.D.

Registration                                                      1350/-                                      1350/-

Tuition Fee                                                       4200/-                                      5250/-

Course Examination Fee                                   1350/-                                      1350/-

Thesis Viva                                                       1800/-                                      2250/-

Caution Money (Non-refundable)                     675/-                                       675/-