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AIG Secretariat Contact: Ron Adams Ph: (08) 9427 0820 Fax: (08) 9427 0821 Email: [email protected] c/- Centre for Association Management 36 Brisbane Street, Perth WA 6000 PO Box 8463, Perth Business Centre, Perth WA 6849 INSIDE THIS AIG NEWS: Public Reporting of Industrial Minerals Resources according to Clause 49 of JORC 2012 Cont. Overleaf Andrew Scogings, PhD Geology, MAIG, MAusIMM Director, KlipStone Pty Ltd, Associate Consultant at CSA Global Pty Ltd Public Reporting of Industrial Minerals 1 From Your President 3 Indiana Drones — High Tech Exploration and Mining 9 Book Review — Canadian Professional Engineering and Geoscience Practice and Ethics, Fifth Edition 10 Open Source Software 13 Geophysics Holding Geology to Account, Part 2: Siting mine infrastructure 14 Letters to the Editor 17 AIG Council and Committee Chairs, 2014–2015 19 Branch News — WA: Climate Change and tomorrow's world 28 Branch News — QLD: GIS Seminar 29 Postgraduate Student Bursary Report: Geochemistry and Landscape Evolution of a Late Miocene – Pliocene Strandplain in the Murray Basin, SE Australia 31 Education Report 32 Shark Bay Field Trip, 2014 — Kent Street Senior High School 33 Yilgarn Field Trip, 2014 — Kent Street Senior High School 34 AIG's New Membership Information Management System 35 RPGeo Program — Approvals and Applications 35 THE CURRENT EDITION OF The Australasian Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) Code was published in 2012 and came into mandatory operation from 1 December 2013. There are some significant changes between JORC 2004 and 2012 for the reporting of industrial mineral resources which should be addressed by players in the industrial minerals space. Recent interest in Industrial Minerals Industrial minerals are essentially minerals and rocks mined and processed for the value of their non-metallurgical properties and for the benefits they impart to the products and processes in which they are used. Industrial minerals are commonly classified according to their end uses, where there are a diverse (and sometimes bewildering) number of specifications, for example, abrasiveness chemical purity, mineralogy, particle size distribution, whiteness, density, water absorption, thermal resistance, rheology and insulating properties. Industrial minerals such as graphite and spodumene have recently become the focus of much attention for listed exploration and mining companies, partly due to developments in battery technologies related to the emerging electric vehicle market. Consequently the race has been on to report larger tonnage exploration targets and resources, with some projects being described as the biggest or second biggest in the world, or world class with perhaps hundreds of millions of tonnes containing a certain percentage of a particular mineral. However being the biggest doesn’t necessarily mean being the best and the author’s intention is to highlight the need to report resources by market- related specifications (Scogings, 2014). As noted on the website of Industrial Minerals Magazine “Without a market, an Industrial Mineral deposit is merely a geological curiosity”. Too many industrial minerals explorers forget the significance of this, which is a bit like the geochemical anomaly in metals exploration that remains a geochemical anomaly and never becomes a mineable resource. Similarly, as noted by Border and Butt (2014) concerning the modifying factors for industrial minerals “Without a potential market, there can be no resource; without a good knowledge of the planned market (volume, price and competition), there is no reserve”. JORC 2012 – Reporting Industrial Mineral Resources and Reserves according to Specifications The fundamental difference between JORC 2004 (Clause 44) and JORC 2012 (Clause 49) is contained in an all-important new paragraph in Clause 49, which requires that Industrial Mineral Resources or Reserves must be reported in terms of mineral specifications, where: “For minerals that are defined by a specification, the Mineral Resource or Ore Reserve estimation must be reported in terms of the mineral or minerals on which the project is to be based and must include the specification of those minerals.” “Without a market, an Industrial Mineral deposit is merely a geological curiosity.” Quarterly Newsletter No 116 May 2014 AIG NEWS
Transcript
Page 1: AIG NEWS - Australian Institute of Geoscientists Public RePoRting aig news no 11, may 2014 Cont. on Page 4 Public Reporting of Industrial Minerals Resources according to Clause 49

AIG SecretariatContact: Ron AdamsPh: (08) 9427 0820 Fax: (08) 9427 0821

Email: [email protected] c/- Centre for Association Management

36 Brisbane Street, Perth WA 6000PO Box 8463, Perth Business Centre,

Perth WA 6849

INSIDE THIS AIG NEWS:Public Reporting of Industrial Minerals Resources according to Clause 49 of JORC 2012

Cont. Overleaf

Andrew Scogings, PhD Geology, MAIG, MAusIMMDirector, KlipStone Pty Ltd, Associate Consultant at CSA Global Pty Ltd

Public Reporting of Industrial Minerals 1

From Your President 3

Indiana Drones — High Tech Exploration and Mining 9

Book Review — Canadian Professional Engineering and Geoscience Practice and Ethics, Fifth Edition 10

Open Source Software 13

Geophysics Holding Geology to Account, Part 2: Siting mine infrastructure 14

Letters to the Editor 17

AIG Council and Committee Chairs, 2014–2015 19

Branch News — WA: Climate Change and tomorrow's world 28

Branch News — QLD: GIS Seminar 29

Postgraduate Student Bursary Report: Geochemistry and Landscape Evolution of a Late Miocene – Pliocene Strandplain in the Murray Basin, SE Australia 31

Education Report 32

Shark Bay Field Trip, 2014 — Kent Street Senior High School 33

Yilgarn Field Trip, 2014 — Kent Street Senior High School 34

AIG's New Membership Information Management System 35

RPGeo Program — Approvals and Applications 35

The currenT ediTion of The Australasian Joint ore reserves committee (Jorc) code was published in 2012 and came into mandatory operation from 1 december 2013. There are some significant changes between Jorc 2004 and 2012 for the reporting of industrial mineral resources which should be addressed by players in the industrial minerals space.

