Mon

27 Jan

Students Prep for Colombia Trip!

The Laurentian University Society of Economic Geologists student chapter (LU-SEG) is organizing a 13-day long tour of the regional geology and mining districts of the Central and Eastern Colombia.

Colombia is one of the most geologically diverse countries in South America with developing production of copper, gold, and emeralds. The main purpose of this trip will be to expose students to Northern Andean metallogeny and other unique mineral deposits including Cu-Au porphyry, intermediate to high sulfidation epithermal, and emerald deposits. 

After arriving in Medellin, students will visit the Segovia porphyry mine to examine current mining operations and exploration efforts. The following day will be spent with students and professors from EAFIT Universidad on a day trip around the Medellin area to learn about local geology and metallogeny and to meet the EAFIT SEG student chapter. The following days will be spent visiting the Titiribi porphyry deposit, the Marmato porphyry mine, and the Cisneros epithermal deposit. Before leaving the Medellin area, students will get to visit a coffee farm and see the coffee producing process.

After leaving Medellin, students will get to visit the Rio Claro nature reserve and spend a day doing ecotourism while observisng the spectacular karstic landscape. The following day, students will drive to Zipaquira to visit an underground cathedral has been built into a giant salt dome. The next three days will be spent in the Gachala area visiting emerald mines and doing ecotourism. The final day of the trip will be a free day in Colombia's capital, Bogota, before flying back to Sudbury.

This trip has been made possible by generous donations from the Harquail School of Earth Sciences, the Mineral Exploration Research Centre, the Society of Economic Geologists, the Prospector's and Developper's Association of Canada, and Lundin Mining as well as collaboration with EAFIT students and professors.