Quantitative Interpretation of Orientation Surveys · Quantitative Interpretation of Orientation Surveys ... such as dispersion profiles and symbol plots will adequately display the

NUMBER 177 DECEMBER 2017

Newsletter for the Association of Applied Geochemists

www.appliedgeochemists.org

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Quantitative Interpretation of Orientation SurveysChris Benn1, Giancarlo A. Daroch2, Martin Kral2, Paul Lhotka2 1Chris Benn Consulting, 3424 West 1st Ave, Vancouver, V6R 1G7, BC, CANADA, [email protected]; 2Capstone Mining Corp., 510 W Georgia St, #2100, Vancouver, BC, V6B 0M3, CANADA.

Introduction Whenexploringinnewareas,preliminaryfieldandlaboratoryinvestigationsareaccomplishedbycarryingoutorientationsurveys.Thesesurveysdetermine:(a)thenatureandextentofdispersionpatternsrelatedtomineralization,and(b)thedistri-butionandbehaviourofelementsofpotentialinterestinunmineralisedareas.Theparametermostoftensoughtisthelength(inthecaseofstreamsedimentsampling)orarealextent(inthecaseofsoilsampling)ofdispersiontrails,asthesecanberelateddirectlytotherequiredsamplingdensity.Thereare,however,problemswiththesequantitiesduetotheerraticnatureofgeochemicaldata.Themainproblemisindecidingwherethedispersiontrailends,thatis,atwhichpointdotheanomaloussamplesbecomelostwithinthespreadofbackgroundvalues.Oneormorethresholdvaluesarenormallychosentoseparatewhatisconsideredanomalousfromwhatisconsideredbackground. Orientationsurveyshavethepotentialforgeneratingabundantdataeventhoughtheycomprisefewsamples.Afteranalysingseveralsampletypesand/orseveralsizefractionsformanyelements,itiseasytoaccumulatealotofdata.Commoninterpretationaidssuchasdispersionprofilesandsymbolplotswilladequatelydisplaythedatafrommostorientationsurveys.However,itisdifficulttoquantifythedifferencesseenonthesediagrams.Forexample,onemaybeabletoseethataparticu-larsampletypeisperformingbetterthananother,butbyhowmuch?Quantifyingthesedifferenceswillhelpwhenbalancingouttherelevantfactorsanddecidingonthemostcosteffectivemethods. Wheninterpretingorientationsurveysapopularmethodofseparatinganomalousfrombackgroundpopulationsistoanalysethedataonaprobabilityplotandthenseparatethetwo,ormore,populationsbyassumingthattheyfollowanormal(Gaussian)orlognormaldistribution(Sinclair1976).Thechoiceofthethreshold(s)willnotpresentanyproblemsintheun-likelyeventthatanomalousandbackgroundvaluesarecompletelyseparated.Unfortunatelyoverlappingpopulationsarethenorm.Themoretheyoverlap,themoredifficultitistoestablishsensiblethresholdsandhencedeterminedispersiondistances.Stanley(2003)describedamethodofdeterminingtheeffectivenessofanynewexplorationmethodusinghypergeometricprobability.ThestudyreportedheredescribesanadditionalapproachactingonthesuggestionbyStanley(2003)thatanori-entationsurveyallowstheoperatoramethodofdeciding,a priori,whichsamplesareanomalousandwhicharebackground.Withanorientationsurvey,noassumptionabouttheformofthestatisticaldistributionneedbemade.Insteadoneonlyhastobreakthepopulationsintothetwo,ormore,groups,anomalousandbackground.Therecouldbemorethanonebackgroundpopulationiftherearegeochemicallydifferentbedrockunitsinthesurveyarea.Thedifficultyliesindecidinghowfarawayfromadirectprojectionofmineralizationtothesurfaceasamplecanbeconsideredanomalous.Arefinementontheabovebinarymethodistouseathreefoldcategorizationof(1)highlyanomalous,(2)anomalous,or(3)background,whichprovidesanew“proximityindication”. Thesimplestandmostdirectwayofdisplayingandcomparingtheanomalousandbackgroundsamples,determinedusingdispersionprofiles,istoconstructaprobabilityplotsofeachonthesamediagram.Ifaparticularelementandsampletype

combinationisworkingwell,thedifferentprobabilityplotsshouldbewellseparated.Nostatisticaldistributionassumptionismadebyusingtheseplots;theyaremerelyaconve-nientandfamiliarmethodofdisplayingthedatadistributions.Thismethodologyisdemonstratedwithtwoexamples.Thefirstisanorientationsoilsurveythattestedseveralanalyticaltechniquesandsizefractionsoverknownmineraliza-tioninChile,andthesecondastreamsedimentorientationsurveyinAustralia.

Example 1 – Sierra Amarilla area, III Region, ChileCapstoneMiningCorporationisexploringforbasemetaldepositsincentralChilethroughanoptionagreementwithSociedadQuimicayMineraS.A.(SQM).Beforestart-ingsurfacesamplingprograms,anorientationsurveywascarriedoutoverasmallareaofknownoxidemineralizationinordertodeterminethemostappropriatesamplingmethodandanalyticaltechnique.AnorientationareaataprospectcalledSierraAmarillawasselectedthatislocated50kmeastofthecityofTaltalinRegionII,atameanelevationof1,800mabovesealevel,withmostlygentletopography.ThePan-AmericanHighwaycutsthroughthecentreoftheblock(Fig.1).Theregionhasahyper-aridclimateandisalmostdevoidofplantgrowth.

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TABLE OF CONTENTSQuantitativeInterpretationofOrientationSurveys................................ 1NotesfromtheEditor................................................................................. 3President’sMessage ............................................................................... 4TeachingExplorationGeochemistry—AViewfromEurope............... 1528thIAGSandResourcesforFutureGenerations2018........................ 18AAGMemberSurvey................................................................................. 19Obituary:T.KurtisKyser............................................................................ 20AAG-SGSStudentPresentationPrize...................................................... 21ExplorationGeochemistry:ShortCourse................................................. 22Geochemistry:Exploration,Environment,Analysis................................ 23AAGNewMembers................................................................................... 24RecentlyPublishedinElements................................................................ 24CamelsintheCaribooDistrict,Canada................................................... 26CalendarofEvents...................................................................................... 27GeochemistryintheNews.......................................................................... 28

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EXPLOREissue177includestwoarticles.ThefirstoneiswrittenbyChrisBenn,GiancarloDaroch,MartinKral,andPaulLhotkaanddescribestheinterpretationofgeochemicaldatafromorientationsurveysinChileandAustralia.ThesecondarticlebyCharlieMoonprovidesinsightsintotheteachingofexplora-tiongeochemistryandfuturedemandsforeducation.EXPLORE thanksallthosewhocontributedtothewritingand/oreditingofthisissue:SteveAmor,DennisArne,AlArsenault,ChrisBenn,DavidCohen,GiancarloDaroch,BobGarrett,MartinKral,ArthurLang,DanLayton-Matthews,RayLett,DavidLeng,MattLeybourne,PaulLhotka,CharlieMoon,PaulMorris,andRyanNoble. Inthislastissueof2017,EXPLOREgratefullyacknowl-edgesourtwocorporatesponsorsfortheyear,ALSMineralsandSciApps,aswellasouradvertizers,fortheircontinuingfinancialsupport.Belowistheteamthathasprovidedreaderswithfourexcellentissuesthisyear.WewishallAAGmembersandotherreadersofEXPLOREasuccessfulupcoming2018. BethMcClenaghan,Editor PimvanGeffen,BusinessManager SteveAmor,CalendarofEvents AlArsenault,NewMemberslistandother AAGbusinessofficenews RyanNoble,President’sLetter DennisArne,Elementscontent DaveSmith,AGMMinutes,CouncilElections,and otherAAGbusiness DaveLeng,editingassistance DennisArne,GeochemicalNuggets RayLett,EXPLOREmailinglist VivianHeggie,Pagelayoutandmailing

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Quantitative Interpretation of Orientation Surveys… continued from page 1

continued on page 6

Informationfromanumberoftrenches,shallowpits,anddrillholeswasusedtooutlineazoneofmanto-typeoxideCumineralizationhostedinandesitesoftheCretaceousAeropuertoFormation.Manto-typedepositsaretypicallycontrolledbythepermeabilityprovidedbyfaults,hydrother-malbreccias,vesicularflowtops,andflowbreccias(Sillitoe2003).InadditiontoCu,thereareanomalousconcentrationsofAg,Au,ZnandPb(TapiaandVidela2011)attheprospect.Theareaiscoveredby5to10mofTertiarygravels. PreviousworkhasshownthatcertainanalyticaltechniquesandsampletypesrevealgeochemicalanomaliesatthesurfaceoftransportedgravelsintheAtacamaregionofChile(Cameronet al.2010).Onepossiblemechanismfortheformationofsurfacegeochemicalanomaliesintheregionisseismicpumpingofgroundwaterfromdepthtothesurfacethroughthegravels.ThepHofthegroundwaterisslightlyalkalineandelementssuchasMoandAscanbetransportedasoxyanions.Supportfortheseismicpumpingtheorycomesfromsignificantseismicactivityintheregionandevidenceoffaultscarpsandfracturesthat

cutthroughthepostmineralcover(Kelleyet al.2003).RecentfracturingwithsecondaryCuoxidesformingpartoftheinfillmaterialcanbeseeninthesidesofthetrenches(Fig.2a)andthesecouldbepossibleconduitsforthegroundwater.Thesefracturesalsopostdatedacementedlayerofcalichedevelopedinplaceswithinthepedimentgravels(Fig.2b).