Recent interest in Industrial MineralsIndustrial minerals are essentially minerals and rocks mined and processed for the value of their non-metallurgical properties and for the benefits they impart to the products and processes in which they are used. Industrial minerals are commonly classified according to their end uses, where there are a diverse (and sometimes bewildering) number of specifications, for example, abrasiveness chemical purity, mineralogy, particle size distribution, whiteness, density, water absorption, thermal resistance, rheology and insulating properties. Industrial minerals such as graphite and spodumene have recently become the focus of much attention for listed exploration and mining companies, partly due to developments in battery technologies related to the emerging electric vehicle market. Consequently the race has been on to report larger tonnage exploration targets and resources, with some projects being described as the biggest or second biggest in the world, or world class with perhaps hundreds of millions of tonnes containing a certain percentage of a particular mineral. However being the biggest doesn’t necessarily mean being the best and the author’s intention is to highlight the need to report resources by market-related specifications (Scogings, 2014).As noted on the website of Industrial Minerals Magazine “Without a market, an Industrial Mineral deposit is merely a geological curiosity”. Too many industrial minerals explorers forget the significance of this, which is a bit like the geochemical anomaly in metals exploration that remains a geochemical anomaly and never becomes a mineable resource. Similarly, as noted by Border and Butt (2014) concerning the modifying factors for industrial minerals “Without a potential market, there can be no resource; without a good knowledge of the planned market (volume, price and competition), there is no reserve”.

JORC 2012 – Reporting Industrial Mineral Resources and Reserves according to SpecificationsThe fundamental difference between JORC 2004 (Clause 44) and JORC 2012 (Clause 49) is contained in an all-important new paragraph in Clause 49, which requires that Industrial Mineral Resources or Reserves must be reported in terms of mineral specifications, where:“For minerals that are defined by a specification, the Mineral Resource or Ore Reserve estimation must be reported in terms of the mineral or minerals on which the project is to be based and must include the specification of those minerals.”

“Without a market, an Industrial Mineral deposit is merely a geological curiosity.”

Quarterly Newsletter • No 116 • May 2014

AIG NEWS

Page 2: AIG NEWS - Australian Institute of Geoscientists Public RePoRting aig news no 11, may 2014 Cont. on Page 4 Public Reporting of Industrial Minerals Resources according to Clause 49

AIG NEWS No 116, May 20142 Public RePoRting

Cont. on Page 4

Public Reporting of Industrial Minerals Resources according to Clause 49 of JORC 2012 Cont. from Page 1

Further references to specifications are found in the following excerpts from the JORC 2012 (Clause 49) guidelines which are listed below:“It may be necessary, prior to the reporting of a Mineral Resource or Ore Reserve, to take particular account of certain key characteristics or qualities such as likely product specifications, proximity to markets and general product marketability.”“Some industrial mineral deposits may be capable of yielding products suitable for more than one application and/or specification. If considered material by the reporting company, such multiple products should be quantified either separately or as a percentage of the bulk deposit.”It is significant to note that the word “specification” is referred to no less than four times in Clause 49, demonstrating its significance in reporting according to JORC 2012.

Examples of Industrial Mineral SpecificationsIndustrial Minerals which are commonly defined according to size and/or purity specifications include andalusite, barytes, chromite, graphite, kaolin, limestone, magnesite, silica, vermiculite, wollastonite and zircon. Other minerals and clays such as attapulgite or bentonite may be specified according to final product sizing, but more importantly according to performance in particular markets and applications as diverse as civil engineering (Figure 1), oil well drilling, cat litter (Figure 2), metal casting (Figure 3) and iron ore pelletising.

A review of the Price Listing pages in Industrial Minerals Magazine (April 2014) highlights that different specifications and markets command a range of prices (Table 1). For example, barytes for use as a weighting agent in drill muds varies, according to SG, between US$110 and US$150 per tonne FOB Chennai. High brightness, high purity barytes for paint applications commands an even higher price of up to US$400 per short ton.

Figure 1. Geosynthetic Clay Liner (GCL) being used to line a landfill site. The bentonite within the GCL has to meet various specifications such as particle size, swelling characteristics, fluid loss and permeability. Source: AMCOL Australia.

Page 3: AIG NEWS - Australian Institute of Geoscientists Public RePoRting aig news no 11, may 2014 Cont. on Page 4 Public Reporting of Industrial Minerals Resources according to Clause 49

3AIG NEWS No 116, May 2014 FRom youR PResident

From Your President — Wayne Spilsbury

G’dAy AiG mATes. This being my first activity report to members, i thought i would first share with you a little secret — “how does one become the President of AiG?” it begins with unofficial rule 1 — A councillor cannot resign until they have found a replacement. Thus it was with great pride that I accepted Rick Rogerson’s nomination for the position of Vice-President when Rick stepped down from Council, at the time not being aware that the Vice-President would then be nominated for the President’s role after a two year apprenticeship. So here I am, somewhat wiser but still proud to be able to return as much as I can to a profession that gave me a long, challenging and sometimes exciting career. Still, it would be much better if more members put up their hands for election to Council, so at next year’s AGM why not put your name forward for a Council position rather than waiting for that sly tap on the shoulder?Over the past two years I have mainly watched as Past-President, Kaylene Camuti with ceaseless assistance from more experienced Councillors, has transformed AIG into a modern, efficient organisation solely dedicated to serving its members. A great foundation for the new Council to build upon.Elsewhere in this issue you will see short biographies for each Councillor and Committee Chairs. We come from all corners of Australia and I encourage you to communicate with those Councillors you know or are from you area and voice your concerns and suggestions for further improving our organisation. Your new Council will hold a Strategic Planning Meeting on 20 – 22 June in Bendigo, a town literally built on mining. So if you have issues you would like to see discussed please contact me or another Councillor.While in Bendigo we will have the inaugural meeting of the National Graduate Committee, a new committee formed to address the concerns and needs of AIG Graduate Members as they gain work experience. One of the big tasks recently completed was the revamp of the AIG website (http://www.aig.org.au). Have you logged on

