Module Identifier EA22520  
Module Title EARTH RESOURCES  
Academic Year 2007/2008  
Co-ordinator Dr Charles Bendall  
Semester Semester 2 (Taught over 2 semesters)  
Other staff Dr Nicholas J G Pearce, Professor Alex Maltman, Dr Stephen Tooth  
Pre-Requisite EA11600 OR EA11510 EA11600 Rocks and Minerals or EA11510 Planet Earth  
Course delivery Lecture   34 Hours. Energy 3 x 3 hrs; Water 4 x 2 hrs; Bulk Materials 3 x 3 hrs; Metals 4 x 2 hrs  
  Practical   16 Hours. Water 4 x 1 hr; Bulk Materials 2 x 3 hrs; Metals 2 x 2 hrs, 2 x 1 hr  
Assessment
Assessment TypeAssessment Length/DetailsProportion
Semester Exam Semester 1: Examination (Metals)  25%
Semester Exam2 Hours Semester 2: Examination (Water Resources/Building Materials)  25%
Semester Assessment Semester 1: In course essay (Energy Resources)25%
Semester Assessment Semester 2: In course essay and practicals. Essay (Water Resources); & assessed practicals (sands and gravels) (equally weighted)25%
Semester Assessment   
Supplementary Exam2 Hours Resit failed exam/s  50%
Supplementary Assessment Resubmit failed components  50%

Learning outcomes

On succesful completion of this module, students should be able to demonstrate knowledge of:-





Aims

The aim of this module is to introduce students to the most important of Earth's physical resources in terms of their use, formation, exploration, extraction, processing and environmental impacts. This will be structured under four main topics: Energy; Water; Bulk Materials and Metals

Brief description

Content

Course outline is as follows:

  1. General introduction and introduction to energy
  2. Electricity: the U.K. National Grid. Nuclear Power
  3. Coal and hydrocarbons (oil and gas)
  4. Geothermal and renewable energy
  5. Renewable energy, hydropower, geothermal energy
  6. Water cycle
  7. Surface water
  8. Groundwater
  9. Hydrogeology
  10. Building stones and bricks
  11. Aggregates and cement
  12. Sands and gravels
  13. Sands and gravels (practical)
  14. Sands and gravels (practical)
  15. Mineral extraction and processing
  16. Iron
  17. Aluminium
  18. Base metal deposits (lead, zinc, copper)
  19. Uranium and strategic metals
  20. Gold and precious metals

Reading Lists

Books
** Recommended Text
Bishop, V. and Prosser, R (1986) Water Resources
Edwards, R. and Atkinson, K (1986) Ore Deposit Geology
Manning, D.A.C (1994) Introduction to Industrial Minerals
Ramage, J (1997) Energy
Wills, B.A (1997) Mineral Processing Technology

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 5