Mining Engineering
Exploration and Geology
Mining & Minerals Exploration Technology & Geotectonic
Plate tectonics as an exploration tool: why deposit types cluster in particular settings.
- Duration
- 5 days
- Contact hours
- 30
- Level
- Intermediate
- Fee from
- On enquiry
Overview
Mineral deposits are not scattered randomly. They concentrate in tectonic settings that produce the heat, fluid and structure needed to form them, which makes tectonic reasoning the first filter in any regional targeting exercise. This module covers plate tectonic processes and the settings they produce, the metallogenic associations of each, and how terrane analysis and tectonic history are used to rank ground before a single sample is taken.
Who should attend
Exploration geologists and managers working at regional scale, resource geologists, and analysts assessing exploration ground.
What you will be able to do
- Explain plate tectonic processes and the settings they create.
- Associate deposit styles with their tectonic settings.
- Apply terrane analysis to a region.
- Use tectonic history to rank ground.
- Avoid stretching an analogue beyond what it supports.
How it is taught
Short input, then work, across 5 days of roughly 6 teaching hours each. Exercises run on situations delegates bring rather than on a case study written for a different organisation. Cohorts are capped so that everybody is asked something.
Available as classroom, live online, in house.
Programme outline
Day 1
Plate tectonics
- Divergent, convergent and transform margins
- Subduction, collision and rifting
- Mantle plumes and intraplate magmatism
Day 2
Settings and their rocks
- Arcs, back arcs and accretionary complexes
- Rifts, passive margins and cratons
- Orogens and their evolution
Day 3
Metallogeny
- Porphyry and epithermal systems in arcs
- Volcanogenic massive sulphides
- Orogenic gold and collision settings
- Layered intrusions and rift related deposits
Day 4
Terrane analysis
- Recognising and bounding terranes
- Sutures, and what crosses them
- Reconstructions and their uncertainty
Day 5
Applying it
- Regional targeting from tectonic reasoning
- Analogue regions, and where the analogy breaks
- Ranking ground before spending on it
What you leave with
- A tectonic setting analysis for a chosen region.
- A metallogenic association table.
- A ground ranking with the tectonic reasoning stated.
Dates and fees
| Dates | Location | Format | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23 to 27 November 2026 | Maseru, Lesotho | Classroom | R15,000 |
| 30 November 2026 to 4 December 2026 | Cape Town, South Africa | Classroom | R15,000 |
| 7 to 11 December 2026 | Dar es Salaam, Tanzania | Classroom | US$1,500 |
| 14 to 18 December 2026 | Dubai, United Arab Emirates | Classroom | US$1,500 |
Fees are per delegate and cover tuition, all programme materials and the certificate. Travel, accommodation and visas are arranged by the delegate. Registration closes two weeks before a programme starts.
Certificate
A GATI certificate recording what was attended, issued after the programme has run and attendance has been taken. Attending at least 80 per cent of the days earns a certificate of completion; attending less earns a certificate of attendance stating exactly what was attended. Every certificate carries a code that anybody can check against GATI's own record.
It records participation. and GATI does not claim one it does not hold.