Figure 1. Location of the Sierra Amarilla orientation area, Chile.

Figure 2. (a) Fractures cutting through surface material; (b) caliche developed on gravels that postdate mineralisation.

2a


continued on page 8

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Althoughgenerallyweakanomaliesformatthesurface,theanomalytobackgroundcontrastscanbeimprovedbyusingselectiveleachextractions.Theaimoftheorientationstudywastoinvestigatetheeffectivenessofseveralsurfacesamplingandanalyticaltechniquesinareasoftransportedgravel. Threeorientationlineswerecompletedataspacingof150mwithsamplescollectedevery10m.Thesesamplinglineswereparalleltothetrenchesandcarewastakentoavoidcontaminationfromthesesurfacedisturbances.Table1liststhetypesofsamplescollectedateachsite,andthetypeofanalysiscarriedout.

Figure 3. Methods for collecting samples A, B, and C.

Table 1. Types of Samples and Methods of Analysis (see Figure 3)

Sample Collection Method Analysis

A Surface lag: 500 g of Pulverised and four acid “near-total” surface material sieved digestion method code (ALS) ME-MS61 <2 mm, coarse retained

B Surface lag: 100 g split Analysed by portable XRF of <2 mm from above

C 10 - 20 cm depth: thin Ionic Leach. Static sodium cyanide brownish layer scraped leach method code (ALS) ME-MS23. away so reddish colour Preferentially attacks weakly adsorbed visible (due to Fe oxy- metal ions; metals associated with hydroxides), 1.5 kg of carbonate minerals and to some extent <2mm material metals associated with amorphous Mn collected. and Fe oxyhydroxides.


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Fieldduplicatesweretakenandgoodreproducibilitywasshownforallelements(RSD<15%)exceptforAudeterminedbyIonicLeach,whichhadaRSDof47%.Resultsoftheorientationsamplingwereplottedasdispersionprofilesandtheseareusefulforshowingifthereisaresponsealongtheorientationlines(Fig.4).

Figure 4. Dispersion Profiles for Cu and Ag for different types of samples

TheoutlineofmineralizationisshowninlightredandtheYaxisshowstheresponseratiowhichistheactualvaluedi-videdbythefirstquartile.ApositiveresponsefromtheA(surfacelag)andC(IonicLeach)samplesforCuandAgisappar-entonallthreelines,althoughitisdifficulttodeterminewhichsampletypeisthebest. Thesedispersionprofilestogetherwithaprojectionofmineralizationcanassistindeterminingwhichsamplesareanoma-lousversusbackground.Figure5usestheprofilesforSampleCtodemonstratethatitisreasonablyeasytodistinguishbe-tweencoincidentsamplesoverlyingmineralization(reddots)versusflankingsamples(moredistal)frommineralization(greendots).

Thesimplestandmostdirectwayofdisplayingandcom-paringthisaprioriclassificationofproximalmineralizationandbackgroundsamplesistodrawprobabilityplotsforthisclassifi-cationforeachelementofinterestonthesamediagram. Ifaparticularelementandsampletypeissuitable,thenthethreeprobabilityplotsshouldshowclearseparationbetweendataforsamplesitescoincidenttomineralizationthatarehigherthanthoseflankingtomineralizationandbothhigherthanthebackgroundsamples.Thereisnostatisticaldistributionassumptionmadebytheseplots.Itisonlywhenastraightlineisfittedtoprobabilityplotsthatthereisanunderlyingassumptionofnormalorlognormaldistribution.Theseplotscanbeusedtomeasurethereliabilityofanygiventhresholdforaparticularelementandsampletypecombination.Figure6isanexample


continued on page 10


Figure 5. Profiles showing selection of samples as highly anomalous, anomalous, and background.

ofprobabilityplotsforCucontentinSampleC(ionicleachanalysis).Althoughtheflankingandcoincidentsamplesarewellseparatedfromthebackgroundpopulation,theyaresimilartoeachothersuggestinglittledifferencebetweenthetwo.Aprob-abilityplotforallthesamplesisalsoshownforreference.

Figure 6. Split probability plot for Sample C (ionic leach) showing the difference between coincident, flanking and background samples.


Anadditionalfeatureofthistypeofplotisthatonecanmeasuretheproportionofsamplesbelowthethreshold(anoma-liesmissed)andproportionofsamplesabovethethreshold(falseanomalies).Theseprobabilityplotsrequireasubjectivevisualinterpretationsuchasdetermininganinflectionpointbetweentwodifferentplotgradientsegments.Hence,anoverallmeasureoftheseparationrevealedbytheseprobabilityplotsisneeded.Thiscanbeachievedbycorrelatingthedatavalueswithaproximityvariablederivedbyrankingthesamplesusingtheapriorimethodjustdescribed.Anumericalrankingsystemisrequired: • 0forbackgroundsamples(offthedispersiontail); • 1forflankingsamples(onthedispersiontrail)butnotdirectlyovermineralisation;and, • 2forcoincidentsamplescloseorovermineralisation ThemostappropriatecorrelationmeasureistheSpearmanrankcorrelationcoefficient.Thisisanon-parametricstatisticthatquantifiestheassociationbetweentwovariables.Thehigherthecorrelation,thebettertheelementandsampletypeisatdefiningthemineralization.UsingtheSpearmanrankcorrelation,itispossibletosimultaneouslycomparealltheelementsandsampletypes.Table2showstheSpearmanrankcorrelationcoefficientsforproximityvariablewithtarget(Cu,Au,Ag)andpathfinderelements(Mo,Mn,Pb,Zn),anddifferentsampletypes.

Table 2. Spearman rank correlation between proximity variable and target/pathfinder elements for different sample types.


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TargetandpathfinderelementsperformthebestinSampleCcloselyfollowedbySampleA.SampleBperformedpoorlyforelementsotherthanCubutthisisprobablyduetothepooranalyticalqualityofthepXRFforsomeelements–anexamplebeingPb. Thismeasureofproximitycanbeusedinotherstatisticalproceduressuchasmultipleregressiontopredicttheproximityvariablefromseveraloftheelementsforagivensampletype.Thiscouldresultinanequationforanewvariablethatwouldhighlightmineralizationbetterthananysingleelementalone.Inthiscase,theproximityvariablewasregressedagainstCu,Ag,Au,Mn,PbforSampleC(IonicLeachsample).TheSpearmanrankcorrelationbetweenthisnewvariableandtheproximityvariablewas0.75,whichwashigherthanthatforCualone(0.71)suggestingthereisasmallimprovementusingthismultiele-mentproximityvariable.

DispersionprofilesforCuandthenewproximityvariablecomposedofCuandAgareshowninFigure7.

Figure 7. Dispersion profiles for Cu content in Sample C and new proximity variable (Cu +Ag). continued on page 11

Sample Type/Analysis Cu Ag Au Mo Mn Pb Zn A Surface,4 acid 0.67 0.66 -0.15 0.16 0.55 -0.16 B Surface pXRF 0.61 0.06 0.02 0.067 0.01 C 20cm depth Ionic Leach 0.71 0.61 0.43 0.43 0.51 0.57 -0.33



CopperandAgmakebyfarthelargestcontributiontotheregressionmodel,anditispossiblethattheregressionestimat-ingthemultivariateproximityvariablecouldshowanimprovementifmoreelementswereincludedinthecorrelation. Thiscasestudyhasshowntheusefulnessofassigningorientationsamplestobackground,flanking,orcoincidentgroupspriortotheanalysisofdata.ProbabilityplotsandSpearmancorrelationcoefficientscanthenbeusedtodeterminethebestelementsandsampletypesfordetectingthetypeofmineralizationoverwhichthesurveywasconducted.

Example 2 – Stream sediment orientation survey, Rhyolite Creek Au-base metal prospect, Victoria, Australia TheRhyoliteCreekAu-basemetalprospectislocatedabout145kmENEofMelbourneincentraleasternVictoria(Fig.8).WeakAumineralizationwasexploredbyBHPinthe1980s.TheprospectlieswithinafaultboundedstructuralwindowthatexposesCambrianrockswithinthePalaeozoicMountUsefulSlateBelt.Mineralizationishostedbyvolcaniclasticunitsinterbeddedwithintermediatetofelsicvolcanicflowsandintrusives.SignificantCu-Ausulphidemineralizationwasdiscov-eredatHill8006kmtothenorth.