recently? As well as a fresh new look, we’ve created an Events Calendar that monthly lists all AIG professional development opportunities as well as those of other geoscientific organisations. Plans are underway for a Consultants List that will function as a consultants ‘finder’ for prospective ‘clients’. It will be a business card type directory that will allow you to advertise your services. Also in the construction stage is a reinvigoration of the AIG Journal that needs a new name which we ask members to submit, and which will provide a means for members to rapidly publish short, topical articles dealing with any aspects of professional

and technical practice. It is intended to fill a gap in the current geoscience publication landscape and provide credible exposure of our members’ skills and experience. Under implementation is an on-line, secure, Australian developed and supported membership data management system that is outlined elsewhere in this issue. it is highly recommended that you provide a unique personal email address (not your business address) when filling in your contact details. AIG membership continued to grow and in March this year was approaching 3000 out of an

estimated 9,000 geoscientists (estimated from Census data). I think we can rightfully say we are the PeAK body representing geoscientists in Australia. But like all Not for Profit organisations we are only as strong as our engagement with members. I thus encourage you to attend the social and technical events of your local branch, write an article for Field Notes or AIG News, mentor that Graduate Member working for you, join your State Committee, present a paper at an AIG seminar or conference — help us all to continue our professional development.

“One of the big tasks recently completed was the revamp of the AIG

website. Have you logged on recently?"

www.aig.org.au

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AIG NEWS No 116, May 20144 Public RePoRting

Public Reporting of Industrial Minerals Resources according to Clause 49 of JORC 2012 Cont. from Page 2

Similarly chromite sand varies significantly in price according to specification and markets, from US$230 per tonne for chemical grade to US$500 per tonne for refractory grade FOB South Africa. The chromite price is generally directly related to specifications such as particle size, SiO2 and Cr2O3 content and Cr/Fe ratio and is driven by overall market conditions. Of particular importance in today’s industrial minerals arena, crystalline graphite may range from US$700 per tonne to as much as US$1300 per tonne. It is clear that such price variations could have a significant impact on the economics of a graphite project, especially considering the wide range of possible markets e.g. friction linings, lubricants, electrical, refractories and foundries.From the above examples it is obvious that when publicly reporting an industrial mineral resource it is insufficient to simply report a tonnage and the contained percentage of the mineral. Not only is this contrary to JORC 2012 requirements but it could be misleading to investors. Let us take the case of a hypothetical flake graphite resource reported as 200 million tonnes at 10% graphitic carbon. Essentially all this tells us that the resource contains 20 million tonnes of in-situ flake graphite, but it tells us nothing specific about i) the size range of graphite flakes, ii) the likely purity of extracted graphite flakes, iii) impurities such as sulphides that may impact on mineral extraction, nor iv) possible markets which may be relatively limited compared with the reported resource.

The same would apply to a vermiculite deposit, where flake size and exfoliation or expansion characteristics are required in order to grade the deposit. In the case of clay such as bentonite, simply reporting a

barytes us$OCMA/API bulk lump, SG 4.2, FOB Chennai 135-150

OCMA/API bulk lump, SG 4.1, FOB Chennai 110-130

Paint Grade Chinese lump, CIF Gulf Coast 235-275

Paint Grade ground, 96-98% BaSO4, ex-works USA ($/s. ton) 315-400

chromiteChemical Grade, 46% Cr2O3 wet bulk, FOB South Africa 230-280

Refractory Grade, 46% Cr2O3 wet bulk, FOB South Africa 425-500

Foundry, +47% Cr2O3 dried 1 tonne big bags FOB South Africa 330-360

Foundry, 45.8% min Cr2O3 wet bulk, FOB South Africa 260-290

graphite – crystallineFine, 90% C, -100 mesh 750-850

Medium, 94-97% C, +100-80 mesh 1050-1150

Large flake, 94-97% C, +80 mesh CIF 1250-1300

Table 1. Selected barytes, chromite and graphite prices. (Industrial Minerals Magazine, April 2014.)

Page 5: AIG NEWS - Australian Institute of Geoscientists Public RePoRting aig news no 11, may 2014 Cont. on Page 4 Public Reporting of Industrial Minerals Resources according to Clause 49

5AIG NEWS No 116, May 2014 Public RePoRting

Cont. Overleaf

tonnage based on a purity measurement (e.g. Cation Exchange Capacity or XRD mineralogy indicative of montmorillonite content) conveys little or no meaningful information as to possible market applications — if any. Individual bentonite deposits may have similar montmorillonite content, but perform entirely differently in markets as diverse as paper manufacture, metal casting or oil well drilling. Bentonite quality may also be affected by depth of weathering, whereby “blue” bentonite is oxidised to “yellow” bentonite at shallow depths and may display enhanced performance in drilling products, despite having identical CEC and montmorillonite content.

Appropriate Quality Tests (Assays)The responsibility falls on the Competent Person to ensure that exploration samples are tested for appropriate parameters in addition to basic tests for mineral content. As per JORC 2012 Clause 49 guidelines: “Assays may not always be relevant, and other quality criteria may be more applicable. If criteria such as deleterious minerals or physical properties are of more relevance than the composition of the bulk mineral itself, then they should be reported accordingly.”• Individualorappropriatecompositesamplesshouldbeevaluated

according to size, purity of extracted minerals and / or market performance specifications.

