GEOL 3600: Earth and Mineral Resources

Course Syllabus – Fall, 2020

(GEOL 3600 syllabus - 2020.pdf)

[lab syllabus: -]

 Instructor Information

Instructor: James D. Myers
phone: contact me via email or Wyocourses	e-mail: magma@uwyo.edu
Office: -	Office hours: MW 10:00-11:00 am Zoom link: https://uwyo.zoom.us/j/95821743513

 

TA : Dwaipayan Chakraborty
phone: contact me via email or Wyocourses	e-mail: dchakra1@uwyo.edu
Office: -	Office hours: F 11:00-12:00 am Zoom link: https://uwyo.zoom.us/j/99197334447

  

General Course Logistical Information

Credits:	4
USP 2003	SE, G
Prerequisites:	completion of USP 2003 QA and L
USP 2015	P&N
A&S:	G
Prerequisites:	completion of USP 2015 FYS and Q
Class meeting times:	MWF 9:00-9:50 am
Class Location:	EIC 201
Lab meeting times:	sec. 10: Tuesday, 3:10-5:00 pm, ESB 1004 sec. 11: Wednesday, 1:10-3:00 pm, ESB 1004 sec. 12: Thursday, 3:10-5:00 pm, ESB 1004
	(no lab the first week of classes)
Attendance Policy:	Lecture: Although attendance is strongly correlated with success in any class, lecture attendance is not mandatory and will not be monitored. Some topics not covered in the readings will be presented in lecture and there are graded lecture activities and worksheets that are part of the final course grade. All of these are sources for exam questions. Lab: Attendance is mandatory for the lab portion of the class and will be monitored. The lab syllabus, which you will receive the first week of lab, more fully describes how the lab will work, lab attendance policy, and make-up options for missed lab work. University sponsored absences are cleared through the Office of Student Life.
Text(s) and Readings:	There is no required or assigned textbook. All readings are assigned based on material on the Web. This class involves weekly readings for both lecture and lab. Failure to do the readings will hinder your ability to perform successfully in lab case studies and to grasp fully the topics discussed in lecture. In sum, doing the assigned readings will materially improve your chances of earning a good grade in this course.

 

Course Description

Explores the geologic formation, production, and use of Earth and mineral resources, including building materials, chemical minerals, industrial minerals, and metals. For each resource, the geologic environment and processes of formation are discussed. Exploration and mining techniques for each resource are also reviewed and associated environmental problems and regulations examined. Beneficial and detrimental aspects of the use of each resource are also discussed.

 USP Requirement

This course fulfills the Physical & Natural World (PN) requirement of the 2015 University Studies Program. PN courses help students understand the fundamental concepts of scientific and quantitative inquiry and develop the ability to understand the relevance of scientific, technological, and quantitative skills to contemporary society. Physical & Natural World courses also develop and promote critical and creative thinking skills through active learning, inquiry of pressing issues, and individual and collaborative processing of ideas.

 Student Learning Outcomes: PN Courses

• Understand the principles of the scientific method.
• Use scientific and quantitative logic to examine contemporary problems.
• Use quantitative data analysis as the basis for making critical judgments and drawing conclusions.
• Examine the impact of technology on science and society.

 Student Learning Outcomes – Critical & Creative Thinking

• Access diverse information through focused research, active discussion, and collaboration with peers.
• Separate facts from inferences and relevant from irrelevant information, and explain the limitations of information.
• Evaluate the credibility, accuracy, and reliability of conclusions drawn from information.
• Recognize and synthesize multiple perspectives to develop innovative viewpoints.
• Communicate ideas in writing using appropriate documentation.

Course Objective & Social Relevance

Citizens of modern democracies are continually faced with decisions about a variety of resource issues. Should a limestone quarry be allowed next to a residential neighborhood? Will a proposed heap-leach gold mine effect adversely local water supplies? What are the likely economic and social ramifications of constructing a copper ore smelter? For the same smelter, what are the potential environmental impacts on local and regional air quality? Typically, citizens formulate their responses to these questions based on a limited understanding of the resource, its origin and distribution, perceived economic, political, and social impacts, and an imperfect appreciation for potential short- and long-term environmental and social impacts. In contrast to this approach, making an informed decision requires:

• mastery of a range of basic skills (fundamental literacies);
• knowledge of specialized scientific abilities (technical literacies);
• an understanding of how resource development impacts local, regional, national, and international social groups (citizenship literacies); and
• a scientific, technological, engineering, and mathematical (STEM) understanding of the resource’s geology, extraction, and processing methods and the impacts of its ultimate use and waste disposal at all life-cycle stages.

This course is designed to provide you, a citizen of an industrialized democracy, with the skills necessary to formulate successfully informed and reasoned responses to a variety of Earth and mineral resource issues. You will increasingly encounter these types of issues as a citizen.

Many advanced environmental, legal, and political science courses take a similar approach to discussing resource development. This course differs from them in three important aspects.

• First, this course assumes that a STEM understanding of the resource in question is a critical component for developing that resource in a most effective manner. Thus, unlike other courses it starts with a sound STEM background.
• Second, the intended audience for this course is likely to play a very different role in public resource discussions than those of more advanced courses. To illustrate, consider a public hearing convened to discuss the potential impact of a proposed copper mine on a local community, e.g. Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay region of Alaska. The advanced courses are designed to prepare the professionals who would be sitting in front of the meeting conducting it or the professionals represent the mining company or consortium. In contrast, this course is designed to meet the needs of the citizens sitting in the audience. Many of you in this course are unlikely to become professionals dealing with resource issues. However, most of you, if not all, are likely as citizens to be impacted by a host of decisions made about resource extraction and use.
• Finally, this course explicitly recognizes the importance of supplemental skills (literacies) necessary to utilize STEM knowledge in the resolution of societal issues. Thus, it provides you with ample opportunity to master these literacies while also acquiring STEM knowledge. Mastery of these skills will aid you in many other endeavors outside this course.