Figure 8. Location of Rhyolite Creek Au base metal prospect Victoria. Australia


Astreamsedimentorientationsurveyconsistingof36samplesand5fieldduplicateswascarriedoutdownstreamfromknownmineralization.Twotypesofsampleswerecollectedandanalyzed: ~1kgBlegsample(cyanideactive),analysisforAu. ~1kgsamplesievedto<200mesh,<20+40mesh,<40+60mesh,<60+80mesh,<80+200mesh,analysisforAu(fire assay),Pb,As,Zn,Cuby3-acid(HNO3,HCl,HClO4)digestionandAAS.Thesurveywascarriedoutin1984andonlyatomicabsorptionspectrometry(AAS)wasavailableforthesampleanalysisatthattime. Asdescribedbeforeinexample1,probabilityplotswereusedtodisplayandcompareanomalousandbackgroundsamples.Theseplotsstillrequireasubjectivevisualinterpretationtoestablishtheoverallmeasureofpopulationseparation.Figure9showsthedistributionofstreamsedimentsamples.Therewasevidenceindispersionprofilesthatsamplesasfaras7kmdownstreamreflecttheCu-Aumineralisation.


Figure 9. Distribution of orientation samples

Fortheorientationstudy,theproximityvariablewasgivenby:0=offdispersion(background)1=ondispersiontrail3-7kmaway(distal)2=ondispersiontrail0-2kmaway(proximal)AmeasureofhowwellaparticularelementandsampletypeidentifiedtheCu-AumineralizationisrevealedbytheSpearmanrankcorrelationcoefficientbetweentheproximityvariableandanalyticalresults(Table3).

ForAu,the<200meshsamplesperformedthebest,followedbyBleg,andthen<40+60mesh.Cor-relationsofZnareallsignificantandwerehighestforeachsampletype.Leadgavethesecondbestcor-relationsinallsampletypesexcept<200meshand<40+60mesh.The<200meshfractionperformedwellforeveryelementexceptCu. Arsenicgavesignificantcorrelationsinonly<200meshandthispoorresponseisexplainedbyexamining

thebetween-elementcorrelations.ArsenicshowsaPb-Zn-As-AuassociationrelatedtotheCu-AumineralizationwhereastheCu-Asassociationisun-relatedtoCu-Aumineralisation. TheseelementscanbecombinedintoanequationthatbetterhighlightstheCu-Aumineralisation.Thiswasaccomplishedbyregressingtheproximityvariableagainsttheanalyticalresultsforthe<200meshsamples.Resultsforeachelementwerefirstlogtransformedbecausethefrequencydistributionsarehighlypositivelyskewed.StepwisemultipleregressionanalysiswascarriedoutwhichshowedthatonlyAuandZnareneededintheequation.Theresultingequationis:Y=2.5log(Zn)+1.0log(Au) TheSpearmanrankcorrelationbetweenthisnewvariableandtheproximityvariableis0.71,whichishigherthaneitherAuorZnalone(0.55).TheprobabilityplotoftheregressionvariableisshowninFigure10,andthemapofpostedvaluesspatiallyshowshowwellthetechniqueworks. ResultsfortheRhyoliteCreekorientationsurveyshowthatthe<200meshsamplewasthemostsuitablesizefractionforhighlightingtheknownCu-AumineralisationandtheelementsinorderresponseareAu>Zn>Pb>As>Cu.ForAualone,theBlegtechniquealsoindicatedthepresenceoftheCu-Aumineralisation.

Conclusions Thesecasestudieshaveshowntheusefulnessofa prioriassigningorientationsamplestoeitherbackgroundoranomalousgroupsbasedontheirspatialrelationshipstoknownmineralizationbeforefurtherinterpretingthedata.Probabilityplotsand


Table 3 Spearman rank correlations with proximity variable

Au Pb As Zn CuBLEG 0.47 <200# 0.55 0.38 0.36 0.55 0.04<80>200# 0.04 0.34 0.21 0.49 -0.06<60>80# 0.16 0.23 0.12 0.49 -0.07<40>60# 0.43 0.21 0.12 0.45 -0.2<20>40# 0.02 0.32 0.17 0.37 -0.14



Spearmanrankcorrelationscanthenbeusedtodeterminethemostsuitableelementsandsampletypesfordetectingthetypeofmineralisationoverwhichthesurveyswereconducted.Themethodcanbeappliedtomosttypesoforientationsurveydataandmineralisationaslongasthespatiallocationofbedrockmineralisationiswellconstrained.

Acknowledgements CapstoneMiningisthankedforallowingtheSierraAmarillacasehistorytobepublished.ColinFarrellyisthankedforthedevelopingtheinitialmethodologyandprovidinginspiration.BobGarrett,RayLett,GraemeBonham-Carter,RaelLipsonandMattEckfeldtarethankedforreviewingthearticleandmakingsignificantimprovements.

ReferencesCAMERON,E,LEYBOURNE,M.REICH,M,PALACIOUS,C.,2010.GeochemicalanomaliesinnorthernChileasasur-

faceexpressionoftheextendedsupergenemetallogenesisofburiedcopperdeposits.Geochemistry: Exploration, Environ-ment, Analysis, 10,157-169

CHERRY,D.P.,Hill800Au-CuMineralization,EasternVictoria,RegolithExpressionofAustralianOreSystems.Acompila-tionofgeochemicalcasehistoriesandconceptualmodels.1998.

KELLEY,D.L.,HALL,G.E.M,CLOSS,L.G,HAMILTON,I,McEWEN,R.M.,2003.Theuseofpartialextractiongeochem-istryforcopperexplorationinnorthernChile.Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis, 3,85-104.¬

SILLITOE,R.H.,2003.Ironoxide–copper-golddeposits:anAndeanview.Mineralium Deposita, 3,787-812.SINCLAIR,A.J.,1976.Applicationofprobabilitygraphsinmineralexploration.TheAssociationofExplorationGeochem-

ists,SpecialVolumeNo.4STANLEY,C.R.,2003.Statisticalevaluationofanomalyperformance.Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis, 3,

3-12.TAPIA,J.&VIDELA,M.,2011.InformedeAvanceGeologiaBasicaCamapana4Ano2011:AreadeInteresInteriorde

TaltalGEDMMarzo,2011.Internalreport–SQM.

Figure 10. Split probability plot for the regression variable and location of values for the regression variable for the -200 mesh fraction of stream sediment samples.


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Introduction Inhispresident’smessageofJune2017(EXPLORE,175),RyanNoblecommentedonthestateofappliedgeochemistryintertiaryeducation.Asherightlypointedout,majorcentresarelimited,astheyrequireaccesstoexpensiveequipmentandcollaborationwithindustryorgovernmentorganisations.Smallerscalecombinedteachingandresearchcentresaremorewidespread.Inthisarticle,IreviewthecontentofcourseswhichIhavebeeninvolvedinoverthelast35years(mainlyintheUK)andsomeoftheopportunitiesIseeinthefuture.Mostofthesecourseshavefocussedonminingandexploration,withoccasionalforaysintoenvironmentalissues. Thecoursesormoduleshavemainlyinvolvedappliedgeologyatundergraduatelevel(3rdyearinUK),withaone-yearcourseatmaster’slevelineithermineralexplorationormininggeology.However,inaddition,appliedgeochemistrycanbealargecomponentof2-3monthstudentprojectsatmaster’slevel,usuallyincollaborationwithindustry. Thekeydriverforsuchcoursesisemployment;thereisnopointdevisingexpensivecoursesiftherearefewjobs.Europehasseenadistinctdeclineinhome-basemineralexplorationandmining,butthebetterstudentshavefoundemployment,atleastinboomyears,inAfricaandAustralia.IftheychoosetobebasedinEurope,thereisemploymentinconsultingcom-paniesormorerecentlyasfly-infly-outemployeesinAfricaorAsia.Othershavegravitatedtowardsenvironmentalprojects.Somestudentshavegoneontobecomefullyfledgedgeochemists,throughthePh.D.route,orviatraininginindustryorgov-ernment.Todate,thepositiveattitudeofuniversityadministratorsintheUKcombinedwiththeinterestofstudentshaskeptcoursesgoingthroughindustrylow-points,unlikethelesstolerantapproachshowninNorthAmericaandAustralia.