• Itmaybedifficult tofindacommercial laboratory thatcanrunsuch tests, as most industrial minerals testing is done in-house by producers. Either a current producer may be approached to test the samples, or test methods will have to be developed internally.

• Some test methods are industry standards e.g. bentonite slurryviscosity and barite density for drilling mud applications, and are available from institutions such as the American Petroleum Institute.

• OthertestmethodsmaybeobtainedfrominstitutionssuchastheBritish Geological Survey (eg Mitchell, 1993).

For example, bentonite may be characterised by a number of metrics such as purity, chemistry and exchangeable cations:• Moisture%• pH• Grit%• Swellingvolumeinwater• Purity–montmorillonitevsinertminerals• Ca,MgandNaexchangeablecations• XRF(chemistry)• XRD(mineralogy)

Figure 2. Clumping cat litter. Colour and clump strength are specifications which may be measured to ascertain market suitability for a specific bentonite resource.

Figure 3. Moulding sand used for metal-casting applications. Known as “greensand” this incorporates silica sand, bentonite and carbonaceous additives. Bentonite is the bonding agent and is typically qualified according to mechanical properties such as green, dry and wet tensile strengths, in addition to thermal durability. Source: AMCOL Metalcasting.

However apart from confirming basic characteristics, these measures don’t necessarily indicate how the clay might perform in various applications and therefore a range of performance tests may be required to determine market opportunities including:• WaterAbsorption(ironoreorchromitepelletising)• Green,DryandWetTensileStrength(metalcasting)• ThermoGravimetricAnalysis(metalcasting)—refertoFigure4• ViscosityandFluidLoss(drillingmud)• FluidLoss,FreeSwellandPermeability(geosyntheticclayliners)

Roderick McKenzieConsultant Geologist

MAusIMM, GSAABN 55 003 562 365

M: 0403 435 377 • E: [email protected] Wellesley Road, Ringwood North, VIC 3134

McKenzie Mining & Exploration

• Due Diligence Studies• Geological Modelling & Orebody Evaluation

• Target Generation• Vulcan, MapInfo & acQuire Experience• Specialising in Iron Ore & Gold

PTY LTD

SPECIALISING IN RECRUITING PROFESSIONALS & EXECUTIVESFOR THE MINING INDUSTRY

Suite 2, 47 Ord Street Phone: (08) 9226 1022West Perth WA 6005 Fax: (08) 9226 1040

Rowley Pennock [email protected] Pennock [email protected]

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AIG NEWS No 116, May 20146 Public RePoRting

Public Reporting of Industrial Minerals Resources according to Clause 49 of JORC 2012 Cont. from Page 5

• ClumpStrength(catlitter)• AcidActivation(edibleoil

purification)• ToxinAdsorption(animalfeed)• LeesFormation(finingofwine)

ConclusionsClause 49 of JORC 2012 is a welcome and timely improvement to Clause 44 of JORC 2004. When publicly reporting industrial mineral resource or reserve estimations according to JORC 2012 (which took effect from December 2013):• It is no longer sufficient to

simply report a resource of contained industrial mineral.

• Theestimationmustincludethespecification of those minerals, if those minerals are defined by a specification.

• Ifmultipleproductsarepossiblefromadeposit,suchmultipleproducts should be quantified either separately or as a percentage of the bulk deposit. A typical example is a bentonite deposit that yields metal casting and drilling products from different parts of the deposit, based on weathering domains.

• Specificmarket-related testing and / ormetallurgical testworkare very likely to be required for industrial minerals deposits. It is not sufficient to rely solely on traditional mineralogical or chemical purity (assay grade) tests as commonly used in metals exploration.

• Commerciallaboratoriesmaynotbeequippedtotestmineralstoindustry specifications. In this case test procedures could be developed either in-house or in conjunction with a commercial laboratory. Samples may alternatively be submitted to an existing industrial minerals producer or potential customer, for example a greensand foundry in the case of bentonite.

• Proximitytomarketsandgeneralproductmarketabilityshouldbe taken into account.

References Border, S. and Butt, B.C., 2014. Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves of Industrial

Minerals – Markets and Other Modifying Factors, in Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve Estimation – The AusIMM Guide to Good Practice, pp 467 – 472, Monograph 30 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Industrial Minerals Magazine, April 2014. Price Listing. Industrial Minerals, Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC, Nestor House, Playhouse Yard, London EC4V 5EX, United Kingdom.

JORC, 2012. Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (The JORC Code) [online]. Available from: <http://www.jorc.org> (The Joint Ore Reserves Committee of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Australian Institute of Geoscientists and Minerals Council of Australia).

Mitchell, C.J., 1993. Industrial Minerals Laboratory Manual: Flake Graphite. BGS Technical Report WG/92/30. 31pp. ©NERC 1993. Keyworth, Nottingham, UK.

Scogings, A.J., 2014. Public Reporting of Industrial Mineral Resources according to JORC 2012. Industrial Minerals Magazine, May 2014, 26-27. Industrial Minerals, Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC, Nestor House, Playhouse Yard, London EC4V 5EX, United Kingdom.

Figure 4. TGA analysis of ‘5D’ bentonite from Queensland, Australia. Dehydroxylation peak at 695°C suggests high thermal durability suitable for metal-casting applications. Source: AMCOL Australia.

