Looking for clues to our mineral wealth
Useful Sites
Volcano world – for educators (Oregon State University, USA)
A range of resources, including a glossary and teaching resources for rocks and minerals, plate tectonics and earthquakes and volcanoes.
Minerals downunder (Geoscience Australia)
Links to a number of fact sheets, including 'Gold' and 'Exploration techniques'.
Factsheets (Minerals Council of Australia)
Links to a series of factsheets about the major mineral commodities in Australia.
Australia's mineral exploration (Australian Government’s Department of Education, Science and Training)
A report by the Prime Minister’s Science, Engineering and Innovation Council highlighting Australia's place in the global mineral industry.
Black smokers (American Museum of Natural History)
Describes what black smokers are and how they form.
Australians sweep up black smoker chimney (The Geological Society, UK)
Describes the discovery of a chimney-like tube from a black smoker by a CSIRO research vessel.
Hydrothermal vents (University of Delaware, USA)
A simple explanation of hydrothermal vents (black smokers are the hottest of the vents).
Hydrothermal plume studies (Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, USA)
An overview of hydrothermal plumes (eg, black smokers) and what researchers can learn from them. Click on 'black smokers' in the text or go to www.pmel.noaa.gov/vents/PlumeStudies/BlackSmokers.html to see a black smoker vent.
Page updated September 2006.