Department of Mineral Resources Management
The Department of Mineral Resources Management specializes in studying the practical properties of rocks and minerals. We offer educational courses in exploration and reconnaissance geology, economic geology, ore geology, and petrography of ores for students majoring in geology, geological engineering, environmental protection, and spatial planning. In our research and educational activities, we focus on the practical application of geological knowledge in the fields of business and resource management. The department is led by Professor Andrzej Solecki and consists of five academic staff members and one doctoral student:
- Prof. Dr. hab. Andrzej Solecki (professor),
- Dr. hab. Antoni Muszer (assistant professor),
- Dr. hab. Dagmara Tchorz-Trzeciakiewicz (assistant professor),
- Dr. Grzegorz Lis (assistant professor),
- Dr. Piotr Wojtulek (assistant professor),
- Michał Dajek, MSc. (doctoral student),
- Dr. Wojciech Śliwiński (retired employee)
The team at the Department conducts assessments and mineral expertise, specialized petrographic-mineralogical examinations of ores, mineralogical and elemental composition of rocks. Additionally, we work on studies of concentrates for the non-ferrous metals industry, analyses of alloys and metallurgical slags, energy ashes, and industrial waste generated by human activity. The Department conducts comprehensive petrographic-mineralogical-chemical research on natural and artificial substances, specialized research on utilitarian ceramics, archaeological materials (e.g., ancient alloys), and studies of celestial bodies (meteorites, cosmic dust). An important focus of research at the Department includes natural radioactivity in rocks, soils, industrial products, and the assessment of radiological environmental hazards, measurements of radon exhalation, radioactivity of the natural environment, and measurements of CO2and CH4 exhalation.
Other research directions carried out in the Department:
- Geology of copper deposits in the Pre-Sudetic block,
- Prospecting the occurrence of gold and PGE minerals in the Sudetenland and its foothills
- Development of shale copper ore processing technologies and processes,
- Radioactivity in the environment,
- Metallogenesis of mafic and ultramafic massifs of Lower Silesia,
- Regulations on the ownership of mineral deposits in geological and mining law,
- The generative potential of Cambrian and Silurian shale gas rocks in northern Poland.
The Department’s employees are engaged in the following research projects:
| NCN OPUS No. 2019/35/B/ST10/00385 | The impact of thermal maturity and maceral composition on the porosity within organic matter in shale rocks: based on studies of Lower Paleozoic shales from the western edge of the East European Craton in Poland.. | Head: Dr. Grzegorz Lis |
| NCN OPUS No. 2021/43/B/ST10/03343 | Metal migration and ore-forming processes in the slowly spreading oceanic lithosphere: The Sudetic Ophiolite.. | Project carried out in a consortium with the Institute of Geological Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences, with Dr. Piotr Wojtulek as the leader on the University of Wrocław’s side. |
| Grant from the Excellence Initiative – Research University program | Geogenic potential of radon in small areas – seasonal and spatial variations and further implications.. | Head: Dr. hab. Dagmara Tchorz-Trzeciakiewicz |
Selected courses taught by the Department’s staff in geological directions at the Institute:
- Exploration and documentation of deposits
- Geology of deposits,
- Statistical methods in geology,
- Legal issues in geology and environmental protection,
- Biogeochemistry of carbon and kerogen,
- Management of mineral resources under conditions of sustainable development,
- Mining and drilling technology,
- Methods of computer modeling of deposits,
- Management of precious and non-ferrous metals
- Problems of mineral processing
- Assessing the environmental impact of the nuclear industry,
- Mineral resources, economics and environment,
- Prospecting and evaluation of mineral reserves,
- New trends in economic geology.
- Legal aspects in geology and environmental management
The expert activities of the staff of the Department of Mineral Resources Management include the following activities performed for the institutions listed below:
- Committee on Mineral Resources under the Minister of Climate and Environment (chairman – dr. hab. Antoni Muszer, vice-chairman – prof. dr. hab. Andrzej Solecki),
- Office of the State Attorney of the Treasury (expertise in arbitration proceedings – prof. Andrzej Solecki),
- Scientific Network Polish Radon Center (participants – dr. hab. Dagmara Tchorz-Trzeciakiewicz, prof. dr. hab. Andrzej Solecki),
- All-Poland Association of Manufacturers of Stone Products (membership in the Qualification Committee reviewing and approving candidates for appraisers – prof. dr. hab. Andrzej Solecki),
- Young Scientists Council advising the Minister of Science and Higher Education (chairman in the years 2018 – 2021 – Dr. Piotr Wojtulek).
