Mining-geological faculty
The history of the faculty begins in 1922 when the Faculty of Polytechnic was opened on the basis of the decision of the Professors Board of Tbilisi University, which consisted of three department and one of them was the Mining Department. Since 1955 it has been called the faculty of Mining and Geology. From 1971 to 1992, mining and geological faculties existed separately, and since 1992 the Faculties have been united again.
During its existence, the faculty has graduated more than 12000 students who successfully work not only within the country, but also in neighboring countries in mining, geological and oil and gas industries.
The study at the faculty is undertaken according to the European system of credit transfer and accumulation at all levels (bachelor's, master's, doctoral degree).
There are four educational programs of Bachelor Student training : mining technologies; Engineering geodesy and marksider; Geology and oil and gas technologies.
The choice is diversified for students who want to continue their studies in the master's degree. Their faculty offers 19 different sub-programs that cover all the main areas of mining and geology.
Doctoral studies are presented in four outlines: mining technologies; Engineering geodesy; Geology Mining and Geology Management.
Faculty offers 6 educational programs to those interested in higher professional education: Mineral processing; Mining technologies; Oil and gas farming; Well drilling equipment and technology; Geodesy-markside; Applied geology.
A list of employment list for faculty graduates is broad, Specifically: mining-geological enterprises; the enterprises interested in usage and expertise of noble metals , and precious stones; Customs Service; Banks; Museums; Defense field Governors; Appropriate study and research institutions; Oil and gas exploration, extraction, transportation, storage and distribution companies; Companies; Public registry; Construction, design, transport enterprises; Environmental protection and technological process security services, etc.
26 full professors, 42 associate professors, 8 assistant professors and 15 specialists of high quality professions and scientific-research institutions serve students at the faculty.
The Faculty has a sufficient material-technical base for the development of all stages of teaching students as highly qualified specialists.
It should be noted that there are several unique academic and scientific structural units that have a special role in professional formation of students:
Learning shaft laboratory
Analysis of the preparation of mining specialist specialists testifies to the creation of a real presentation on the modern shaft (no training camps and laboratories).
Analysis of the system of training the mining profile specialists proves that it is impossible to have a real opinion about the modern shaft (mineral), practically studying the ongoing processes at the higher school (even the study cabinets and laboratories are perfectly equipped). Partly because of short term business relationship between the student and mining industry during the studies. Actually the young specialist begins developing the skills in the use of complex mechanized complexes and other underground equipments and the process of searching technology, after working on the shaft (mine). The training shaft-laboratory provides a favorable condition for conducting a continuous process of theoretical and practical teaching at the highest school.
The shaft-laboratory, which does not have any analogy, is a combination of horizontal, inclined, vertical tunnels and cameras equipped with modern mining-shipment equipment, mechanisms and automated mechanisms for managing industrial processes, with the whole system of underground power supply. The total length of the tunnels is 1000 meters. The depth of their distribution is 16 and 30 meters from the surface of the earth. The shaft-laboratory is connected to the third building of the Technical University. It is arranged by the slipper and spare lady section. The horizons of mine field carry and ventilation are located at 410 and 422 levels. Among them are angled tunnels - Bremsborg, Bremerberg's Crane and Scorpion (the site of mineral deposits), which stands at 90. In the modern shaft disposal drains are used mechanized complexes, which are used to extract mineral deposits, and to strengthen the work space. Using these very complex mechanisms, which can not be practiced by the traditional forms of learning, is due to the study laboratory. The 70-meter cleaning scorching is intended for the complexes used in the thick thick layers. The storage of heading on the lower horizon is carried out by a tunnel harvester that ensures the collision of the rock, and cleaning the mass of the rock and in the means of transport. In the second tunnel of the same horizons (Quershlag), the rock is broken by drilling-blast. According to this method, the tunneling cycle contains the following processes: To drill the sticker and destroying spit by drilling machine, place the explosive substances (recharged) , place spit, Explosive networking, Explosion (imitation of explosion), ventilating, etc. In the tunnel demolition, students are perfectly employed in the entire complex of withdrawal operations, including the habit of safe execution of drilling-blasting works, thus enabling them to actually explore the profession of the explosives. Different types of cameras are built in the shaft-laboratory: Water pump (pumping equipment) Electric power line, electric locomotives, fire extinguisher, breshamberge, squirrel, ropeway drive, technological device switching equipment. The students are thoroughly studying the exploitation of the mining stationary equipment, underground power supply, automatic management and security issues. Here are all the conditions for individual work of students, which is the prerequisite for the professional training - technological processes and management skills. Underground polygon allows active forms and methods of learning effectively combine with practical-manufacturing modeling. The teaching process of the theoretical course is carried out at the special studying rooms by means of technique installed in the tunnel . The lab has two rooms for conducting lectures and practical exercises. The shaft-lab is presented as the technological and experimental base of the institute and the Center of Higher Education for Teachers of High School.
