The University of Canberra (UC) has loaned its Matthias Economic Geological Collection to Geoscience Australia for the next 10 years to make the significant mineral collection more accessible to researchers across the country.
In a statement, UC said the scientific collection was named after its founder and UC professor, Ian Matthias, and comprised of more than 4,000 specimens worth over $580,000.
Art Collection Coordinator at UC, Alex Stalker-Booth said the collection included samples from sites across the world, which were now inaccessible and had been in storage since the university stopped offering geology as a field of study.
Chief Scientist at Geoscience Australia, Steve Hill said the collection greatly complemented the Organisation’s National Mineral and Fossil Collection, which housed more than 300,000 world-class mineral, meteorite, fossil and rock thin section specimens.
“Because the Matthias Economic Geological Collection comes from so many diverse sites worldwide, it provides a valuable basis of comparison for research,” Dr Hill said.
“We are looking forward to making it available to researchers, who will deepen the knowledge we have of Australia’s economic geology, and to working with the University of Canberra to catalogue and allow all Australians to access this collection online,” he said.
Associate Vice-President of Campus Estate at UC, John Owens said the 10-year loan could be recalled if the university decided to teach geology again and the arrangement had also created Work Integrated Learning (WIL) opportunities for UC students.