As a citizen, you will probably need to make decisions about a variety of local, regional, and national issues. In addition, you will have to evaluate conflicting claims on these issues. To help ensure your decisions are informed and constructive, this course will allow you to:

• practice, frequently and continually, qualitative assessment, quantitative calculation and graph interpretation skills (fundamental literacies) needed to assess resource issues from a STEM perspective;
• learn the techniques (technical literacies) necessary for evaluating the geological aspects of resource issues;
• master the methods (citizenship literacies) for assessing the social impacts of resource extraction and use;
• study the geologic content needed to understand the origin and distribution of a variety of critical Earth and mineral resources; and
• build an awareness of comparative, international, and global processes through historical and contemporary case studies of resource extraction.

Upon completing the course, you will be able to:

• identify data/information needed to make an informed decision about a particular resource issue;
• understand the basics of the geologic formation of a variety of Earth and mineral resources;
• assess the range of potential environmental, social, cultural, political, and personal impacts associated with resource development; and
• formulate means of evaluating systematically proposed Earth resource development projects.

Literacies

To understand the content of a scientific discipline and apply it successfully to a range of societal issues and problems, it is necessary to master several different skill sets, i.e. literacies that are separate from content knowledge. These literacies fall into three basic groups: fundamental, technical, and citizenship. The fundamental literacies allow you to manipulate the data and information of a scientific discipline. Although you should have used some of the literacies previously in your educational career, you may have not had much practice with them recently. The fundamental literacies include the:

• ability to read a table and interpret a graph or chart;
• facility to make qualitative assessments;
• capacity to estimate the magnitude of simple quantitative calculations; and
• aptitude to perform simple quantitative calculations correctly.

For many sciences like geology, which describes the formation and setting of many Earth and mineral resources, an additional set of literacies are necessary. These are the technical literacies, which allow you to understand and appreciate the scale of geological change and structures and how they are impacted by resource activities, singularly and cumulatively. Because of their more advanced nature, you may have had limited practice with some of these technical literacies. Indeed, some may be completely new to you. The geosciences technical literacies consist of the:

• skill to read and interpret different types of maps;
• ability to visualize in three dimensions; and
• capacity to conceptualize changes through time.

The application of scientific understanding to societal problems requires both discipline specific knowledge as well as the ability to predict how modification of natural systems will affect different cultures and societies. The citizenship literacies allow you to assess resource issues as they affect different social and political groups. As with the technical literacies, your previous experience with these literacies may be very limited. The citizenship literacies comprise:

• critical thinking literacies
  • ability to identify social, cultural, and political consequences (manifest and latent)
  • capacity to recognize impacts (short- and long-term) to the physical environment
  • power to ascertain economic externalities, i.e. hidden and shared costs
• social context literacies
  • an appreciation of historical background & significance
  • an understanding of population demographics
  • a knowledge of economic context
  • an awareness of diverse cultural & social viewpoints/perspectives
• informed engagement literacies
  • capacity to devise alternative solutions/plans
  • ability to achieve common ground

This course will provide you with practice mastering all these literacies as you learn the scientific and geologic basics of Earth and mineral resources.

Course Details

Organization

The geology, production, and use of a variety of Earth and mineral resources will be presented through PowerPoint presentations, lecture worksheets, and synchronous Zoom sessions. From the lectures, you will gain an understanding of the technical aspects of resource extraction and development as well as the environmental and social externalities associated with resource use. The labs will introduce you to the skills (literacies) necessary to apply this scientific and technical background to various resource issues or problems.

This is a lecture-lab course. The lecture portion uses a variety of learning delivery methods to provide a sound, fundamental background in the minerals and metals industries, the concept of cradle to grave life cycle assessment of impacts, and the social, political, economic, and environmental aspects of resource extraction. The principles and procedures of geologic exploration, mining, mineral procession, and metal reduction are also covered. This material is presented primarily in assigned readings and narrated PowerPoint slides. The material covered in these activities is discussed and summarized in Zoom sessions which will employ several active learning approaches tailored to digital delivery.

Most of the labs will consist of case studies spanning three weeks. Each case will focus on a specific resource, e.g. gold, copper, etc., in a specific international (South Africa). The first week of a case study will concentrate on the geologic aspects of the resource and employ the fundamental and technical literacies. The second week will deal with the economic aspects of the resource. It will use mostly the fundamental literacies (see below). The final week of a case study will look at the societal and cultural aspects of resource extraction. These sessions will introduce the citizenship skills so important in gauging the social, political, and cultural impacts of resource development. Literacies will be progressively added as we move through the semester. By the middle of the semester, you will have had practice with all the fundamental, technical, and citizenship literacies and should be able to use them independently in the remaining lab activities. The case studies have been selected to present both an international perspective of resource exploration, development, and exploitation.

For each lab, you will be asked to formulate a course of action and articulate and defend that position in both written reports and oral presentations. As with real world issues, there are no clear-cut answers to the policy decisions that must be made. Rather, you must defend your position using the knowledge you have learned and the literacies you have mastered.

Lecture

Currently, I plan to add narration to the PowerPoint presentations I would normally present in class. These presentations will be posted on Wyocourses and you will be able to access them through the Modules pages. You are expected to review these presentations before lecture. Two days before a lecture, I will post which PowerPoints you should review for next lecture session. During the semester, we will meet synchronously via Zoom during the scheduled lecture time. I will not intend to cover the assigned PowerPoints during lecture but engage in discussion about the material in them. I will also present the daily Resource News items I have found. We will also use the Zoom lecture sessions to do unannounced lecture worksheets.

The tentative lecture schedule for Fall, 2020 is shown in the table below.