Mineralogy and Petrograph Museum
The mineralogy and petrograph museum is composed of systemic collections of minerals and rocks from almost all known minefields of the world, there are mineral geochemical, genetic and some metal mineral collections. Jewelery, gloss and facing stones are also exhibited, and models of crystalline mesmerizing minerals. The mineralogy and petrograph training-demonstration museum is one of the rich and diverse museums in the Transcaucasia in terms of mineralogical-petographic exhibits. Here are exhibited minerals, non-minerals and augite and their associations from the famous deposits of Georgia ,former republics of Soviet Union and foreign countries and from their separate areas. Also, precious, gorgeous, facing and building stones. The museum consists of three halls, where exhibition material is distributed thematically. The first hall of the museum is a part of mineralogy and is the main store for students, studying the mineralogy course. Collections of minerals are represented with rich, varied materials and contains old collections - compiled by different classifications and new material. Here are the unique collections of the firm "Kranz" presented by crystalline forms and physical properties of mineral. There are collections of precious and gorgeous stones, their natural formations and processed forms. Minerals of quartz group, Georgian sulphide, oxide and sulfate ores and variety of marble and other facing stones in Georgia are widely represented. The second hall is interesting with rich thematic material. This includes genetic and systematic collections, and also mineral collections according to individual elements, especially the collections of Georgian mineralogical paragenetic associations.
The same hall is represented by the lithological section, which contains rich demonstrative material based on the classification of different collections. Special emphasis is laid on specimens of sedimentary rocks in Georgia. The third hall consists of systematic collections of magmatic and metamorphic rocks that are often filled and refurbished. Georgian rocks play a significant role here. The collection of volcanic formations is presented separately. It is widely presented natural patterns of paving and construction stones, and also processed polished surfaces, when it is visible visible the quality and texture of rocks It should be noted that in addition to demonstration material, reserved collections are kept in a special stores that can be exchanged on samples of mineralogical-petrochemical museums of the world. Over the years, mineral and rock collections were supplemented as a centralized subscription from various geological expeditions, and many unique samples of museums were handed by former students who have been working on the world's famous fields for years. Many interesting examples of minerals and particles have been collected during the scientific field expeditions. Several generations of chairmen have participated in the gathering process of museum collections.
Students collect mineral and particle collections during the practical study in the department and their scientific treatment is carried out at the Center of Scientific department.
In recent years, the museum is filled with students' educational collections, according to the synthetic colored stones and processing form. Processing and synthetic stones are processed at the department laboratory of research and treatment of mineralogy substances .
Apart from the students and postgraduate students of the Faculty of Geology, the museum provides assistance to all people interested in natural wealth, their origin and practical purpose.