Page 7: AIG NEWS - Australian Institute of Geoscientists Public RePoRting aig news no 11, may 2014 Cont. on Page 4 Public Reporting of Industrial Minerals Resources according to Clause 49

7AIG NEWS No 116, May 2014 PRoFessional develoPment

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For more details or to register onlineVisit www.snowdengroup.com or call shannon alliss on +61 8 9211 8674

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reporting resources and reserves Johannesburg (Coal Specific) 23 May, 22 August (All commodities) 19 June Belo Horizonte 23 May, 31 July Vancouver 2 June Brisbane (Coal Specific) 12 June Perth 19 June

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successful sampling and QaQC of assay dataBulawayo, Zimbabwe 2-3 June Ulaanbaatar 21-22 August Perth 25-26 August Brisbane 25-26 August Johannesburg 25-26 August Vancouver 25-26 August

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10% disCoUnt For ProFessional memBersIn recognition of the services offered by the associations and societies that uphold the professionalism within our global mining industry, we have decided to offer the individual members of the following professional associations a 10% discount off our public training course fees.

AIE American Institute of Engineers | AIG Australian Institute of Geoscientists | AIME The American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers | AIPM Australian Institute of Project Management |AME BC Association for Mineral Exploration British Columbia | AMEC The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies Inc | APEG Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of BC | APGO Association of Professional Geoscientists of Ontario ASPINDO – IMSA Indonesian Mining Services Association | Austmine Australian mining equipment and services export association | AZMEC Association of Zambian Mineral Exploration Companies| CAMESE Canadian Association of Mining Equipment and Services for Export | CCPE Canadian Council of Professional Engineers | CIM Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum | ECSA Engineering Council of South Africa| IlMP Instituto de Ingenieros de Minas del Perú | Engineers Australia | GAC Geological Association of Canada | GASA Geostatistical Association of Southern Africa | GSA Geological Society of Australia | GSM Geological Society of Malaysia GSSA The Geological Society of South Africa | IAGI Indonesian Association of Geologists | IIMCh Instituro de Ingenieros en Minas de Chile | IMA Indonesia Mining Association | IMSSA Institute of Mine Surveyors of South Africa | MAC Mining Association of Canada | MNMA Mongolian National Mining Association | MSEG Mongolian Society of Economic Geologists | OMA Ontario Mining Association | PDAC Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada | SAIMM Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy | SBG Sociedade Brasileira de Geologia | SEG Society of Economic Geologists | SEG Society of Exploration Geophysicists | SME The Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration |The AusIMM The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy

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AIG NEWS No 116, May 20148 geoscience seRvices

Page 9: AIG NEWS - Australian Institute of Geoscientists Public RePoRting aig news no 11, may 2014 Cont. on Page 4 Public Reporting of Industrial Minerals Resources according to Clause 49

9AIG NEWS No 116, May 2014 technology

Indiana Drones – High Tech Exploration and Mining

unmAnned AeriAl Vehicles (uAV) have started to appear in the exploration and mining operations and an industry conference is planned for 26 – 27 June 2014 at the hyatt regency Perth. It is becoming clear that drones, driverless trucks and other un-manned machines are steadily automating the industry. Field geology may no longer need humans to slog it out on the ground, and instead exploration mapping and sensing could be performed by aerial drones and robotic machines to collect physical samples.The oil industry has already started using drones for exploration, where an eight-rotor, camera-equipped “octocopter” records outcrop in minute detail using a stereo-camera setup to generate 3D models of the terrain between two drill holes spaced well apart.Additionally German researchers have developed an airborne drone or UAV, called the multicopter, that was tested underground in a coal mine by giving it a defined destination, and then tasking it to navigate autonomously to its target by creating a map of the test site using its onboard equipment. The airborne system found its way through the mine’s passageways, demonstrating for the first time the principle of autonomous flight under challenging environmental conditions and without external navigation aids such as GPS.Facing difficult lighting conditions at a coalmine in Recklinghausen, Germany, the flying robot (see middle photo) was asked to overcome air turbulence in the narrow passages, swirling dust, an uneven floor, slanted walls and obstacles such as machines and generators while arriving safely at the destination its operator had pre-defined over a wireless network.To navigate safely, the flying robot’s on-board computer combines measurements of acceleration and rotation rates it receives from the sensors with the relative orientation and position measurement data that the stereo camera provides.The estimated positions are then put to further use in combination with the images provided by the airborne system’s stereo camera to continuously create a map of the surroundings.The flying robot always knows its position, its orientation and the speed at which it is travelling, and is able to autonomously plan the

trajectory it must take to reach its defined destination.

read more: http://www.theengineer.co.uk/multicopter-navigates-autonomously-through-mine/1018018.article#ixzz2tFV9PAKuconference details may be sourced from http://www.informa.com.au/conferences/mining-conference/operational-mining-conference/unmanned-aerial-vehicles-uav-the-resources-industry-conference

Top Right: Drone with camera.Above: Underground drone.Right: Droning for oil.

Glenn Coianiz, RPGeoP: 02 6621 7453

M: 0412 409 [email protected]

For all exploration data and 2D/3D mapping requirements

Mineral Exploration GIS

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• Geologicalmapsandexplanatorynotesscale1:200,000coveringthewholecountryincludingrecentSYSMINwork

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• Geochemicalsurveyreports(4volumes)includingplatespublished2009byBRGM• Technicalreportsonacquisitionandinterpretationofaerial

magneticandradiometricdatafromtheSYSMINProgram.• BRGMreportsontheironoredepositsinGabon• MapInfotopographicmapsscale1:200,000coveringthewholecountryincluding

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Contact Jean-michel Graindorge on +61 (08)9405 [email protected]

Notethatthegeologicaldatais

generallyinFrench

Page 10: AIG NEWS - Australian Institute of Geoscientists Public RePoRting aig news no 11, may 2014 Cont. on Page 4 Public Reporting of Industrial Minerals Resources according to Clause 49