Courses Typically,explorationgeochemistrymoduleshaveinvolvedlecturesandworkshopsintegratedwithfieldsampling,labora-toryanalysisanddatainterpretationexercises.Thesehaveusuallybuiltonstudent’sknowledgeofmineraldepositgeologyandchemistry,buttheextentofthislatterknowledgeseemstohavebecomemorelimitedinrecentyears.Thelecturetopicscoveredincludedistributionofelements,chemicalanalysis,weathering,soil,water,androckgeochemistryaswellassomecasestudiesandspecialcases,particularlygoldanddiamondexploration. WorkshopsessionscommencedwithsomeexercisesfromLevinsonet al.(1987)andplottingsimplesingleelementmapsofelementdistributions.IfoundtheDaisyCreekcopperdatausefulasitiswelldescribedintheliterature(Stanley1988).Oftheremainingsessionsmostaredevotedtodatafromafieldarea,oftenusingpublicdomaindatae.g.TellusSW(TellusSW2017)andgettingstudentsfamiliarwithsoftwarediscussedbelow.IhavesuccessfullyusedtheAAG‘WritingGeochemicalRe-ports’asatemplateforthefinalreport(Bloom2001). Oneoftheproblemsintrainingstudentsisthelackofagoodcurrenttextbookinexplorationgeochemistry.SincethepublicationofRoseet al(1979)andLevinson(1980),therehavebeenfewtextbooksaddressingexplorationgeochemistry,althoughEvans(1995)andMoonet al.(2006)offersomecoverageofthistopic.Thecontentsweretosomeextentdeterminedbytheopinionofacommercialpublisherastofuturesalesandpricingpoint.Thishasprovedcorrect,atleastuntiltheadventoftheinternetandmassscanningoftexts.Recentlytherehavebeenothertextspublishedonmineralexploration(Haldar2013;Gandhi&Sarkar2016;BustilloRevuelta2018)butnoneonappliedgeochemistry.

Fieldwork Oneofthekeyfeaturesofanyprogrammeisfieldwork(Fig.1).Themostrewardingfieldworkforthestudentshasbeenthereconnaissancephaseofstreamsedimentssampling,includingademonstrationofpanning,withafol-low-upsoilsamplingexercise.Foruniversitiesthataredistantfromsuitablefieldareas,theseexercisesarecarriedoutasfieldcamps(i.e.areresidential).Thebestfieldareasinmyexperienceareofsub-economicbasemetaldepos-itsinareasoflittlepastmining. Forresidentialcourses,chemicalanalysisofsamplesonsiteispreferablesothatanomaliescanbefollowedupinthefieldandinvestigatedbyfurthersampling,mappingandgeophysics.However,thiscanbeexpensive.InthedaysofAAS,wesetupaninstrumentinaself-cateringestablishment,butICPanalysisrequiresanalysisinthelaboratory.Field-basedanalysisisnowagainpossiblewiththelowdetectionlimitsforportableXRFinstruments.Theadventoffielddatacollectiononmobilephoneandtabletshasalsoen-abledmuchmoreaccuratepositioningandreducedfielderrors,althoughnotallappsareyetstudentproof.

Teaching Exploration Geochemistry — A View From EuropeCharlie Moon Consulting Geologist and Part-time Lecturer, United Kingdom

Figure 1. Students collecting soil samples over the Coed-Brenin porphyry Cu-Au prospect, Wales.



Teaching Exploration Geochemistry — A View From Europe… continued from page 15

Anothertypeoffieldworkinvolvesvisitstominingandexplorationoperations.Wehavebeenfortunatetodothisonaworldwidebasis.Studentscanreallyseeawayforwardandtheuseofwhattheyhavelearntintheclassroom.Althoughthesetakeupvaluabletimefortheorganisationsthathaveaccommodatedus,theyaremuchappreciated.

Laboratory Gettingstudentstounderstandhowchemicalanalysisisundertakenisbestdonewithsometimeinthelaboratory(Fig.2).However,increasedconcernforhealthandsafetyassociatedwiththeuseofstrongacidshasresultedinfarfewerstudentshavingexposuretowetchemistry.Sharingofinstrumentswithotherre-searchers,especiallylaser-ablationresearch,hasenabledstudentstocontinuewithsomeaccess,particularlyforprojects.However,schedulingforlargerbatchesofsamplesforteachingisdifficultandexpensive.UseofportableXRFinstrumentsispermittedforstudentsintheUKafterashorttraining,andcanenablestudentstogetagoodunderstandingofhands-ondataacquisition,includ-ingprecisionandaccuracyatlimitedcost.

Statistics and Worksheets Itsoonbecomesobvioustostudentsthatgeochemicaldatasetsarelarge,requiringaknowledgeofcomputerbasedstatis-tics.Theinitialstagesareusuallyinvolvereviewingthedatainaspreadsheet,suchasMicrosoftExcel.Overtheyearswehaveusedavarietyofcomputer-basedstatisticspackagesincludingMinitab,SPSSandrecentlythepublicdomainR,largelydependentonthesitelicenceoftheuniversityandpreferencesofotheruniversitydepartments(Minitab2017;SPSS2017;R2017).MorerecentlywehavemovedtoioGAS,whichismoresuitableforgeologists.

GIS and Simulation GISproficiencyis,atleastintheUK,mandatoryforprofessionalaccreditationingeologycourses,whereasinexplorationorenvironmentalgeochemistryitisoptional(Fig.3).MostoftherecentGISworkhasbeeninArcGIS,asUKuniversitieshaveaccesstoreasonablypricedsitelicences.SomestudentshavealsousedMapinfoandrecentlythepublicdomainsoftware

Figure 2. Student digesting the Coed-y-Brenin soil samples in the university laboratory.

QGIS(ArcGIS2017;Mapinfo2017;Qgis2017).WehaveusedanumberofexamplestoteachGIS,suchastheCabodeGataareainSpainwhereAumineralisationiswelldocumentedandiseasilyaccessibleforfieldworkfromtheUK(e.g.,Carranzaet al.2008).Anothersuit-abledatasetisthewesternpartoftheBushveldIgneousComplexinSouthAfricawhereair-bornegeophysicsandwidelyspacedgovernmentsoilgeochemistryweremadeavailableunderaninitiativeoftheSouthAfricanGeophysicalAssociation(SAGA2017).OthersetsusedbycolleaguesarefromLeinsterinTellusIreland(TellusIreland2017)andnorthernFinland(GTK2017). Anumberoflargemulti-methoddatasets,

Figure 3. Results of typical student soil sampling exercise: Sn (ppm) soil, SW Cornwall plotted in ArcGIS. The base map is a hill-shaded Lidar DTM from Ferraccioli et al. (2014). Samples were anal-ysed by pXRF on disaggregated soil samples: N= 143 samples, ~50, 75, 90, 95 percentiles plotted. Lumpy features on the ground surface associated with Sn anomalies are old tin mine workings.




includinggeochemistry,arenowbeingmadeavailableforthistypeofwork,conspicuouslyundertheFrankArnottcompetitiveinitiative(FrankArnott2017)andcanbealsousedforteaching.TheresultsofinitialinterpretationofthetopfourentirewerepresentedattheExploration’17decennialconferenceinToronto,CanadainOctober2017.OnedangerofthisGISapproachisthatexplorationgeochemistryisnowoftenseenasonlyanotherlayerintheGIS(notablybyexplorationmanagers)andinsufficientemphasisisputonunderstandinghowanomalieshaveformed,ratherthanlookingattheimmediatehighconcen-trationsthatlinkwithgeophysicsorgeology.Handlingdatafromdrillholesand3Dmodellingismoreproblematicasfewuniversities,particularlygeologydepartments,regardthisasapriorityareaandthesoftwareiscomplexandnoteasilylearnt.WehaveusedMicromine,Datamine,andLeap-frog,butstudentshavebeenmainlytaughtbyprofessionaltrainersfromsoftwareprovidersandthetraininghasbeenorientedtoderivingageologicalmodelandaresourceestimate,usuallyonsimulateddata(Datamine2017;Leapfrog2017;Micromine2017). OnemethodofteachingwhichwefoundparticularlyusefulforanumberofyearswasrunningamodulebasedaroundasophisticatedexplorationmodeloftheCentralAfricanCopperbelt(Bachauet al.1993).Studentswereabletosoilsampleanddrillanywhereinthemodel(20x20km).Thelocationofthedepositsandgradecouldbevariedbeforethesimulationstarted.Unfortunatelythemodelhasnotbeenupdatedwithchangesincomputeroperatingsystemsandisnotnowavailable(18soft-ware2017).

The Future Thedemandforeducationandtrainingingeochemistryofmineralexplorationgeologistswillcontinueastheyarerespon-sibleformostgeochemicalsurveys.AAGcanhelpinthis

(i) byupdatingcasehistoriesofexplorationdiscovery,ifpossible,withdigitalsupplementsoforiginaldatasetsandshort videosbydiscovers(ii) collatingdatasets,withdiscussions,fordifferentmethodse.g.bulkleachgold,heavyminerals,laserablationon minerals(iii) organisinganupdateofRose,HawkesandWebbornewtextbook(iv) continuingwithpublications,symposiaandfieldtrips

Acknowledgements Staff,particularlytechnicalstaff,andstudentsattheuniversitiesofExeter(CamborneSchoolofMines)andLeicesterprovidedhelpandconstructivecriticismofthecoursesdiscussed.PaulMorrisandBethMcClenaghanarethankedforhelpfulreviews.

