15/11/19 - 16/11/19 - NEW ACTIVITIES RELATED TO THE CLONATIONS PILOT PROJECT IN THE FRAMEWORK OF INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION

On November 15th we received the visit of Dmitriy Tonkacheev that currently is working at the Institute of Geology of Ore Deposits, Petrography, Mineralogy, and Geochemistry (IGEM RAS), in the Russian Academy of Sciences, in the framework of the Cloning project for teaching mineralogy, petrology and mineral deposits that we have been promoting since 2018.

Dmitry added to the collection samples that correspond to minerals such as diopside with calcite, phlogopite, magnetite, and hastingsite from Kovdor and some samples from Tolbachik volcano on the Kamchatka peninsula.

During his visit to the University of Barcelona, he met with our advisor and the vice president of the Student Chapter to evaluate possible ways of collaboration with the IGEM RAS Student Chapter (mineral exchange, possible trips to the Kola Peninsula and The Urals mountains, among others).

On November 16th, a visit to the mining area of ​​Molar-Bellmunt was organized to show Dmitry the region of El Priorat, which was one of the most important mining centers in Catalonia and the first extraction for lead in Galena. Some master and degree students of our faculty joined the activity.

The field trip started in The Molar Mines where oxides and silicates of manganese, copper ores (malachite, tennantite, chalcopyrite) calcite, siderite, ankerite, dolomite, barite, and galena were recognized. A guided tour in the Bellmunt Mines Museum was also carried out, which included a tour inside the Eugenia mine to observe Galena's veins and the nickeliferous veins with minerals such as Millerite.

We thank Dmitry for his visit and his interest in getting involved in this project that we consider very important for collaborative learning. We are looking forward to welcome him again.