AIG NEWS No 116, May 201410 book Review

Canadian Professional Engineering and Geoscience Practice and Ethics, Fifth Edition by Gordon C. Andrews

TOWNSVILLESimon Beams, Travers DaviesT: (07) 4728 6851E: [email protected]

PERTHDave JenkinsT: (08) 9472 8546E: [email protected]

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i wAs somewhAT surPrised and pleased to be asked to review Gordon c. Andrews’s book “canadian Professional engineering and Geoscience Practice and ethics” last november. it’s a book, sight unseen, i would not have considered to have been relevant to Australian geoscience, where there is no licensing of professional geoscientists. reading the book over the christmas – new year break, however, proved just how wrong pre-conceptions can be. The fifth edition of this book is a valuable reference for engineering and geoscience professionals globally. The latest edition, just released, refreshes a reference book that was first published in 2009 and has been a widely used reference by Canadian engineering and geoscience professionals since then. “Canadian Professional Engineering and Geoscience Practice and Ethics” is written as a comprehensive reference that provides a sound and well-presented reference on the structure, practice and ethics of the engineering and geoscience professions. Although written specifically

for a Canadian audience, the subject matter is just as relevant to engineering and geoscience professionals in other countries. Ethics is a topic that spans borders and ethical principles and conduct are central to professional practice in any discipline.In Canada, the book is the recommended text for candidates preparing for the Professional Practice Examination (PPE) that must be successfully completed to obtain a licence to practice in most Canadian provinces and territories. Currently, professional engineers must be licenced in all Canadian provinces and territories while geoscientists must be licenced throughout Canada, apart from Yukon and Prince Edward Island.The author, Gordon C. Andrews, is professor emeritus of the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering at the University of Waterloo. Dr Andrews is a licenced professional engineer (PEng) in Ontario and works as a teacher, researcher and advisor to industry. Dr Andrews is also a former member of the Academic Requirements Committee of Professional Engineers Ontario. The book benefits considerably from practical insight gained by Dr Andrews in these roles.Engineering and geoscience practice in Canada is regulated by provincial and territory boards. The requirement for formal licencing of geoscientists began in Canada in relatively recent times. Provincial regulation of engineering as a profession commenced in the 1920s, but regulation of geoscience was introduced in Alberta in 1955. Efforts to

Publisher: Nelson Education Limited, Scarborough Ontario, CanadaISBN: 13: 978-0-17-650990-3ISBN: 10:0-17-650990-9

Book Review by Andrew Waltho FAIG, RPGeo, FAusIMM, FGS

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11AIG NEWS No 116, May 2014 book Review

Cont. on Page 13

place engineering on the same professional footing as law and medicine in Canada commenced in 1887 with the first general meeting of the Canadian Society of Professional Engineers. Recognition of geoscience as a profession commenced with the establishment of the Geological Survey of Canada in 1842, and with the explicit definition of geosciences in the Engineering Act of Alberta in 1955, and the introduction of separate designations for geologists (P.Geol.) and geophysicists (P.Geophys.) in 1960 and 1966. Two important events, however, catalysed the professional licencing process: 1. the collapse of the Quebec Bridge over the St Lawrence River in

1907 followed by a second collapse in 1916 which together resulted in 88 fatalities; and,

2. the Bre-X fraud of 1997, which is estimated to have resulted in losses by investors exceeding $6 billion.

Provincial and territory governments regulate engineering and geoscience through an “Act” that establishes engineering and geoscience as professions and, in turn, creates an Association of Professional Engineers and/or Geoscientists which are the licencing bodies that set standards of professional practice, set the qualifications required for admission to the professions and discipline members who fail to meet these standards. The Associations also prevent the misuse of professional titles and prosecute illegal practice by unqualified individuals. Two not-for-profit organizations, Engineers Canada and Geoscientists Canada, assist the Associations by coordinating licencing policies and procedures across Canada. There are currently around 9,600 professionally licenced geoscientists, estimated to represent about 85% of geoscientists in Canada, a country of over 35.0 million people. This compares with an estimated 8,000 geoscientists (estimated from Census data) amongst Australia’s 23.3 million inhabitants, suggesting that the geoscience sectors in both countries have some similarities in respect of their significance to local communities and their economies.The book is divided into five sections:1. Professional licencing and regulation, which describes the licencing

processes and requirements throughout Canada;2. Professional practice, which delves into concepts of professional

practice; the need for engineers and geoscientists to work as part of multidisciplinary teams; the business of professional practice including a discussion of the roles of consultants; liability, standards and safety; liabilities and ethics problems associated with the use of computers; and fairness and equity in the professional workplace;

3. Professional Ethics: an examination of the principles of ethics and justice; ethics concepts in employment, including conflicts of interest, union activities and dishonesty in employment;

4. Environmental practice and ethics, which looks at the duty of engineering and geoscience professionals to protect the environment, the professional duty to report unethical behaviour, and the importance of sustainable development; and,

5. Obtaining and maintaining professional status: most relevant to Canadian engineers and geoscientists but relevant to anyone interested in the importance of continued professional development, and how to maximise the benefits of professional and technical society membership.

