Georesources Switzerland

Current applied research and service projects:

• Critical raw materials (CRM) in Switzerland: We have compiled a summary report of the current state of knowledge about the Critical Raw Materials in Switzerland. » Learn more
• New heat flow map of Switzerland: We compile the temperature and thermal conductivity data from boreholes in Switzerland and create a new heat flow map. » Learn more
• Calcined clays for sustainable concrete: We are producing an indication map for clay occurrences in perimeters of 50 km around the 6 cement production factories in Switzerland. » Learn more
• Seismic interpretation: We carry out 2D or 3D seismic interpretations or do reviews of existing seismic interpretations for (geothermal) exploration projects mainly in Switzerland » Learn more
• Large-scale 3D model of Swiss Alps: we are going to part of the “Swiss Alps 3D” (SA3D) project of swisstopo » Learn more
• Cartographic earthquake risk visualisation: We support the Swiss Seismological Service in the production of earthquake occurrence and risk maps. » Learn more
• Geological mapping of map sheets «Val Bregaglia» and «Campodolcino»: we are producing the geological map sheets “Val Bregaglia” and the easternmost part of “Campodolcino” (Geologischer Atlas der Schweiz 1:25’000, sheets no. 1275 & 1276) including the corresponding explanatory notes. The field area is located in the Central Alps in SE Switzerland. » Learn more
• RIS update: We are updating the content and setup of our Resources Information System RIS. » Learn more

For the completed projects check out the project archive.

The Resources Information System (RIS) is a freely accessible web portal providing data on occurrences and quarries of mineral resources of Switzerland. This includes data on gravel, sand, cement raw materials, brickyard raw materials, crushed stone, natural stone, gypsum and salt, all of which currently extracted in Switzerland. Furthermore, the RIS also contains data on currently not produced mineral resources like energy resources and metals.

The RIS point data originate from numerous surveys carried out by the Swiss Geotechnical Commission (SGTK) since its foundation in 1899. SGTK regularly compiled and published reports, maps and books on those georesources data of Switzerland. Since the 1980ies, such data were digitally recorded and migrated into different database systems. Since 2015, those data are transferred to the RIS making them public.

Among others, the RIS is aimed at persons looking for information on the actual and historic occurrences and extraction of mineral resources in Switzerland. The target audience includes the experts from administration, industry and educational institutions as well as interested laymen.

The RIS intends to give a comprehensive overview on the mineral resources of Switzerland. For that reason, small occurrences are documented that are not commerically extractable (e.g. manganese ores) as well as large, commercially important mineral deposits (e.g. cement raw materials).

The information density of these different raw material types is very heterogeneous by nature. For some occurrences (points) there is a lot of information available, for others there are only very few. Due to limited resources, not a all published data in the RIS could be verified and/or updated to the latest status. Thus, there are still some occurrences (points) with an outdated data status or with erroneous information.

The RIS is regularly adjusted with the web portal of the Federal Office of Topography swisstopo map.geo.admin.ch.

Our team contributes to numerous courses on the georesources and the geology of Switzerland and is also primarily responsible for running some of these courses. This includes lectures, excursions and field courses of the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at ETH Zurich, but also of other departments or universities.

Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences (ETH Zürich)

• Integrated Earth Systems III
• Interpretation of Geological Maps I
• Earth Sciences Excursions I
• Geological Field Course II: Sedimentary Rocks

Department of Archaeology (University of Zurich) & Institute of Archaeological Sciences (University of Bern)

• Swiss International Summer School for Alpine Archaeology (SISA)

The Georesources Switzerland Group took over the archives of the former Swiss Geotechnical Commission (SGTK) in 2018. Listed below are publications by GSG but also selected products from the long-lasting (since 1899) publications series by SGTK.

• Papers, Reports, Abstracts
• Public Outreach
• Theses (BSc, MSc, PhD)
• Books
• Contributions to the Geology of Switzerland, Geotechnical Series
• Contributions to the Geology of Switzerland, Short Notes
• Map Series
• Factsheets

Head
Dr. Stefan Heuberger

Scientific staff
Martina Cervelli
Dr. Kevin Frings
Donat Fulda
Dr. Lukas Nibourel

former team members and assistants
Irina Mayer
Niklaus Kressig
Veronique Sieber
Anja Amrein
Maira Coray
Joël Morgenthaler
Sandra Grazioli
Isabel Schumacher
Dr. Gérard Perren
Dr. Regina Reber
Loïc Pierdona
Margrit Oertle
Gregor Zographos
Arsin Grünig

former BSc and MSc students
Irina Mayer (BSc 2022, MSc 2026)
Janina Klöti (BSc 2025, D-BAUG)
Nicola Debelic (BSc 2025, D-BAUG)
Nicolas Heini (BSc 2024)
Maira Coray (BSc 2021, MSc 2023)
Gillian Iten (MSc 2022)
Lorena Juchler (MSc 2022)
Silas Mauchle (BSc 2021)

Learn more about the Georesources Switzerland Group:

» History
» Collaborations