Table 1: Lecture Reading Questionnaire Schedule

Week of	Topic
24-Aug-20	Historical Perspective: Overview
31-Aug-20	Science, Geology & Citizenship: Scientific Investigations, Critical Thinking, Normative vs Positive Questions, The Literacies, Uncertainty-Complexity-Heterogeneity, Wicked and Superwicked Problems, Resource Curse
07-Sep-20	Mineral Resources: Overview, Mineral vs. Ore Deposits, Elements Used, Mineral Supply, Elemental Availability
14-Sep-20	Mineral Deposits: Introduction, Sedimentary, Igneous, Metamorphic
21-Sep-20	Mineral Discovery: Introduction, Prospecting, Exploration
28-Sep-20	Mineral Extraction: Introduction, Mining Operations, Dewatering, Surface Mining, Underground Mining
05-Oct-20	Mineral Processing: Introduction, Comminution, Beneficiation, Dewatering, Disposal (Waste Rock, Tailings)
12-Oct-20	Mineral Economics & Law: Introduction, Resources on Federal Land, Environmental Law, Mineral Profits & Taxation, Externalities, Stakeholders
19-Oct-20	Metals: Classification, Ore Genesis, Extractive Metallurgy, Pyrometallurgy, Hydrometallurgy
26-Oct-20	Scarce - Precious Metals: Gold: Formation, Production, Use
02-Nov-20	Scarce - Base Metals: Copper: Formation, Production, Use
9-Nov-20	Abundant Metals: Aluminum: Formation, Production, Use
16-Nov-20	Abundant Metals: Iron: Formation, Production, Use
23-Nov-20	Scarce Metals: Ferroalloys: Molybdenum: Formation, Production, Use
30-Nov-20	Special Metals: Lithium: Formation, Production, Use

Grade Policy

Introduction

Your grade will be based on a total of 1,318 points that are divided between lecture worksheets, lecture exams, a final exam, lecture and lab reading questionnaires, lab quizzes, lab exercises, written reports, and oral presentations. The large number of graded activities should ensure that if you do poorly on one graded task, e.g. an exam, your final grade need not be adversely impacted if you perform well on other tasks. The grading scheme for the course is summarized below:

Table 2: Course Grading Scheme

activity		value		#		total points		% of lecture grade		% of lab grade	% of grade
lecture reading questionnaires		variable		15		173		21.5		-	11
lecture worksheets		10		13		130		16.2		-	10
lecture exams		100		3		300		37.4		-	23
final lecture exam		200		1		200		15.2		-	16
lab reading questionnaires		10		14		140		-		27.2
lab exercises		4		25		100		-		7.6
lab quizzes		4		10		40		-		3.0
lab written reports		25		5		125		-		14.0
		15		4		60		-
lab oral presentations		5		10		50		-		9.7
Total Points						1,318		60.9		39.1	100

 

The most up-to-date summary of the grading scheme can be found on Wyocourses since the system tracks changes in assignments and assigned points automatically.

Lecture

Lecture Reading Questionnaires

Each week there will be a weekly lecture reading questionnaire due every Friday. They will constitute 140 points of your final grade (11%). Each questionnaire covers an assigned reading and consists of ten simple questions. The questionnaire is due by midnight on the due date. Questionnaires must be submitted via Wyocourses. They are graded automatically so pay attention to spelling. You will have two attempts to submit a questionnaire. When you try your second attempt, Wyocourses presents you with a page in which all your previous answers have been erased. Consequently, you should note which of your answers were correct on the first attempt so you can re-enter them. The system will save the attempt with the highest score. After two attempts, you can no longer change your answers to the questionnaire although you can view your answers and the correct answers after the final due date.

Table 3: Lecture Reading Questionnaire Schedule

Due date	Lec RQ#	Title	Points
28-Aug-20	1	A Geological Perspective of Earth Resources	10
04-Sep-20	2	Mineral Resources – A Historical Perspective	10
11-Sep-20	3	Mineral Resources – Basic Terminology	10
18-Sep-20	4	Breaking New Ground – Chapter 1: The Minerals Sector and Sustainable Development	12
25-Sep-20	5	Breaking New Ground – Chapter 2: Producing and Selling Minerals	10
02-Oct-20	6	Breaking New Ground – Chapter 3: A Profile of the Minerals Sector	15
09-Oct-20	7	Breaking New Ground – Chapter4: The Need For and Availability of Minerals	10
16-Oct-20	8	Breaking New Ground – Chapter 7: The Control, Use, and Management of Land	15
23-Oct-20	9	Breaking New Ground – Chapter 8: Minerals and Economic Development	11
30-Oct-20	10	Breaking New Ground – Chapter 10: Mining, Minerals, and the Environment	10
06-Nov-20	11	Breaking New Ground – Chapter 14: Sector Governance: Roles, Responsibilities, and Instruments of Change	10
13-Nov-20	12	Breaking New Ground – Chapter 13: Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining	10
20-Nov-20	13	Governmental approaches to limiting environmental externalities	20
27-Nov-20	14	TBD	10
04-Dec-20	15	TBD	10
Total:			173

Lecture Worksheets

Throughout the semester, you will complete 13 lecture worksheets during class time that are worth 10 points each. The 130 points from these worksheets will comprise 10% of your final grade. Worksheets are done during Zoom sessions and are unannounced. They are not graded, rather you simply submit the completed worksheet at the end of the Zoom session to earn the 10 points. If you miss a class when a lecture worksheet is completed, you can only make it up if you have a valid excuse for your absence. Lecture worksheets focus on topics we have covered in lecture and provide you an opportunity to apply your new knowledge while preparing for exams.

Lecture Exams

Three hundred points (23%) will be from lecture exams. Each exam will be worth 100 points. They will consist of short-answer questions. Exams will cover the material presented in lecture and any assigned readings, but not the labs. Past exams and their keys are posted on Wyocourses (under Modules). Use them when you study for exams. You can complete the exam anytime on the day it is due. You must obtain prior permission to take an exam on any day other than the scheduled day. If you skip an exam, you fail it with a zero. The exams will be on:

Table 4: Lecture and Final Exam Schedule

Date	Day	Exam#	Format	Points
23-Sep-20	Wednesday	1	online via Wyocourses, proctored by HonorLock	100
26-Oct-20	Monday	2	online via Wyocourses, proctored by HonorLock	100
4-Dec-20	Friday	3	online via Wyocourses, proctored by HonorLock	100
11-Dec-20	Friday	Final	online via Wyocourses, proctored by HonorLock	200
Total:				500

Note: Depending upon how the lecture goes and how much we cover in class, these dates may change. Lecture Exam III is scheduled during the last week of classes.