The discussion of concepts in each section of the book is enhanced through extensive reference to well selected and described case histories that examine actual events, many of them recent. The case

histories graphically illustrate the consequences of unethical practice or pose realistic ethical problems and ask readers to consider appropriate courses of action and solutions. The book sets a number of assignments that are most relevant to PPE candidates but are highly thought provoking for other readers. The book’s content is further enhanced by a web site containing useful supporting information including additional case studies, assignments and references to Canadian legislation and the Codes of Ethics of many technical societies.The book is much more than a guide to assist readers to successfully complete the Canadian PPE. Dr Andrews has assembled a wealth of thought provoking background material that adds depth to the discussion of professional ethics and the practical application of ethical principles. Of particular interest were the definitions of engineering and geoscience embodied in laws governing licencing and professional practice and discussion of the ethical obligations of professionals. Geoscience is defined as “a science (largely observational) that uses the scientific method to investigate, map, model and predict the behaviour of Earth’s natural systems (in the past, present, and into the future), the actual behaviour of which the geoscientist absolutely cannot control”, attributed to Oliver Bonham, CEO of Geoscientists Canada, 2013. Dr Andrews uses the Webster’s dictionary definition of a profession to help set the scope of his discussion of ethical standards and practices: “A calling requiring specialized knowledge and often long and intensive preparation including instruction in skills and methods as well as in the scientific, historical or scholarly principles underlying such skills and methods, maintaining by force of organisation or concerned opinion high standards of achievement and conduct, and committing its members to continued study and to a kind of work which has for its prime purpose the rendering of a public service”. The relevance of the definitions of geoscience and engineering are constantly reinforced and referred to in the case studies and exercises presented throughout the book.Licencing of engineers and geoscientists in Canada requires at least four years of formal education and three to four years of relevant work experience before they can practice, which Dr Andrews points out, equals the preparation required in medicine or law. The Canadian requirement is also comparable with the requirements of professional institute membership (AIG or AusIMM) in Australia. The requirements for licencing in Canada are summarised as: education; experience; knowledge of local practices; language; good character, and knowledge of professional practice and ethics. These fundamental requirements are just as applicable outside Canada. Dr Andrews makes a number of significant and topical observations regarding the use of computer software for data management and analysis by both engineers and geoscientists and professional obligations pertaining to the reliability of decisions and recommendations stemming from software use. This is a very relevant topic affecting professional practice that arguably receives little attention. The critical importance of communication to engineering and geoscience professionals is also a recurring theme in the book, where it is seen as pivotal to career success and demonstration of technical ability. This is accompanied by an extensive discussion of the features and requirements of working as a professional, either as an employee or a self-employed professional, and the added requirements attached to working as a consultant.

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AIG NEWS No 116, May 201412 PRoFessional develoPment

AMC Specialist Technical Workshops January – June 2014, Brisbane

AMC Consultants Pty Ltd (AMC) is a leading independent mining consultancy, providing services exclusively to the minerals sector. We are pleased to announce dates for our specialist technical career development workshops. All workshops will be held in Brisbane, and participants on all workshops will receive a bound, full-colour workshop manual. AMC can also run these workshops in-house and tailor them for your specific needs. Discounts are available for participants who attend several workshops in the same week (March and June).

JORC 2012–Complying with the Code in the Reporting Environment (half day) 20 January, 20 February, 28 March, 11 April, 16 May, 20, June Presenters: Peter Stoker and Mark Berry

This workshop will present the fundamental requirements of the JORC Code, including new and changed provisions adopted in 2012. Examples of compliant and non-compliant reports will be reviewed, including case studies. This workshop is designed for existing and intending Competent Persons and management staff at all levels.

Assessment of Geological Uncertainty in Mining and Management of Risk (one day) 26 March, 18 June Presenter: Mark Berry

This workshop will identify and assess the sources of geological uncertainty that feed into ore reserve estimates, with implications from pit to port. Case studies and a range of risk management strategies will be presented. This workshop is designed for geologists, engineers, metallurgists, and management staff at all levels.

Lessons Learnt from Auditing Mineral Resource Estimates (one day) 27 March, 19 June Presenters: Peter Stoker, Mark Berry, and Mark Sweeney

This workshop will present key learnings from AMC’s extensive international audits of mineral resource estimates. It is designed to provide new and senior geological staff with insights into best practice and common problems. Topics covered will include drill program design and drilling, surveying, sample preparation and analytical techniques, logging and related processes, geological interpretation and domaining, geostatistics, estimation, classification, reporting, QA/QC processes, and data management.

Practical Application of Isatis for Resource Estimation (two days) 24–25 March, 16–17 June Presenter: Mark Sweeney

This workshop will demonstrate Isatis functionality for geostatistical and resource estimation applications, and is based on AMC’s extensive experience in resource estimation using Isatis. The topics covered will include an overview of the main functions of the geostatistical software, data management and data manipulation, statistics and domaining, variography, and implementation of linear resource estimation.

Excellence in Mineral Resources Estimation (five days) 7–11 April Presenters: Peter Stoker, Mark Berry, Alex Virisheff, Mark Sweeney, Brian Hall, and other industry specialists

This workshop provides geologists with a comprehensive review of all inputs into resource estimation, from data collection to reporting. Case studies are used extensively to illustrate and reinforce concepts. The workshop is presented by AMC principal consultants, supplemented by guest presentations covering topics such as sample preparation and analysis issues.