References18SOFTWARE2017.18softwarewebsite.www.18software.comlastaccessedSeptember2017ARCGIS2017.ESRIwebsite.www.esri.comlastaccessedSeptember2017BAUCHAU,C.,JABOYEDOFF,M.&VANNIER,M.,1993.“Claim”:anewpersonalcomputer-assistedsimulationmodel

forteachingmineralexplorationtechniques.In:KIRKHAM,R.V.,SINCLAIR,W.D.,THORPE,R.I.&DUKE,J.M.,eds.MineralDepositModelling:Geological Association of Canada, Special Paper 40,685-691.

BLOOM,L.(ed.),2001.Writinggeochemicalreports,guidelinesforsurficialgeochemicalsurveys.GeochemicalSurveys,2ndedition.TheAssociationofExplorationGeochemists.

BUSTILLOREVUELTA2018.MineralResources,Springer.CARRANZA,E.J.M.,VANRUITENBEEK,F.J.A.,HECKER,M.,VANDERMEEIIDE,F.D.&VANDERMEER,F.D.

2008.Knowledge-guideddata-drivenevidentialbeliefmodelingofmineralprospectivityinCabodeGata,SESpain.International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 10,374-387.

DATAMINE2017.DatamineWebsite.www.dataminesoftware.comlastaccessedSeptember2017EVANS,A.M(ed.)1995.IntroductiontoMineralExploration,Blackwell Science.FERRACCIOLI,F.,GERARD,F.,ROBINSON,C.,JORDAN,T.,BISZCZUK,M.,IRELAND,L..,BEASLEY,M.,VI-

DAMOUR,A.,BARKER,A.,ARNOLD,R.,DINN,M.,FOX,A.,HOWARD,A.2014.LiDARbasedDigitalTerrainModel(DTM)dataforSouthWestEngland.NERCEnvironmentalInformationDataCentre.10.5285/e2a742df-3772-481a-97d6-0de5133f4812.

FRANKARNOTT2017.TheFrankArnottAward.www.frankarnottaward.comlastaccessedSeptember2017.GANDHI,S.M.&SARKAR,B.C.2016.EssentialsofMineralExplorationandEvaluation,Elsevier.GTK2017.GeologicalSurveyofFinland.en.gtk.filastaccessedSeptember2017.HALDAR,S.2013.MineralExplorationPrinciplesandApplications,Elsevier.ioGAS2017.ioGASwebsite.www.reflexnow.com/iogas/lastaccessedSeptember2017.LEAPFROG2017.www.leapfrog3d.comlastaccessedSeptember2017.LEVINSON,A.A.1980.IntroductiontoExplorationGeochemistry,Applied Publishing.



LEVINSON,A.A.,BRADSHAWP.M.D.&THOMSONI.(eds.)1987.PracticalProblemsinExplorationGeochemistry,Ap-plied Publishing.

MAPINFO2017.Mapinfowebsite.www.pitneybowes.comlastaccessedSeptember2017MICROMINE2017.Microminewebsite.www.micromine.comlastaccessedSeptember2017MINITAB2017.MinitabWebsite.www.minitab.comlastaccessedSeptember2017MOON,C.J.,WHATELEY,M.K.G&EVANS,A.M.(eds.)2006.IntroductiontoMineralExploration,2ndedition,Blackwell

Science.NOBLE,R.2017.President’smessage.EXPLORE, 175(July2017),4.QGIS2017.QGISwebsite.www.qgis.orglastaccessedSeptember2017R2017.Rwebsite.www.r-project.orglastaccessedSeptember2017ROSEA.W.,HAWKESH.E.&WEBBJ.S.1979.GeochemistryinMineralExploration.Academic Press, London.SAGA2017.SouthAfricanGeophysicalAssociation.www.sagaonline.co.zalastaccessedSeptember2017.SPSS2107.SPSSwebsite.www.ibm.com/analytics/us/en/technology/spss/lastaccessedSeptember2017.STANLEY,C.R.,1988.PROBPLOT–Aninteractivecomputerprogramtofitmixturesofnormal(orlog-normal)distribu-

tionsusingmaximumlikelihoodoptimizationprocedures.Association of Exploration Geochemists Special Volume 14.TELLUSIRELAND2017.TellusIrelandwebsite:GeologicalSurveyofIreland.www.tellus.ielastaccessedSeptember2017.TELLUSSW2017.TellusGBwebsite.www.tellusgb.ac.uklastaccessedSeptember2017.

A Strange Cocktail or a Great Conversation? Defining the Resources for Future Generations 2018 Audience

Whathappenswhenyoubringindustry,government,FirstNationsrepresentatives,policy-makers,academics,scien-tists,andmembersofcivilsocietytogether?Itmaysoundlikeastrangemix,butResourcesforFutureGenerations2018(RFG2018)recognizesthatinordertohaveameaningfulconversationabouttheuseofEarth¹sresourcesinthefuture,allthesegroupsmustbeintheroom.Inordertoenrichtheconversation,RFG2018hasunveiledarobust,comprehensivelistofsessionsstructuredaroundsixcentralthemes:TheEarth,Water,Minerals,Energy,Resources&Society,andEducation&Knowledge.YoucanreviewafulllistofThemeSessionsatthefollowinglink:http://ow.ly/teFv30g7HP8

TheCallforAbstractstoRFG2018sessionsisnowopen.AbstractswillbeaccepteduntilJanuary15,2018,andween-courageyoutoaddyourvoicetothisevent.Visitrfg2018.orgfordetails.


AAG Member Survey TheresultsoftheAAGmembersurveyconductedinthefirstquarterof2017havenowbeencompiledandasummaryoftheresultsisfoundbelow.Wereceived110responses(33%ofcurrentmembership)whichwastoppedupwithafurther48responses(10%response)frompastmembers.Thisprovidesuswithareasonablerepresentationoftheviewsofmemberspastandpresent.MostrespondentswerefromAustraliafollowedbyCanadaandUSA,which,collectively,accountfor71%ofthetotalrespondentsandreflectstheactualmembershipmix(71%).Femaleswereslightlyoverrepresented(15%)inthesurveycomparedwithactualmembership(11%). Aninitialassessmentwasdoneonthesurveysseparately,butthedemographicwassimilarinanumberofcategoriesbetweenpresentandpastmembersandsowascombined(Fig.1).AgewasdeemedanimportantvariableastheAAGlookstobuildmembershipand,critically,attractyoungermembers(19%under40forrespondents).

Notsurprisingly,mostoftherespondentsareinvolvedinexploration(71%)withenvironment(19%)andanalytical(7%)followingsecondandthird,respectively.TheAAGshouldgainmembersfromthemoreexpansiveenvironmen-talgeochemistrysector.MemberretentionrecognizesthatitisnotonlyimportanttoattractnewmemberstotheAAGbutalsotokeepthem.Respondentstoldusthataccesstonewsandinformation,publicationssuchasEXPLORE, supportingtheprofessionandnetworkingwerethemostimportantfactorswithdiscountfeesforIAGSratinglowestbenefitacrossthemembership.Worryingly,itwasshownthatmorethan20%oftherespondentsunder30yearsofagehadnointentiontoretaintheirmembership.ThismayberelatedtocommunicationchannelsusedbytheAAGwhichtherespondentstoldus,notsurprisingly,thatyoungermemberswouldliketoseemorecommunicationfromtheAAGviasocialmediasuchasLinkedIn(whichwecurrentlydon’tusemuch)comparedtotheoldermembership;theoldermemberswillberelievedtofindthatTwitterandFace-bookreceivedlowerratingsforfutureAAGcommunicationsacrosstheagedemographic.

TheresponsetoquestionsabouttheIAGSshowedfairlyequalimportancetofactorssuchashearingaboutcurrentadvances,networking,presentationofworkandlessso

aroundtheactualvenue.Fewdifferenceswereseen betweenagegroups,althoughpresentingpaperswasmoreimportanttotheyoungerrespondents.ThetakehomemessageherewasinterpretedasencouraginglessspectacularandexpensiveIAGSbidsandpiggy-backingonotherpopularbutrelatedevents. GEEAcontinuestobeapopularavenuetopublishmembersworkwithAppliedGeochemistry,JGEandEconomicGe-ologyfollowing.Impactfactorsareimportantfortheyoungerrespondentsforcareerprogression;notethatGEEAisnearlypushingthroughIF2. Otherfindingsinclude:

• Educationopportunitieswerecontinuallyemphasized,includingshortcourses,visitinglecturersandwebinars,• Betteruseofwebsiteforinteractionbetweenmembersandarepositoryofcasesstudiesanddatabasesaswellasdis-

seminationofeducationalmaterials,• Studentsupportisneeded–bothfinancialandmentoring,• StrongerlinkswithuniversitiesarealsoneededandmarketingofAAGwithinthem.

