POSTGRADUATE GEOLOGY UNIVERSITY OF LIMPOPO BACHELOR OF SCIENCE HONOURS (BSc Hons) (Geology) Aims and Objectives o To offer the student BSc Honours (Geology) degree which will enable the graduate to either register for higher degrees or be employed in areas where a degree in Geology is required. Admission Requirements o To be admitted into the BSc (Honours) Geology Programme, an aggregate of at least 60% in the third year modules in Geology is required. Students who obtain an aggregate of less than 60% may be granted conditional admission which will be reviewed depending on the progress of the student. Duration of Curriculum and Subjects o The curriculum shall extend over at least one year. Students must register and pass all the four courses offered in the first semester, as well as GEOL 727 and any two of the asterisked courses in the second semester. Continuous Assessment and End of Semester Summative Assessment o A two hour paper is written in each of the registered courses except GEOL 722. To pass, a minimum of 50% final mark is required for each of the registered courses. Module Structure Semester 1 Module Code Module Name Credits GEOL 701 Geology of South Africa & Africa and Advanced Structural Geology, Hydrogeology and Basin Analysis GEOL 711 Advanced Geochemistry, Geophysics and Petrology GEOL 722 Research Project Semester 2 GEOL 702 Industrial Minerals, Ore Deposits and Mining Geology GEOL 712 Geochemical & Mineralogical Instrumentation Techniques
GEOL 722 Research Project Course / Module Descriptions GEOL 701 Geology of South Africa & Africa, Advanced Structural Geology, Hydrogeology and Basin Analysis Credits: 5 X 45 minutes 1 x 3 hours 1 x 45 minutes 1 Geology of South Africa as a part of Southern Africa; the main crustal provinces of the region. Structural and stratigraphic framework of South Africa. The major rock units in South Africa and their time-space relationships. Crustal structure of Africa based on major geological provinces of the earth and stages of their evolution. Crustal growth, cratons and belts. Position within supercontinents Rodinia, Gondwana, Pangea. Major geological provinces of the African continent: Main geological structures, their temporal evolution and spatial relationships: tectonism, magmatism and sedimentation. Advanced aspects of structural geology: understanding brittle and ductile deformation in extensional and compressional environments. Facies sequence and models; flow regime and theory of flow; vadose zone, phreatic zone and deep burial diagenesis. Types of sedimentary basins and depositional style, basin evolution, and sequence stratigraphy. Principles of groundwater flow; analytical groundwater flow solutions; aquifer testing and evaluation; pumping test analysis; basic groundwater chemistry; solute and contaminant transport; design, construction and maintenance of wells; drilling techniques. Sedimentological, structural and geomorphological aspects of groundwater occurrence on regional and local scales; primary and secondary controls of porosity and permeability; vertical and lateral variations of facies; structural controls: jointing, faulting and folding; recharge and discharge. Entry Assumption: NQF Level 6 Pre-requisite: GEOL 301 GEOL 711 Advanced Geochemistry, Geophysics and Petrology Credits:
5 X 45 minutes 1 x 3 hours 1 x 45 minutes 1 Advanced geochemical concepts in geology; aqueous solutions, isotope geochemistry, thermodynamics and surficial equilibria. Geochemical principles in geochemical exploration and the environment. Acquisition and analysis of geochemical data. Element dispersion and isotopic fractionation applied to geologic scenarios. shallow, subsurface conditions, including influence of fluids on the physical properties of near surface materials; electrical, high resolution seismic and gravity methods. 2D- and 3D - resistivity, seismic and GPR surveys; high-resolution transient EM surveys; advanced electrical and electromagnetic methods to minerals exploration and groundwater. Integrated approach to geophysical problems, data collection and processing; combined inversion of geophysical data. Advanced aspects of metamorphic and igneous petrology relating to geothermobarometry, pressure-temperature histories of metamorphic rocks, tectonic settings and heat sources of metamorphism, thermal modelling, metamorphic fluids, reaction- and deformation-related microstructures, geochronology continental flood basalts, granite, komatiite, and layered intrusions; as well as crustal evolution, magma genesis and mineralization processes. Entry Assumption: NQF Level 6 GEOL 702 Industrial Minerals, Ore Deposits and Mining Geology Credits: 5 X 45 minutes 1 x 3 hours 1 x 45 minutes 2 Industrial minerals, geology and mineralogy governing the formation of industrial mineral deposits, quality requirements for processing with special reference to the clays and clay minerals. Ore deposit genesis studies, hydrothermal deposits, volcanichosted sulphide deposits, sediment-hosted sulphide deposits, Carbonate-hosted deposits and structural controls governing mineralisation. Mineral processing technology, mineralogy related to ore processing. Geostatistics. Surface and Underground Mines
Entry Assumption: NQF Level 6 Pre-requisite: GEOL 302 GEOL 712 Geochemical and Mineraolgy Instrumentation Techniques Credits: 5 X 45 minutes 1 x 3 hours 1 x 45 minutes 2 Principles and use of inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS), ion chromatography (IC), x-ray fluorescence (XRF), atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM, TEM), differential thermal analyzer (DTA) with hands on experience. Entry Assumption: NQF Level 6 Pre-requisite: GEOL 302 Co-requisites: GEOL 722 Research Project Credits: 40 1 & 2 Literature survey, fieldwork, laboratory work, seminar presentation, project write up. Mode of assessment: Seminars and Project report.
Entry Assumption: NQF Level 6 Pre-requisite: Co-requisites: GEOL 701 MASTER OF SCIENCE IN GEOLOGY (MSc) Aims and Objectives o To offer the candidate a Master of Science degree in Geology which will enable the graduate to either register for higher degrees or be employed in areas where graduate degree in Geology is required. Admission Requirements o A BSc (Honours) in Geology or allied discipline. Candidates with any related academic qualifications may be considered. Duration of Curriculum o The curriculum shall extend at least over a period of two years. Programme Requirements o The M.Sc. degree is a research degree which is awarded on the basis of a written dissertation. The degree is done under the supervision of the academic staff within the classical sections of Geology Continuous Assessment and End of Module Examination o There is no coursework component. To pass, the candidate must obtain a minimum of 50%. DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN GEOLOGY (PhD) Aims and Objectives To offer the candidate a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Geology which will enable the graduate to be employed in areas where graduate degree in Geology is required. Admission Requirements A MSc degree in Geology or allied discipline. Candidates with any related academic qualifications may be considered. Duration of Curriculum The curriculum shall extend at least over a period of three years.
Programme Requirements The PhD degree is a research degree which is awarded on the basis of a written dissertation. The degree is done under the supervision of the academic staff within the classical sections of Geology.