Final exam

There will also be a 200-point online final exam (16%) on Friday, December 11 from 8:00 to 10:00 am. Although not specifically addressed in the new final exam policy, for this course you can take the final exam at any time on the 11^th of December. This exam will be comprehensive and have approximately twice the number of questions as one of the hour long, lecture exams. At least 50% of the points on the final exam will be from questions taken from the three previous lecture exams. The time of the final exam is established by the Office of the Registrar (http://www.uwyo.edu/registrar/class_schedules/fall2020/fall2020finals.pdf). It may not be taken early. Students who have two exams at the same time or more than two exams in one day and wish to ask for an exception must complete the Final Exam Conflict form available from the Office of the Registrar. The online form is available at http://www.uwyo.edu/registrar/students/forms_and_petitions.html. The form must be submitted no later than two weeks prior to the end of finals week. Requests submitted after this date are left to the discretion of the instructor as to whether they will be accommodated. If you cannot make the scheduled time of the final exam, you need to drop this course immediately.

Lab

Introduction

The lab will make up the final 515 points (40%) of the course grade. The breakdown for the various lab activities and their points are:

Table 5: Lab Activities and Scoring

activity		value		#		total points		% of lab grade
lab reading questionnaires		variable		14		173		27.2
lab exercises		25		4		100		19.4
lab quizzes		10		4		40		7.8
lab written reports		25		5		125		35.9
		15		4		60
lab oral presentations		10		5		50		3.8
Total Points						515		100

 Note: This lab schedule reflects what was planned at the beginning of the semester. It will likely change as the semester progresses. The most current lab schedule can be found on Wyocourses.

All students must participate in lab and complete the assigned work. You must receive a passing lab grade to pass the course. The lab syllabus, which you will receive the first week of lab, more fully describes how the lab will work. Missed work can only be made up if you have an official University excuse for missing lab or have obtained permission from your lab TA before you miss lab. Any late work must be made up within one week of its due date (see lab syllabus for additional details). There will be no lab final.

Lab Reading Questionnaires

Each week there will be a weekly lab reading questionnaire due the day before your lab session. They will constitute 140 points of your final lab grade (23%). Each questionnaire covers an assigned reading and consists of ten short-answer questions. The questionnaire is due by midnight on the due date. Questionnaires must be submitted via Wyocourses. They are graded automatically so pay attention to spelling. You will have two attempts to submit a questionnaire. When you try your second attempt, Wyocourses presents you with a page in which all your previous answers have been erased. Consequently, you should note which of your answers were correct on the first attempt so you can re-enter them. The system will save the attempt with the highest score. After two attempts, you can no longer change your answers to the questionnaire although you can view your answers and the correct answers after the final due date.

Table 6: Lab Reading Questionnaires

Week of	LabRQ#	Topic	points
24-Aug-20	-	no lab reading questionnaire	-
31-Aug-20	1	Population: The Demand Behind Resource Consumption	10
07-Sep-20	2	Maps: A Resource Exploration and Extraction Tool	10
14-Sep-20	3	Geologic Maps: Representing Geology in Two Dimensions	10
21-Sep-20	4	Visualizing Earth: Thinking in Three Dimensions	10
28-Sep-20	5	Gold: Its Impact on South Africa: I. Finding Gold Deposits	10
05-Oct-20	6	Gold: Its Impact on South Africa: II. Exploration Drilling and Economic Assessment of Gold Depositions	10
12-Oct-20	7	Gold: Its Impact on South Africa: II. Exploration Drilling and Economic Assessment of Gold Depositions	10
19-Oct-20	8	Copper: Production in the High Peruvian Andes – I. Dewatering a Copper Mine – Understanding Geohyrology	10
26-Oct-20	9	Copper: Production in the High Peruvian Andes – II. Dewatering a Copper Mine – Hydraulic Assessment	10
02-Nov-20	10	Copper: Production in the High Peruvian Andes – III. Controlling Copper Smelting SO2 Emissions	10
09-Nov-20	11	Copper: Production in the High Peruvian Andes – Natural Resources, Environmental and Social Justice, and the Resource Curse	10
16-Nov-20	12	Lithium: Chile, the World's Lithium Supply and Solar Energy: I. Lithium Deposits: Their Geologic Variability and Settings	10
23-Nov-20	13	Lithium: Chile, the World's Lithium Supply and Solar Energy: II. The Environmental Consequences of Lithium Production	10
30-Nov-20	14	Lithium: Chile, the World's Lithium Supply and Solar Energy: III. Lithium as a Critical Mineral	10
Total:			140

Lab Exercises

During the first four weeks of lab, you will be completing a series of lecture exercises. These labs are designed to introduce you to the lab techniques you will need to complete the lab case studies done in the remainder of the course. The exercises introduce you to populations and population demographics as well as the map and 3-D visualization skills necessary to master the geologic portions of resource exploration and extraction. Each lab exercise consists of a several worksheets that you must complete. Although you may work with other students in completing the worksheets, you must complete and submit your own worksheet. Working with your peers means collaborating with them to understand the content covered not simply copying their work and submitting it as your own (see University Regulations on cheating below). Your completed worksheets are do at the beginning of the next lab. You will submit them as Word or PDF documents through Wyocourses. Your TA will grade the worksheets and provide written comments and returned the annotated worksheets via Wyocourses. There will be synchronous Zoom lab sessions for you to obtain assistance from the TA. If you are having problems mastering the content, please take advantages of this resource. Each lab exercise is worth 25 points for a total of 40 points.