TheCouncilandCommitteehaveusedinsightsfromthesurveytocompileadecadalstrategydocumentfortheAAGthatisupforendorsementbyCouncilatthenextmeeting.ItishopedanumberofthepotentialactionitemswillspawnsomenewinitiativeswithintheAAGandreinvigoratethemembership.AlltherespondentsarethankedfortheirinputintothecurrentrunningandfuturedirectionsfortheAAG.ThefullreportandresultsofthesurveycanbefoundontheAAGweb-site(https://www.appliedgeochemists.org)afterloggingintothe“Members”area.

Mel LinternEmail: [email protected] Mineral Resources

Figure 1. Comparison of key AAG survey demographics. A) Age, B) Primary location, C) Employment sector.



T. Kurtis Kyser (1951 - 2017) TheAssociationofAppliedGeochemists(AAG)recentlylostoneofitsmostwell-known,charismaticscientificleadersandeducators,Profes-sorT.KurtKyser.HediedonAugust29whileco-leadingagraduateandundergraduatefieldtriponcarbonatesinBermuda. KurtwastheEditor-in-ChiefoftheAssociation’sjournal,Geochem-istry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis(GEEA)forthepastfewyears,wherehehadledthejournaltoasignificantincreaseinimpactfactorandsetupfuturedirectionsandastructureforGEEAthatshouldseeitwellplacedforthenextdecade.Hiseditorialaccomplishmentswerewelldefinedthroughhisextensivepublicationhistory.Kurtwasanauthoronmorethan400peer-reviewedjournalpapers,morethan200refereedcon-ferenceproceedings,acoupleofbooksandseveralmorebookchapters,alongwithahostoftechnicalreportsandeducationalnotes. Hismostprominentresearchwasintheapplicationofisotopestomin-eralexplorationandenvironmentalgeochemistry,withastrongfocusonuranium.However,whenreviewingKurt’spublicationsitisclearlyevidentthathewashugelyinfluentialonadiversityofsciencedisciplines. Kurtwasattheforefrontofgeochemicalisotopicresearch.Hede-velopedanddirectedtheQueen’sFacilityforIsotopeResearch(QFIR),aleadinggeochemistryandisotopelaboratoryinNorthAmerica,whichexamineselementcyclingatthegeosphere-biosphereinterface.ThroughQFIR,heinitiatedmanyprojectsthattotalledinexcessof$12MCAN. Asaneducator,hewasactiveandenthusiasticinteachingcoursesattheundergraduate,graduateandprofes-sionallevel.Kurthadastrongcommitmenttotrainingthenextgenerationofgeochemists,havingsupervised~50MScand~50PhDstudents,nottomentionthemanymoreheinfluencedasundergradsorco-supervisedpostgradsorcolleagues.Overthelastsixyearshehaddirectlysupervised15undergraduatetheses,26M.Sc.theses,17Ph.D.thesesand10Post-doctoralresearchers.Throughthesegraduateandundergraduatestudentinteractions,Kurthadgrownandraisedalargegeochemistryfamily. Thesheervolume,significanceandinfluenceofKurt’sresearchandteachingensuredhewasworldrenownedandtherecipientofmanyhonours.HisnumerousawardsincludetheDuncanR.DerryMedal,HawleyMedal,WilletG.MillerMedal,PastPresident’sMedaloftheMineralogicalAssociationofCanada,andPastPresident’sMedaloftheGeologicalAssociationofCanada.Inadditiontothesehonours,hewasaFellowoftheRoyalSocietyofCanada,aQueen’sResearchChair,aQueen’sNationalScholar,aNSERCKillamResearchFellow,aFellowoftheMineralogi-calSocietyofAmerica,andrecipientoftheNSERCE.W.R.SteacieMemorialFellowship.FortheAAG(inadditiontohisGEEArole),KurtwasaFellowandtheAAGDistinguishedLecturerin2008-2009. HewasalsoactiveinothergroupsasamemberoftheMineralogicalSocietyofAmerica,AmericanGeophysicalUnion,GeochemicalSocietyofAmericaandtheMineralogicalAssociationofCanada.HewasaPastPresidentoftheMineralogicalAssociationofCanada. Kurt’searlyyearswereinCalifornia,althoughhewasborninMontana,U.S.A.Whenhewassixyearsoldgrow-ingupinSanDiego,CA,hewasfascinatedwithinsects.Hethoughtthatentomologywassurelyinhisfuture,catch-ingMonarchandYellowtailbutterfliesinmasonjars.Hewoulduseanailandhammertoperforatethelids,butlittledidherealizethenthatthehammerwashisfuture,notwhatwasinthejar.Withtime,isotopesbecamehisfocusandtheirapplicationtounderstandingprocessesinthegeospherehasallowedhisresearchgroupnotonlytoexamineoredeposits,butalsothegeosphere-biosphereinterface.Infact,herecentlyreturnedtoentomologyapplyingisotopestobutterfliesandtheirchallengingmigrationhabits.Inarecentacceptancespeech,hesaid“Realizeyourpassions—realonesdon’tdiminishwithtime,theyonlyhibernateandthenreturnagainfullcircle”. HecompletedhisB.Sc.attheUniversityofCalifornia,SanDiegoin1974,beforecompletinghisM.A.andPh.D.inGeologyfromtheUniversityofCalifornia,Berkleyin1976and1980,respectively.Followingpost-doctoralposi-tionsattheU.S.GeologicalSurveyinDenverandaNATOpost-doctoralfellowshipattheUniversityofParisin1980,KurtjoinedtheUniversityofSaskatchewanasanAssistantprofessor,progressingthroughtofullProfessorin1989.In1995hejoinedtheDepartmentofGeologicalSciencesandGeologicalEngineeringatQueen’sUniversityinKingstonwhereheremained. Kurtalwaysstoodoutatanyevent,partlythroughhisknowledge,charismaandlaugh,butalsobecauseofthebrightlycolouredHawaiianshirtsandsandalsthatwerehisuniformmoreoftenthannot.Itwashisuniformandgenuinepersonalitythatmadeeveryonewhotalkedwithhim,beitaNobellaureateorapersononthestreet,feelwelcomedandappreciated.Despitehisstatureinthefieldandincredibleknowledge,Kurthadanincredibleabilityto

Obituary


T. Kurtis Kyser … continued from page 20

makeyoufeelthatyourideaswereinteresting,andevenattimes,important.Thefondestmemories,otherthanallthetimesdebatingscienceandlifeoverwine,wasspendingtimewithKurtinthefield.SomeofuswereluckyenoughtospendeightdayswithKurtfloatingdowntheColoradoRiverthroughtheGrandCanyon,priortotheIAGSmeetinginTucson,in2015.Itwasamagicaltripofgeology,comradery,sippingscotchonthesmallbeachesatthesideoftheriver,andsleepingunderthestars.ThiswasatripthatKurthadalwayswantedtodosincehewasagraduatestudentsamplingvolcanic-hostedmantlexenolithsatthenorthcanyonrim.ItwasoneofmanytrulyextraordinaryexperiencesthatKurtmanagedinhiscareer. Kurtwas65andissurvivedbyhiswifeandpartnerinscienceandlife,AprilVuletich.Heisalsosurvivedbyatrulyincred-iblenumberofformerstudents,post-doctoralfellowsandresearchcollaboratorsinallcornersoftheglobethatwillensurehislegacyofresearch,educationandloveforliving-life-largewillcontinue.AsKurtwouldhaveliked,manyhaveraisedaglassofredorwhiteinhishonour.Cheerstoanexceptionallife,livedwell.

Ryan Noble, Dan Layton-Matthews and Matt Leybourne

The AAG-SGS Student Presentation PrizeTheAssociationofAppliedGeochemists,throughthesupportofSGSMineralServices,awardsaprizeforthe

Best oral presentation by a student at the biannual International Applied Geochemistry Symposium (IAGS)

NextIAGSwillbepartoftheRFG2018Conference,Vancouver,June16-21,2018(rfg2018.org)

TheintentofthisprizeistoencouragethepresentationofhighqualityresearchbystudentsatanInternationalAppliedGeochemistrySymposium(IAGS)andprovidefurtherincentivetopublishtheresultsoftheresearchintheAssocia-tion’sjournal,Geochemistry:Exploration,Environment,Analysis(GEEA).Thewinnerisdeterminedbasedonfeed-backfromagroupofjudgesthatincludesFellowsandMembersoftheAssociation.Criteriaforjudgingthepresenta-tionsincludeexcellenceandoriginalityinresearchdesign,researchexecution,interpretation,andtheoralpresentationitself.Honours,Masters,andDoctoralstudentsarealleligible.TheformatofthepresentationmayvarybetweenIAGS.

