Mining Engineering
Exploration and Geology
MINING & MINERALS EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGY (Exploration Field Skills)
The practical fieldcraft of exploration: mapping, sampling, logging, and recording data that survives.
- Duration
- 5 days
- Contact hours
- 30
- Level
- Intermediate
- Fee from
- US$1,500
Overview
This is the hands on module of the series. It covers geological mapping with a compass and a notebook, sampling procedures that give a laboratory something representative, core and chip logging to a standard another geologist can use, and the data discipline that determines whether a season's work is still usable in five years. Field safety and logistics are treated seriously, because remote exploration carries real risk and the planning is part of the skill.
Who should attend
Exploration geologists and field technicians, graduates heading to their first field season, and project geologists supervising field crews.
What you will be able to do
- Map geology in the field using compass, GPS and notebook.
- Take samples that are representative and traceable.
- Log core and chips to a consistent standard.
- Record data so it remains usable long after the season.
- Plan a field programme including safety and logistics.
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
Navigation and mapping
- Compass, clinometer and GPS
- Outcrop mapping and traverse planning
- Notebook discipline and sketching
Day 2
Sampling
- Soil, stream, rock chip and channel sampling
- Representivity and contamination
- Numbering, chain of custody and duplicates
Day 3
Logging
- Core handling, orientation and photography
- Lithology, alteration, mineralisation and structure
- Consistency between loggers
Day 4
Data
- Capture, validation and backup
- Database structure and codes
- Handover and archiving
Day 5
Field operations
- Planning, logistics and supply
- Remote area safety and communication
- Working with landholders and communities
What you leave with
- A mapped area with a field notebook to standard.
- A logged core interval.
- A field programme plan including safety and sampling protocols.
Dates and fees
| Dates | Location | Format | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23 to 27 November 2026 | Kampala, Uganda | Classroom | US$1,500 |
| 30 November 2026 to 4 December 2026 | Lagos, Nigeria | Classroom | US$1,500 |
| 7 to 11 December 2026 | Nairobi, Kenya | Classroom | US$1,500 |
| 14 to 18 December 2026 | Accra, Ghana | 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.