Table 7: Lab Exercise Schedule

Week of	Lab#	Lab Ex#	Topic	points
24-Aug-20	-	-	no lab	-
31-Aug-20	1	1	Population: The Demand Behind Resource Consumption	25
07-Sep-20	2	2	Maps: A Resource Exploration and Extraction Tool	25
14-Sep-20	3	3	Geologic Maps: Representing Geology in Two Dimensions	25
21-Sep-20	4	4	Visualizing Earth: Thinking in Three Dimensions	25
Total:				100

Lab Quizzes

Beginning the week of September 7, there will be a weekly lab quiz. The quiz will cover the material presented in the previous week’s lab session. Each quiz consists of 10 questions, and you have two attempts to complete it. It will be limited to twenty (20) minutes in duration. Quizzes will be completed online via Wyocourses and monitored by HonorLock. They must be completed before the next lab session begins. Wyocourses will record your highest score from your two attempts. The quizzes will constitute 40 points of your final lab grade (8%).

Table 8: Lab Quiz Schedule

Week of	Lab#	Lab Qz#	Topic	points
24-Aug-20			no lab
31-Aug-20	1		no lab quiz
07-Sep-20	2	1	Population: The Demand Behind Resource Consumption	10
14-Sep-20	3	2	Maps: A Resource Exploration and Extraction Tool	10
21-Sep-20	4	3	Geologic Maps: Representing Geology in Two Dimensions	10
28-Sep-20	5	4	Visualizing Earth: Thinking in Three Dimensions	10
Total:				40

Lab Case Studies – Written Reports

After September 28^th, there are no more lab quizzes as the lab transitions from lab exercises to case studies and group work. Starting on this date, you and your assigned group must prepare and give oral presentations and written reports to describe the results of your evaluation of a specific resource problem. As with all real-life resource questions, there are no clear-cut answers to the problems you will address. The conclusions you reach and the reports you present will be graded on how well you justify your conclusions. You will be provided detailed rubrics about what must go in your written reports, how they should be organized, and the details for their creation. Follow the rubrics, they will be used to grade your reports. If you fail to do something dictated by the rubrics, you will lose points on your written report grade. A link to each rubric can be found on the lab module page. The reports will be graded independently by myself and the TA using the posted rubrics. Your final grade will be the average of these two scorings. The written reports will be done in assigned groups using the meeting room features of Zoom and collaboration tools such as Goggle docs or Microsoft One Drive. Five of the written reports are worth 25 points each or 125 points total and 24% of your lab grade. Another four written reports are worth 15 points each for 60 points (12%) of your final lab grade.

Table 9: Lab Case Study Written Report Schedule

Week of	Lab#	LabCS WR#	Topic	points
Case Study 1: Gold: Its Impact on South Africa
28-Sept-20	5	1A	I. Finding Gold Deposits	25
05-Oct-20	6	1B	II. Exploration Drilling and Economic Assessment of Gold Depositions	25
12-Oct-20	7	1C	III. The Political and Social Impacts of Gold Mining	15
Case Study 2: Copper: Production in the High Peruvian Andes
19-Oct-20	8	2A	I. Dewatering a Copper Mine –Understanding Geohydrology	25
26-Oct-20	9	2B	II. Dewatering a Copper Mine –Hydraulic Assessment	25
02-Nov-20	10	2C	III. Controlling Copper Smelting SO2 Emissions	15
09-Nov-20	11	2D	III. Natural Resources, Social Justice, and the Resource Curse	15
Case Study 3: Lithium: Chile and the World's Lithium Supply
16-Nov-20	12	3A	I. Lithium Deposits: Their Geologic Variability and Setting	25
23-Nov-20	13	3B	II. The Environmental Consequences of Lithium Production	15
30-Nov-20	-	-	no lab
Total:

 Lab Case Studies – Oral Presentation

For selected case studies, you will also be required to compose and deliver an oral presentation. The presentation will outline the conclusions of your assessment of the assigned task. Presentations should consist of ten or fewer slides and last only 6-8 minutes. You will be provided detailed rubrics about what must go in your presentations. Follow the rubrics, they will be used to grade your presentations. If you fail to do something dictated by the rubrics, you will lose points on your presentation grade. A link to each rubric can be found on the lab module page. The oral presentations will be graded independently by myself and the TA using the posted rubrics. Your final grade will be the average of these two scorings. The oral presentations will be done in assigned groups using the meeting room features of Zoom and collaboration tools such as Goggle docs or Microsoft One Drive. I am not sure yet how you will present your PowerPoints. As with many things this semester, we will work this out on the fly. There are five oral presentations worth 10 points each for a total of 50 points or 14% of your lab grade.

Table 10: Lab Case Study Oral Presentation Schedule

Week of	Lab#	LabCS OP#	Topic	points
Case Study 1: Gold: Its Impact on South Africa
28-Sept-20	5	1A	I. Finding Gold Deposits	10
05-Oct-20	6	1B	II. Exploration Drilling and Economic Assessment of Gold Depositions	10
12-Oct-20	7	-	no oral presentation	`
Case Study 2: Copper: Production in the High Peruvian Andes
19-Oct-20	8	2A	I. Dewatering a Copper Mine –Understanding Geohydrology	10
26-Oct-20	9	2B	II. Dewatering a Copper Mine –Hydraulic Assessment	10
02-Nov-20	10	`	no oral presentation	-
09-Nov-20	11	`	no oral presentation	-
Case Study 3: Lithium: Chile and the World's Lithium Supply
16-Nov-20	12	3A	I. Lithium Deposits: Their Geologic Variability and Setting	10
23-Nov-20	13	-	no oral presentation	-
30-Nov-20	-	-	no lab
Total:				50

 There will be no grading curve for this course. For the fourteen years, I have taught this course, the final grade distribution has worked out such that I would not have curved the grades even if I did not have a no-curve policy. Final grades will be assigned according to the following scale:

Table 11: Letter Scoring Scheme

Grade	Percentage cut-off	Point cut-off
A	>90	>1186
B	>80	>1173
C	>70	>1041
D	>60	>909
F	<60	<8

 When calculating final grades, Wyocourses carries the calculation out to one decimal place. For legal reasons, I will be using this scheme for assigning final grades. Therefore, what you see as your final grade in Wyocourses at the end of the semester is the grade you earn for the course. I will not be rounding the final percentages displayed in WyoCourses to zero decimal places.