The Rules1. ThepapermustbepresentedbythestudentatanIAGSasanoralpaper,intheformatspecifiedbytheIAGS

organizingcommittee.2. Theconferencepresentationandpapermustbelargelybasedonresearchperformedasastudent.Thestu-

dent’ssupervisororHeadofDepartmentmaybeaskedtoverifythiscondition.3. ThedecisionoftheAAGSymposiumCo-ordinator(inconsultationwitharepresentativefromSGS)isfinal

andnocorrespondencewillbeenteredinto.4. Entryinthecompetitionisautomaticforstudents(butstudentsmayelectto“optout”).5. ThedetailedcriteriaandprocessforassessingthebestpaperwillbedeterminedbytheAAGSymposiumCo-

ordinatorinconsultationwiththeAAGCouncilandtheLOC.6. ApapersubstantiallyderivedfromthematerialpresentedattheIAGSandsubmittedforpublicationintheAs-

sociation’sjournalGeochemistry: Exploration, Environment, AnalysiswithinthetimeframespecifiedbytheAAG(normally12months)willbeeligiblefortheincreasedvalueoftheprize.

The Prize1. $700CADfromSGSMineralsServices(normallypresentedtothewinnerattheendoftherelevantIAGS)

withafurther$300CADfromAAGifapaperrelatedtotheoralpresentationissubmittedtoGEEAwithinthenominatedtimeframeaftertheIAGS;

2. A2-yearmembershipoftheAssociation,includingsubscriptiontoGEEAandEXPLORE;and3. Acertificateofrecognition.

David CohenChair of Student Prize Committee

University of New South WalesEmail: [email protected]


PDAC short course, March 2-3, 2018 Exploration Geochemistry: Fundamentals and Case Histories

Thisshortcoursewillreviewprinciples,methods,anddevelopmentsintheapplicationoflowtemperatureexplorationgeochemistryforsurficialmediabyprovidingpresentationsbysomeofthemostexperiencedpractitionersinthefield.Thiscoursewillbeofinteresttoyounggeoscientistsandstudentsjuststartingtheircareersaswellasexperiencedgeologiststhatwouldliketoupdatetheirexplorationgeochemistryknowledge.MuchofthecoursecontentisnottaughtatCanadianuniversi-ties.Day1willreviewthefundamentalsofexplorationgeochemistry.Day2willpresentcasestudiesfordifferentdeposittypesandexplorationmethodsinvariouspartsoftheworld.

Conveners:BethMcClenaghan(GeologicalSurveyofCanada)LyndaBloom(AnalyticalSolutions)

March 2 Exploration Geochemistry Basics

IntroductiontoexplorationgeochemistryLynda Bloom, Analytical Solutions Ltd.

DesignofasuccessfulgeochemicalsurveyLynda Bloom, Analytical Solutions Ltd.

Streamsediments,lakesediments,aqueousgeochemicalmethodsMatt Leybourne, Queen’s University

IndicatormineralmethodsBeth McClenaghan, Geological Survey of Canada

GeochemistrydatavalidationPim van Geffen, Vancouver Geochemistry ExploratorydataanalysisPim van Geffen, Vancouver Geochemistry

March 3 Case Histories

ExplorationtargetingusingstreamsedimentsinBritishColumbiaandYukon,CanadaDennis Arne, CSA Global PTY Ltd

CroteauEstandTi-pa-haa-kaa-ningmineralproperties:discoverythroughtwodifferentapproachestoexplorationTom Morris, Northern Superior Resources

Integrating4-acidICP-MSandbenchtopXRFforalterationmodeling:AmachinelearningapproachJuan Carlos Ordóñez Calderón, Kinross Gold Corporation

ExtentofglacialdispersalofgoldmineralizationfromtheNaartokgolddeposit,HopeBayGreenstoneBelt,Nunavut,CanadaasdeterminedfromsamplingtillinfrostboilsStu Averill, Overburden Drilling Management Ltd.

TheSakattiNi-Cu-PGEsulfidediscovery(Finland)–Theroleofgeochemistryfromearly-stageexplorationthroughtore-sourcedefinitionChristian Ihlenfeld, Anglo American

RoleofGeochemistryintheDiscoveryoftheSalaresNorteGoldDeposit,ChileChris Benn, Chris Benn Consulting

Useofartificialintelligenceininterpretingpartialextractionsforpeatandsoilssurvey:ExamplesfromtheAbitibiClayBeltRéjean Girard, IOS Services Géoscientifiques Inc.

FromtreetopstomassivesulphidemineralizationusingaspectrumofgeochemicalandprospectingtechniquestheTLstoryColin Dunn, Colin Dunn Consulting Inc.


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Mineral Resources and SustainabilityGuest Editor: Georges Calas

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Mineral Resources and Sustainable DevelopmentGeorges Calas

How to Sustain Mineral Resources: Beneficiation and Mineral Engineering OpportunitiesJohan P.R. De VilliersResponsible Sourcing of Critical MetalsFrances Wall, Alain Rollat, and Robert S. Pell

Global Trends in Metal Consumption and Supply: The Raw Material–Energy NexusOlivier Vidal, Fatma Rostom, Cyril François and Gael Giraud

Improving Mitigation of the Long-Term Legacy of Mining Activities: Nano- and Molecular-Level Concepts and MethodsGordon E. Brown Jr., Michael F. Hochella Jr., and Georges Calas

D E P A R T M E N T S

Editorial – Mineral Resources and The Limits to Growth . . . . . 291From the Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292Meet the Authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294Perspective – What is Sustainability in the Context of Mineral Deposits? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297Society News

Deutsche Mineralogische Gesellschaft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .338Clay Minerals Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .339Société Française de Minéralogie et de Cristallographie . . . .340International Association of GeoChemistry . . . . . . . . . . . . . .341Association of Applied Geochemists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .342Meteoritical Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .344Polskie Towarzystwo Mineralogiczne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .345Mineralogical Association of Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .346Mineralogical Society of America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .348European Mineralogical Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .350Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland . . . . . . . .351Japan Association of Mineralogical Sciences . . . . . . . . . . . .352Geochemical Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .353European Association of Geochemistry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .354

Meeting Report – Goldschmidt 2017 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356CosmoElements – Search (and Discovery) of Impact Craters on Earth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358Parting Shots – New Caledonia: Land of Nickel . . . . . . . . . . 360Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363People in the News – Dingwell, Demouchy, IMA Mineral of the Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364Job Posting – Simon Fraser University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368Advertisers in this Issue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368

Cover Image: The nickel mine of Tiebaghi is developed

on an ultrabasic massif in Northern New Caledonia. A former chromium mine, it is now mined for nickel

silicate ores. Its mountaintop location overlooks the New

Caledonian lagoon listed by UNESCO on the World

Heritage List. This illustrates the development of a mining activity in an environmentally

vulnerable situation. In the background, the Barrier

Reef makes a clear boundary between the lagoon and the

open Pacific Ocean. Photo CredIt: SoCIété Le NICkeL,

Nouméa (New CaLedoNIa)

Educating the Resource Geologist of the Future: Between Observation and ImaginationMichel Jébrak and Jean-Marc Montel

289

Elements is published jointly by the Mineralogical Society of America, the Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland, the Mineralogical Association of Canada, the Geochemical Society, the Clay Minerals Society, the European Association of Geochemistry, the Inter national Association of GeoChemistry, the Société Française de Minéralogie et de Cristallographie, the Association of Applied Geochemists, the Deutsche Mineralogische Gesellschaft, the Società Italiana di Mineralogia e Petrologia, the International Association of Geoanalysts, the Polskie Towarzystwo Mineralogiczne (Mineralogical Society of Poland), the Sociedad Española de Mineralogía, the Swiss Society of Mineralogy and Petrology, the Meteoritical Society, and the Japan Association of Mineralogical Sciences. It is provided as a benefit to members of these societies.

Elements is published six times a year. Individuals are encouraged to join any one of the participating societies to receive Elements. Institutional subscribers to any of the following journals— American Mineralogist, Clay Minerals, Clays and Clay Minerals, Mineralogical Magazine, and The Canadian Miner alogist—also receive one copy of Elements as part of their 2017 subscription. Institu tional subscriptions are available for US$165 (US$180 nonUS addresses) a year in 2017. Contact the executive editor ([email protected]) for information.

Copyright 2017 by the Mineralogical Society of America

All rights reserved. Reproduction in any form, including translation to other languages, or by any means—graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying or information storage and retrieval systems—without written permission from the copyright holder is strictly prohibited.

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elementsmagazine.orgwww.elements.geoscienceworld.org

Volume 13, Number 5 • October 2017


From the Archives...

