TEACHING ECONOMIC GEOLOGY USING THE BIGGEST SANDBOX EVER: USING A TEAM-BASED MULTI-METHODS APPROACH TO PROVIDE HIGH-IMPACT REAL-WORLD LEARNING EXPERIENCES

Comprised of students in the Mineral and Rock Resources class at Shippensburg University, our team drafted a preliminary prospecting report for U.S. Silica, Mapleton, PA Mine. The 100+ year old mine produces ultra-pure quartz sandstone from the Devonian Oriskany Sandstone. Operations are permitted to extend mining along strike to a new unproven section (Phase V). Quarry management provided safety training, access to the site, and the charge for the consulting team. The student-led team conducted a multi-pronged investigation in the Phase V area to help prove and valuate the target sandstone reserves.

Initial work required the team to gather and analyze available remotely sensed data (i.e. drone imagery, historical photographs, Lidar) to determine geomorphic expressions of the target ore body relative to super- and subjacent gangue rock units and surface colluvium. Subsequent field surveys were carried out to ground truth points of interest that were identified for geophysical (i.e. GPR, MS, and RS) investigations. Strike and dip measurements from the site were integrated into geodatabases (ArcGIS and Google Earth). Lineaments were projected northward to specify an area of interest for geophysical surveys. Stratigraphic cross-sections for 60 topographic profiles were drafted to locate the target ore and gangue intervals. In the field, a hand-held magnetic susceptibility meter (KT-20), a Geiger counter, and a Mala X3M Ground Penetrating Radar system were used to refine the stratigraphic sections. Data were incorporated into a draft report to be shared with the client.

This project gave students technical fieldwork experience not possible in the traditional classroom setting and provided opportunities to solve real-world problems by integrating multiple methods. Soft-skills such as working in a group setting were also polished. The project was managed by graduate students and undergrads were assigned specified tasks. Students learned to not only problem solve, but also to set deadlines, resolve disagreements and discrepancies in data collection/interpretation, especially when applying theoretical concepts to actual findings from conducting field work. Team projects also present challenges for grading student work, if individuals do not complete assigned tasks.