A fixed grading scheme emphasizes that you are not competing with your peers for a grade. It also means that your grade in the course is based on the quality of your work, not on how well or poorly your peers do in the course. If all students in the course earn an A, I will be very pleased. It would indicate you all worked hard and mastered the subject matter. One way of achieving this is by working with your peers to understand the topics presented in lecture and lab. Note: This grade scheme reflects what was planned at the beginning of the semester. It will likely change as the semester progresses. The most current version of the grading scheme can be found on the Wyocourses class web site.

Course Disclaimer

I reserve the right to make changes to any aspect of this syllabus as the course proceeds. These changes will be announced in class. Substantive changes made to the syllabus shall be communicated to you verbally in class and in writing via Wyocourses.

General University Principles

Classroom Behavior Policy

Learning is enhanced by a supportive and positive classroom environment. Such an environment is facilitated by civility, respectful discussion, active participation, timely completion of preparatory assignments, and dynamic engagement. At all times, treat your presence in the classroom and your enrollment in this course as you would a job. Act professionally, arrive on time, pay attention, complete your work in a timely and professional manner, treat all deadlines seriously, and consider in good conscience any feedback from your instructor. You will be respectful towards your classmates and instructor. Spirited debate and disagreement are to be expected in any classroom and all views will be heard fully, but at all times you must behave civilly and respectfully towards your peers and instructors. Personal attacks, offensive language, name-calling, and dismissive gestures are not warranted in a positive learning atmosphere and can be grounds for dismissal from a particular class or lab. During classroom discussion, show respect to your peers and instructor by not talking over someone who has been recognized and has the floor or by conducting disruptive side conversations with your neighbors. As the instructor, I have the right to dismiss you from the classroom, study sessions, electronic forums, and labs whenever your behavior is disruptive and impedes learning. Electronic devices such as mobile phones should be set to silent. Smartphones, laptops, and tablets are allowed, indeed encouraged, for note-taking purposes and information searches. No video or audio recording during class is allowed to protect the privacy of your fellow students.

Classroom Statement on Diversity

The University of Wyoming values an educational environment that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive. The diversity that students and faculty bring to class, including age, country of origin, culture, disability, economic class, ethnicity, gender identity, immigration status, linguistic, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, veteran status, worldview, and other social and cultural diversity is valued, respected, and considered a resource for learning.

Disability Support

The University of Wyoming is committed to providing equitable access to learning opportunities for all students. If you have a disability, including but not limited to physical, learning, sensory, or psychological, and would like to request accommodations in this course due to your disability, please register with and provide documentation of your disability as soon as possible to Disability Support Services (DSS), Room 128 Knight Hall. You may also contact DSS at (307) 766-3073 or udss@uwyo.edu. It is in your best interest to request accommodations within the first week of classes, understanding that accommodations are not retroactive. Visit the DSS website at www.uwyo.edu/udss for more information.

Academic Dishonesty Policies

Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated in this class. Cases of academic dishonesty will be treated in accordance with UW Regulation 2-114 (see below). The penalties for academic dishonesty can include, at my discretion, an “F” on an exam, an “F” on the class component exercise, and/or an “F” in the entire course. Academic dishonesty means representing someone else’s ideas or work as your own without attribution. It is intellectual theft – stealing - and includes (but is not limited to) unapproved assistance on examinations, plagiarism (use of any amount of another person’s writings, blog posts, publications, and other materials without attributing that material to that person with citations), or fabrication of referenced information. Facilitation of another person’s academic dishonesty is also considered academic dishonesty and will be treated identically.

Duty to Report

UW faculty are committed to supporting students and upholding the University’s non-discrimination policy. Under Title IX of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), discrimination based upon sex and gender is prohibited. If you experience an incident of sex- or gender-based discrimination, we encourage you to report it. While you may talk to a faculty member, understand that as a "Responsible Employee" of the University, the faculty member MUST report information you share about the incident to the university’s Title IX Coordinator (you may choose whether you or anyone involved is identified by name). For example, if you inform me of an issue of sexual harassment, sexual assault, or discrimination I will keep the information as private as I can, but I am required by federal law to bring it to the attention of the institution’s Title IX Coordinator. If you would like to talk to those offices directly, you can contact Equal Opportunity Report and Response (Bureau of Mines Room 319, 766-5200, report-it@uwyo.edu, www.uwyo.edu/reportit). Additionally, you can also report incidents or complaints to the UW Police Department. You can also get support at the STOP Violence program (stopviolence@uwyo.edu, www.uwyo.edu/stop, 766-3296) or SAFE Project (www.safeproject.org, campus@safeproject.org, 766-3434, 24-Hour hotline: 745-3556).

If you would like to speak with someone who may be able to afford you privacy or confidentiality, there are people who can meet with you. Any faculty member can help direct you or you may find info about UW policy and resources at http://www.uwyo.edu/reportit

You do not have to go through the experience alone. Assistance and resources are available, and you are not required to make a formal complaint or participate in an investigation to access them.

Substantive changes to syllabus

The assignment deadlines and requirements as well as course structure outlined in this syllabus are simply a guide to what may happen during the semester. Circumstances may require that they be changed for a variety of pedagogical, administrative, and logistical reasons. Consequently, I reserve the right to make changes to any aspect of this syllabus as the course proceeds. If significant changes are necessary, you will be notified of these changes verbally in class, on the class’ WyoCourse Announcements page, and via email. You are required to check WyoCourses and your UW email at least once a week for any changes to the course.

Daily or weekly schedule of topics, activities, and graded work

The schedules for lecture topics, reading assignments, exams, lab quizzes, and lab exercises are available on WyoCourses. The most current schedules can always be found on the class web site in WyoCourses.