Camels in the Cariboo Gold District, Canada ThisstorywasrecentlyfoundinthearchivedfilesofArthurLangintheGeologicalSurveyofCanadaArchiveCol-lection. CamelswereusedaspackanimalsforoneyearintheearlydaysoftheprovinceofBritishColumbia,Canadaandformanyyearsthereafterafewsurvivorslingeredintheinterioroftheprovince,tothewondermentofthosewhoencoun-teredthem.ThewriterfirstbecameinterestedinthiscurioussidelightontheearlydevelopmentoftheCanadianWestwhenhewastoldaboutitbytheearlypioneers.Heoncesawaphotographofoneofthecamels,butcouldnotpersuadetheownertopartwithit.HehassincefoundmoreinformationonthesubjectinanentertainingarticlebyW.T.HayhurstinthereportoftheOkanaganHistoricalSocietyfor1935.Otherreferencescorroboratethestoryandaddtothedetails.Asnoneoftheaccountsarewidelyavailableitmaybeofinteresttogivethefactsbriefly,astheyhavebeenpiecedto-gether. Whenrichgold-bearinggravelswerefoundintheCaribooregionofwhatisnowBritishColumbiain1860,thousandsofminersandadventuresflockedtothescenefrommanypartsoftheworld,causingthecelebratedCariboorushwhichwastheturningpointintheopeningupofthefarwest.Mostofthesegoldseekersarrivedatthecoastbyboat,andpro-ceededinsmallerboatsupthelowerreachesoftheFraserRiverandupHarrisonLake.Then,sincetherewerenoroadsorrailwaysatthetime,theymadethelongandarduoustriptothegoldfieldsonfootorhorseback,bywayofthehastilyconstructedCaribooTrail. UntilaroadwascompletedtotheCaribooin1885supplieswerefreightedonthebacksofhorsesandmules.Amer-chantnamedFrankLaumeisterconceivedtheideaofusingcamelsforthispurposebecausepartoftheroutelaythroughwhatiscalledthe‘DryBelt’,wherewaterandforageisscarce,andbecausehethoughtthatcamelscouldgofartherinadayandcarrylargerloadsthanhorsesormuleswerecapableofdoing.Accordingly,hearrangedforthepurchaseoftwenty-two‘shipsofthedesert’inCaliforniaandhadthemsentfromSanFranciscotoVictoria,wheretheyarrivedinApril,1862,muchtothesurpriseoftheinhabitants. In1886theUnitedStatesGovernmentbroughtashiploadofcamelsfromNorthAfricatoTexasasanexperimentforarmytransport.SomeoftheseanimalsweretakenoverlandtoCalifornia,whereaboomwasinprogressasaresultofthegolddiscoveriesof’49.ThisgavetheideaofusingcamelsforpackinginCaliforniatoalocalbusinessmanwhoimportedthreeshipmentsfortwo-humpedBactriancamelsfromChina.ThecamelsbroughttoCanadawereselectedfromthese. Mr.LaumeisterhadhisanimalstakenbyboatfromVictoriatoNewWestminster,thenbyscowtothebeginningoftheCaribooTrail.Atfirsttheyseemedtofulfillallexpectations,fortheyweredocileandcarriedtwicetheloadofamule;butthemeninchargesoonfoundthattwoimportantconsiderationshadbeenoverlooked.Theanimalswereaccustomedtotravellingonsand,andtheirfeetwerebadlycutbythesharprocksofthetrail,thereforebootsofcanvasandleatherhadtobeimprovisedforthem.Thedecidingfactorwas,however,themarkedresentmentshownbythehorsesandmules,whostampededwiththeirpacksassoonastheysmelledorsawthecamelsonthetrail.Theownersofthemoreortho-doxpackstrainsweregreatlyinthemajorityandtheymadesuchstrongproteststothegovernmentthatthecamelswerebannedfromthetrailwithinayear.SomeweresentbacktoCaliforniaandotherswereturnedlooseorkeptascuriositiesonranches,wheretheylivedouttheirdaysfarfromtheirnativeland.Mr.Hayhurststatesthatthelastsurvivorwasshotforreasonsofoldage,probablyin1896.

A.H. Lang (1905-1990)Geological Survey of Canada


CALENDAR OF EVENTSInternational,national,andregionalmeetingsofinteresttocolleaguesworkinginexploration,environmentalandotherareasofappliedgeochemistry.TheseeventsalsoappearontheAAGwebpageat:www.appliedgeochemists.org.

Pleaseletusknowofyoureventsbysendingdetailsto:Steve Amor

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20188-13JANUARY 2018WinterConferenceonPlasmaSpectrochemistry.AmeliaIslandFLUSA.Website:tinyurl.com/mrvbqwa20-21JANUARY GordonResearchSeminar–Geobiology.GalvestonTXUSA.Website:tinyurl.com/ybnd3xch22-25JANUARY MineralExplorationRoundup2014.VancouverBCCanada.Website:roundup.amebc.ca2-3FEBRUARY AtlanticGeoscienceSocietyAnnualColloquium.TruroNSCanada.Website:tinyurl.com/ydy5yfmm3-4FEBRUARY ShortCourseonOrogenicGoldinAfricaandWorldwide.RondeboschSouthAfrica. Website:tinyurl.com/y9929kge8-10FEBRUARY 9thInternationalCongressofEnvironmentalResearch.GwaliorIndia.Website:www.icer18.jerad.org/11-16FEBRUARY OceanSciencesMeeting.PortlandORUSA.Website:osm.agu.org/201818-21FEBRUARYAustralianExplorationGeoscienceConference.SydneyNSWAustralia.Website:www.aegc2018.com.au4-7MARCH ProspectorsandDevelopersAssociationofCanadaAnnualConvention.TorontoONCanada. Website:www.pdac.ca/convention11-15MARCH TheMineralsMetals&MaterialsSociety145thAnnualMeeting&Exhibition.PhoenixAZUSA. Website:www.tms.org/tms20188-13APRIL EuropeanGeosciencesUnionGeneralAssembly2018.ViennaAustria.Website:www.egu2018.eu2-4MAY InternationalConferenceonGeology&EarthScience.RomeItaly.Website:http://geoscience.madridge.com16-21JUNE ResourcesforFutureGenerations(Energy,Minerals,WaterandtheEarth).VancouverBCCanada. Website:rfg2018.org.See announcement in current issue of Explore.16-21JUNE GAC/MACAnnualMeeting.VancouverBCCanada.Website:rfg2018.org30JUNE–6JULY13thInternationalPlatinumSymposium.PolokwaneSouthAfrica.Website:13ips.com1-6JULY 7thInternationalCongressonArsenicintheEnvironment.Beijing,China.Website:www.as2018.org7-8JULY GordonResearchSeminar—OceanBiogeochemistry.HongKongChina.Website:tinyurl.com/y98s7dwe8-13JULY Geoanalysis2018.SydneyNSWAustralia.Website:2018.geoanalysis.info5-10AUGUST GordonResearchConference-GordonResearchConference-GeochemistryofMineralDeposits. WatervilleValleyNHUS.Website:tinyurl.com/ybnhv8mv5-9AUGUST Microscopy&Microanalysis2018Meeting.BaltimoreMDUSA.Website:tinyurl.com/yc9alqdk12-17AUGUST Goldschmidt2018.BostonMAUSA.Website:goldschmidt.info/201812-17AUGUST 21stWorldCongressofSoilScience.Website:www.21wcss.org13-17AUGUST 22ndGeneralMeetingoftheInternationalMineralogicalAssociation.MelbourneVICAustralia. Website:www.ima2018.com28-31AUGUST 15thQuadrennialIAGODSymposium.SaltaArgentina.Website:www.iagod.org/node/762-8SEPTEMBER 19thAnnualConferenceofInternationalAssociationforMathematicalGeosciences.OlomoucCzech Republic.Website:www.iamg2018.org/10-13SEPTEMBERXXICongressofCarpathianBalkanGeologicalAssociation.ViennaAustria.Website:cbga.sbg.ac.at13-15SEPTEMBERSIAMConferenceonMathematicsofPlanetEarth(MPE18).PhiladelphiaPAUSA. Website:www.siam.org/meetings/mpe1816-21SEPTEMBERIWAWorldWaterCongress&Exhibition2018.TokyoJapan.Website:tinyurl.com/ybpmakrc22-25SEPTEMBERSEG2018.KeystoneCOUSA.Website:www.seg2018.org14-18OCTOBER AustralianGeoscienceCouncilConvention.AdelaideSAAustralia.Website:tinyurl.com/zqxc6n225-26OCTOBER Sampling2018.LimaPeru.Website:www.encuentrometalurgia.com/Sampling-2018


CALENDAR OFEVENTS... continued from page 27

4-7NOVEMBER GSA2018AnnualMeeting.IndianapolisINUSA.Website:tinyurl.com/yb859e9n12-15NOVEMBERXIIILatinAmericanSymposiumonEnvironmentalAnalyticalChemistry.LaSerenaChile. Website:tinyurl.com/yc92c5jk10-14DECEMBERAGUFallMeeting.WashingtonDCUSA.Website:tinyurl.com/yclg7sut

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Geochemistry in the NewsOctober16,2017.Forthefirsttime,scientistshavecaughttwoneutronstarsintheactofcolliding,revealingthatthesecollisionsarethesourceofheavyelementssuchasgoldandplatinum.Toreadmoreaboutthisexcitingtopic,usethelinkbelow.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/10/16/557557544/astronomers-strike-gravitational-gold-in-colliding-neutron-stars

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Quantitative Interpretation of Orientation Surveys · Quantitative Interpretation of Orientation Surveys ... such as dispersion profiles and symbol plots will adequately display the