Museum of Geology-Paleontology
The main material base of the museum was founded in 1953 when it was provided with the appropriate area in a new building of the Polytechnic Institute. The museum is honored with the nameof prof. G Kharatishvili. who made a great contribution in its development. It was created as a result of the accumulation, study and systematization of minerals, rocks and other materials. The material was collected mainly during the field work and field-geological practices of the chairmen. The department conducted geological practices not only in the territory of Georgia, but also in the geologically interesting regions of the former Soviet Union:
(Armenia, Azerbaijan, Central Asia, Ural, Siberia, Baltic States, Russia, Ukraine, Crimea, North Caucasus, etc). The museum was expanding with the accumulation of material that was properly tested, processed, gradually improved and enriched. Thus a unique educational museum was created, where the main thematic material exhibited reflects the history and development of the Earth. The museum has rich funds, which has great scientific and educational significance. In his storehouses, thousands of rock layer, fossil and mineral samples are stored. The museum displays geological footage depicting panels, mockets, masks of fossil bodies, pictures, portraits of famous scientists, old landscape schemes, maps, explanatory texts that help students learn material. There is the Mammoth’s tusk on the wall at the entrance of the museum, that is performed by the former employee P. Petrov (Most of the masks and pictures in the museum are performed by him). The exhibits of the museum are located in three spacious halls, according to the themes.
The first hall occupies the dynamic geology department.
The material exhibited here depicts the construction of the Earth and the geological processes that form the modern form of the Earth's crust, which is represented by appropriate collections of rocks and minerals. In the hall there is a colorful mascot of volcano vezuv, Geological map of Georgia. There are colorful pictures and posters on the wall that depicts the shapes of relief due to the exhaustion and influence of the wind, geological activity of the underground waters, the seas , the rivers, the glaciers , geysers from Yellowstone National Park (North America) etc.
The second hall is dedicated to the Department of Paleontology and Historical Geology. Here are rich paleontological and geological exhibits (Modern and fossil organ collections, mockets, reconstructions of past geological epochs, samples of rocks, etc.), that illustrate the history of the Earth's crane and life development. The viewer is convinced of how grandiose geological processes operated and operate on our planet, and how much time has passed since the creation of the Earth and the first simple organisms, Everything emerges in nature, develops and changes regularly. During the development process in the the complex and diverse creatures develop from the primitive organisms; everything is in motion, develop, dye and is replaced with a new one.
In the central part of the hall, there are two columns of cases (paleontological section), where invertebrates are exhibited (Amoeboid, Sponges, Coelenterate, Archaeopteryx, Echinodermata, Mollusca etc.) being sorted according to chronological sequence depicting earth's geological development.
At the entrance of the hall, on the right side of the wall, the modern fauna collection is exhibited . There are quite rich and interesting material presented here by members of the chair and former students from different places of our planet
The section of vertebrate animals is located in the third room.
The remains of vertebrate animals are found in the sea and continental sediments, however much less rare than the invertebrates' remains. In sea sediments, usually only fragments of the vertebrate skeleton are found. Continental formations are known for the large number of fossils of vertebrates (North Dvina, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, North America, France). This material is kept in world famous museums. The material exhibited in the hall is mainly presented with models, panels, images, copies and maquettes.. Here we can get familiar with one of the oldest representatives of the rhinoceros Indrikoterium, Jurassic flying reptilian Rhamphorhynchus, mammoth and whale teeth, the predatory animal -Tyrannosaurus rex ,the dinosaurs of the Cretaceous Age, Archaeopterics , the ancestor of the modern bird of late Jurassic age, Tarbozaurus discovered in Mongolia, Diatomites from Kishyab, that are well imprinted with the skeletons of fishes and frogs, Pliocene giant deer, Diplodocs, Swordteeth Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs with flippers on the wrist, Gvarlatimeria and other interesting material.
The exhibited material, which concerns to the origin of human, is very important. (Two panos: the life of the people of stone age, the crommannon, the boy-Neanderthal, archeological material on the shelf, Udabnopithecus, Australopithecus etc.) In the glass window there is a skull of the shimpanzee, Pythonntropy, Sinantrop, Heidelberg human, lower jaw. The big colored pictures are on the wall (perm landscape with Pareiasaurs and Inostrantsevia, Saurolophus of Cretaceous period, etc.), the model of carbon insect.
The monumental paleontological materials are also preserved in the museum.
In addition to bachelor's, master students and doctoral students of the mining-geological faculty, the museum is a great help to all who are interested in geology and origin and development of life. This is a confirmation of the numerous records in the museum magazine.