Student Resources: Campus

• DISABILITY SUPPORT SERVICES: udss@uwyo.edu, 766-3073, 128 Knight Hall, uwyo.edu/udss
• COUNSELING CENTER: uccstaff@uwyo.edu, 766-2187, 766-8989 (After hours), 341 Knight Hall, uwyo.edu/ucc
• ACADEMIC AFFAIRS: 766-4286, 312 Old Main, uwyo.edu/acadaffairs
• DEAN OF STUDENTS OFFICE: dos@uwyo.edu, 766-3296, 128 Knight Hall, uwyo.edu/dos
• UW POLICE DEPARTMENT: uwpd@uwyo.edu, 766-5179, 1426 E Flint St, uwyo.edu/uwpd
• STUDENT CODE OF CONDUCT WEBSITE: uwyo.edu/dos/conduct

General University Policies/Regulations

Class Effort

According to the UW catalog “Each credit hour unit requires an average of three hours of student effort per week". Since this is a 4-credit course, you should expect to work a minimum of twelve hours a week outside of class meetings. To get a good grade in the class, expect to work more than this. Also prepare for exams well in advance. Don’t start studying the night before and expect to earn a good grade on the exam.

Final Examination Policy (UW Regulation 6-403)

• The Registrar is authorized to schedule final examinations. With only the exceptions specifically designated below, exams will be given at the times thus designated and no other times. The examination schedule shall be published at least one month before the first day of final examinations.
• No student shall be required to take more than two final examinations in any one day. Along with the specific final examination schedule, the Registrar shall indicate a system of priorities which will determine which course is expected to offer an examination at a different time for a student who is scheduled for more than two final examinations in one day or more than one at the same hour.
• To avoid excessive pressure on students during the week before final examinations, no examination or graded exercise should be given in the last week of classes unless it is essential for the effective functioning of the course. If an examination or graded exercise in the last week of classes is deemed essential, the instructor shall notify the students of it in a class syllabus distributed at the beginning of the course.
• Instructors are not obligated to give final examinations ahead of schedule to those students who, for legitimate reasons connected with official University activities, cannot take the final examination at the scheduled time. In such cases, students are entitled to receive a grade of "X", subject to the usual procedures and conditions of the grade of "X".
• More information: http://www.uwyo.edu/generalcounsel/_files/docs/uw-reg-6-403.pdf.

Student Absence Policy (UW Regulation 6-713)

• Class Attendance: Each student shall attend the lectures, recitations, and laboratories and participate in field work deemed necessary to fulfill adequately the academic requirements of each class. Each instructor, at the beginning of every semester, shall stipulate the attendance policy necessary for satisfactory completion of the course.
• Authorized Absences: For participation in a University-sponsored activity or for unusual circumstances, such as a personal hardship, an authorized absence may be issued to the student by the Dean of Student’s or the Dean’s authorized representative. If a student has been hospitalized, or if the student has been directed by the Student Health Service or the student's private physician to stay at the student's place of residence because of illness, the Health Service medical staff or the student's private physician may issue a statement to the student giving the dates of the student's confinement.
• Recognition of Authorized Absences: All instructors shall permit students who have official authorized absences to make up work without penalty in the classes missed. An authorized absence, however, merely gives the individual who missed the class an opportunity to make up the work and in no way excuses the student from the work required.
• More information: http://www.uwyo.edu/generalcounsel/_files/docs/uw-reg-6-713.pdf.

Academic Honesty (UW Regulation 6-802)

• All members of the University community are responsible for upholding the values of academic integrity. The faculty considers academic integrity a matter of common concern, not merely a private issue between instructor and student. Honesty in all academic endeavors is a component of academic integrity that is vital to the educational functions of the University. Whatever form academic dishonesty may take, the faculty considers it as establishing a student’s failure to demonstrate the acquisition of knowledge and the failure to apply it to an academic endeavor. It is a student’s responsibility to learn the standards of conduct for the performance of academic endeavors; it is an instructor or faculty member’s responsibility to make reasonable effort to make known the standards of conduct for the performance of academic endeavors. Through an atmosphere of mutual respect, we enhance the value of education and maintain high standards of academic excellence. Failure on the part of the student to observe and maintain standards of academic honesty, as hereafter defined or made known by an instructor responsible for a course or other academic endeavor, requires corrective action as hereafter authorized.
• Academic Dishonesty: An action attempted or performed that misrepresents one’s involvement in an academic endeavor in any way or assists another student in misrepresenting his or her involvement in an academic endeavor. Examples of academic dishonesty include, but are not limited to:
  • Plagiarism: presenting the work (i.e., ideas, data, and creations) of another, wholly or in part, as one’s own work without customary and proper acknowledgement of sources and extent of use, unless authorized by the instructor.
  • Cheating: using information, study aids, notes, materials, devices, or collaboration not explicitly approved by the instructor. For example: doing a class assignment for someone else or allowing someone to copy one’s assignment; copying from, or assisting, another student during an examination; or stealing, or otherwise improperly obtaining, copies of an examination before or after its administration.
  • Fraud: altering or inventing data, research, or citations for an academic endeavor; fabricating, forging or otherwise misrepresenting to an instructor or an institution one’s past or current academic or professional activities; impersonating someone or allowing oneself to be impersonated for an examination or other academic endeavor; using a ghost writer, commercial or otherwise, for any type of assignment.
  • Violation of Standards: violations against ethical and professional standards required by individual University programs, academic courses, and clinical programs that may result in qualification for entry into a profession that maintains standards of conduct.
  • Multiple Submissions: submitting, wholly or in part, the same academic endeavor to earn credit in two or more courses without explicit approval by all concerned instructors.
  • Interference or Obstruction: interfering with academic efforts of other students to gain unfair advantage for personal academic advancement. Interference may include but is not limited to, sabotage, harassment, tampering, bribery, or intimidation of another student.
  • Complicity: assisting another person in any act of academic dishonesty as defined above.
• Academic Endeavor: Any student activity undertaken to earn University credit or meet some other University program requirement. Examples of academic endeavors include, but are not limited to:
  • Course assignments (written and/or oral, projects, research, exhibitions of work)
  • Exams (written and/or oral, quizzes
  • Clinical assignments (internships, rotations, practical)
  • Presentations (on and off campus)
  • Publications
  • Independent study coursework
  • Plan B papers or projects, theses, dissertations
  • Student media associated with academic credit
  • More information: http://www.uwyo.edu/generalcounsel/_files/docs/uw-reg-6-802.pdf.

