CHOICES1

Organic matter (OM) is only a small part of the sedimentation. Contrary to the other deposited particles, it can evolve rapidly during burial by interacting with the grains of the host rock and by producing fluids (gases and liquids) which will be very mobile. Because of its degradation by bacteria, its preservation depends on many parameters but especially on the fine granulometry of the grains deposited at the same time. Thus clays represent the most favorable medium for the preservation of OM but their complex mineralogy makes them a particular material which will also be transformed during burial. The products of their interactions were of course of interest to the mining and petroleum industries, since these processes are at the origin of the large series of coal and hydrocarbon production. But recently, studies are increasingly interested in these two elements as tracers of the origin of sediments and as markers of burial, which is of major interest in understanding the filling of basins and their post-depositional evolution.

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Mineral deposits, exploration techniques, geostatistics, mining economics. The training is mainly based on presentations by professionals (mine and quarry). Two field days illustrate certain exploration methods, notably through the study of uranium and gypsum mineralization.

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