Assignment and Removal of the Grade of I (incomplete) (UW Regulation 6-720)

• A grade of I (incomplete) is a temporary grade assigned in those rare instances when no other grade will ensure justice to the student. An "I" given by the instructor should be accompanied by a written authorization setting forth:
  • the reason the course cannot reasonably be completed on time,
  • the tasks which must be performed to complete the course,
  • the date upon which the final grade will be received by the Office of the Registrar and which normally may not exceed 120 days beyond the end of the semester in which the "I" is given, and
  • the name of a substitute faculty member if the instructor does not expect to be available to supervise completion of the course.
  • This information will be forwarded to the student and copies should be retained by the student, instructor, and a substitute faculty member.
• The Dean of Students is authorized to petition for an "I" in the name of a student who has been incapacitated. If a student has suffered a severe medical, emotional, or personal problem, the 120-day limit for completing the course may be extended with the approval of the instructor and the Dean of Students.
• In certain research courses designated to the Registrar by the Dean of the College, the date of submitting the final grade for the course may be set to exceed the 120-day limit at the discretion of the instructor.
• If the final grade for the course is not received by the Registrar by the date in the authorization:
  • the "I" will revert to an "F" for a student who has not graduated in the interim, and
  • the "I" will stand permanently for a student who has graduated in the interim.
• More information: http://www.uwyo.edu/generalcounsel/_files/docs/uw%20reg%20updates%202015/uw%20reg%206-720.pdf.

Disability Statement

If you have a physical, learning, sensory or psychological disability and require accommodations, please let me know as soon as possible. You will need to register with, and provide documentation of your disability to, University Disability Support Services (UDSS) in SEO, room 330 Knight Hall, 766-6189, TTY: 766-3073.

COVID-19 Policies

During this pandemic, you must abide by all UW policies and public health rules put forward by the City of Laramie (or by Natrona County if at UW-Casper), the University of Wyoming and the State of Wyoming to promote the health and well-being of fellow students and your own personal self-care. The current policy is provided for review at: https://www.uwyo.edu/alerts/campus-return/index.html.

As with other disruptive behaviors, we have the right to dismiss you from the classroom (Zoom and physical), or other class activities if you fail to abide by these COVID-19 policies. These behaviors will be referred to the Dean of Students Office using the UWYO Cares Reporting Form for Student Code of Conduct processes (https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?UnivofWyoming&layout_id=5).

Syllabus Changes

I will alert you to any possible course format changes in response to UW decisions about community safety during the semester.

HyFlex, Zoom, and WyoCourses expectations:

As with all UW coursework, this course will be educational and useful to you. I will respond to questions, concerns, and feedback in a timely manner. Your responsibilities:

• Give and receive feedback from me and your classmates respectfully and constructively in all interactions. This includes in Zoom chats, on WyoCourses boards, and within physical classroom spaces.
• Actively engage in civil discourse in a respectful manner. Use professional language in all course related forums.
• Communicate professionally. Whenever you send class-related email or messages, please include a clear, specific subject line, and use the body of the email or message to explain the purpose for the email and any attached materials. Conduct yourself professionally.
• Meet assignment deadlines. We expect that you are interacting with course material multiple times during the week.
• Ask for help when you need it. For academic assistance for this course please contact me for available resources. For Dean of Students assistance please see: https://www.uwyo.edu/dos/student-resources/covid-19-student-resources.html.
• Please let us know if you notice another student who needs help in our (anonymous) WyoCares referral option (https://www.uwyo.edu/dos/students-concern/index.html).

Information Technology (IT)

If you have any IT related challenges, please contact the UWIT Service Center: https://uwyo.teamdynamix.com/TDClient/1940/Portal/Requests/ServiceDet?ID=8890

 Coronavirus Pandemic Addendum to Attendance Policy

During the fall of 2020 and for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic, the attendance policy applies as noted below:

• Self-Quarantine and Isolation: Any student notified that they have tested positive for covid-19 or that they have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for covid-19 may need to isolate for up to two weeks at a time (https://www.uwyo.edu/alerts/campus-return/index.html). Students will not be penalized for having to self-quarantine for exposure to an known positive. Students who test positive will be told to isolate and should continue to complete course work online for the duration of their isolation as they are able.
• Illness: Under no circumstances are students to attend in-person classes if they are experiencing any symptoms of covid-19. Illnesses are covered under the Authorized Absence program managed within the Dean of Students Office (https://www.uwyo.edu/dos).

 

Note: All campus community members are requested to use the COVID Pass as tool to track their personal health symptoms. If a student enters their daily temperature and symptoms and receives a “fail”, they should notify their faculty they will need to participate virtually for that day.

Hyflex Absences

An official student absence for the hyflex version of this course is when a student meets the following criteria:

• The student misses a scheduled in-class drawing session.
• The student or a dedicated representative of the student fails to communicate the reason for their absence within the week of the absence.
• The student does not engage with the week’s course material and/or does not turn in the week’s assignment on time.

Online Absences

In the event that the course moves online at any point in the semester, an official student absence for the online version of this course is when a student meets the following criteria:

• The student does not engage with the week’s course material and/or does not turn in the week’s assignment on time.
• The student or a dedicated representative of the student fails to communicate the reason for not engaging with the course material and/or not turning in the week’s assignment on time within the week of the absence.

Other University regulations can be found at:

http://www.uwyo.edu/generalcounsel/new-regulatory-structure/index.html.

Disclaimer

The University of Wyoming COVID Policy, including this Student Attendance Policy, is informed by health and safety recommendations from the CDC and the Wyoming Department of Health. The COVID Policy may be modified based on the evolving environment and virus transmission.