Register online at www.amcconsultants.com/training For more information, contact: Alana Philips: (T) +61 7 3230 9000 (E) [email protected]

www.amcconsultants.com AMC - the business of mining

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13AIG NEWS No 116, May 2014 soFtwaRe

Open Source Software

mosT of us Are fAmiliAr with the microsoft suite of word-processing and spreadsheet software, word and excel, as the defacto global standards along with Adobe portable document format, Pdf. some members, (i know of one personally), still use the Quattro spreadsheet and most of us would be also familiar with mapinfo and encom discover. The western Australian department of mines uses ArcGis but supplies files in various popular formats apart from supplying their own in house Gis package for displaying geoscientific spatial data. in addition the various state geological surveys use their own in-house platforms to supply spatial data, whether tenement or geoscientific.So I was rather interested in discovering the UK government announced in January this year it was standardising on the Open Document Format, (OpenOffice file format) for all government files, as announced during January this year. The proposed standards are: HTML 4.01, HTML5, ODF 1.1, ODF 1.2, CSV and TXT.OpenOffice is open source software that is free and may be downloaded from https://www.openoffice.org/. It comprises a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, database and a drawing application in one package and is available for the Windows, Apple OS-X and Linux operating systems. It can save files in various standards including Microsoft file formats and PDF. I use the software myself though remembering to save files in Microsoft formats tends to make life a little more complex than necessary, and particularly when it's data that is used in mapping software.What about mapping software? This is an interesting subject because some of the best GIS, contouring and image processing software is only available for the Microsoft Windows platform. Most of us have probably discovered that Microsoft upgraded its widely used Windows operating system to version 8 which is optimised for tablet type and touch screen computers, and for every day tasks such as email and web browsing, touch-screen tablet computers are perfectly satisfactory. However this platform is considered to be less than ideal for mapping and contouring programs such as MapinInfo/Discover, Geosoft Oasis and Target, Goldensoftware's Surfer, Didger, Grapher, etc which are unavailable on the Apple OS-X platform unless you install a virtual Microsoft Windows system on the Apple system, with the added expense of having to use two computer operating systems.Some of us probably use Windows machines at work and Apple devices at home, including our mobile phones and the ubiquitous iPads or windows equivalents. However it seems Apple has settled on using two operating systems, IOS for the portable devices and OS X for workstation type computers, while Microsoft has settle on one system for all the different platforms apart from mobile phones (Note: Windows Mobile is not Windows-8 - it's a cut-down IOS-like operating system). Not to be forgotten are the open source operating systems based on the Unix platform or Linux, and these are basically non-touch screen systems, or what I would call 'proper' operating systems.It's interesting to note that some years back I was corresponding with a colleague in the US who works at the Los Alamos laboratories and we were comparing notes on GPS devices etc, when I asked why he used an Apple Mac for the field. One reason only was given - operating system compatibility – the mainframes use UNIX which has many similarities with Apple's OS-X operating system, despite the near dominance of mapping software on the Windows platform. So what mapping software is available on the UNIX/Linux/OS-10 platform? Not much as I discovered since the mining industry has, more or less, standardised on the Microsoft Windows platform. And those of us who

use Macbook, or iMac (or even Mac Pro) computers invariably install a virtual Windows system on the Mac in order to use the mainstream GIS software. This solution was quite satisfactory until the appearance of touch-screen computing and the inevitable migration of the Windows to this platform making Windows 8 not really the friendliest of platforms on which to run mouse oriented mapping software. It's the main reason I have personally gone off the Windows platform and moved to the Apple Mac – it's still a mouse and keyboard friendly operating system.Elsewhere in this AIG News Mike Erceg reports on the one-day seminar held in Brisbane where the open source Quantum GIS, among others, was demonstrated. That struck a chord in my memory for I had recently installed a software package called QGIS on the Apple Mac that I found rather competent and professional and wondered whether it was the same software mentioned in the AIG GIS seminar. It was and is available for Windows, Mac OS-X, Linux, BSD Unix and Android operating systems. The good part is that it's free.QGIS is licensed under the GNU General Public License and supports common spatial data formats (Esri Shapefile, geotiff, Mapinfo Tables etc). It's default vector format file is the Esri Shapefile, and mapping sessions are saved in a single project file, similar to Mapinfo's workspace concept. Uniquely QGIS has a large library of plugins, some of which work well, and others which don't, or remain in design stage. The help file and user guide is available on the web and also as a downloadable PDF. There is an excellent online training manual. As for geological applications, my impression is that these solutions are currently works in progress and require an in-depth knowledge of Python and scripting language. One of the older GIS software (1984 and still current) is GRASS which is a standard plugin for QGIS and 3D visualisation can be done using the GRASS NVIS package, but again, some complex scripting seems to be the way things are done, so QGIS really isn't up to speed like it's mainstream competitors.

Louis Hissink

The requirements of the professional workplace and working environment are also given considerable attention, with Dr Andrews making a very valid point, that all engineering and geoscience professionals ultimately form part of a team which links back to the importance of professional communication mentioned previously.The role of professional societies receives attention in the fifth section of the book where Dr Andrews makes a case for active involvement in society activities in order to maximise the benefits and relevance of membership, many of which stem from engagement and exchange of information and ideas with peers.The book also addresses the ethics of several current issues, amongst them climate change, where the issues are discussed in terms of professional responsibilities to the community at large and the professional standards required of interactions with peers involving these issues. “Canadian Professional Engineering and Geoscience Practice and Ethics” is a thoroughly interesting and engaging book that deserves a place on any geoscience professionals’ bookshelf. The book raises the profile of the need for high standards of ethical practice in all professions in a very practical and effective manner.

Book Review Cont. from Page 11

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AIG NEWS No 116, May 201414 geoPhysics

Geophysics Holding the Geology to AccountPart 2: Siting mine infrastructure

Chris Wijns. MAIG, Minerals co-chair, ASEG-PESA 2015 Conference and Exhibition

Planning infrastructure for a mining project depends on knowing ground conditions over the site. The main geotechnical approaches used: drilling and test pits; suffer from severe areal undersampling. Point measurements are expected to represent large areas and engineers extrapolate and interpolate from the geological logging of few drillholes to characterise sites for various elements of mine infrastructure. Errors in site characterisation can result in costly extra earthworks or wholesale changes in infrastructure layout.Ahead of infrastructure planning at the Kevitsa mine in northern Finland, the most pressing issue was where to locate the crusher. The mine lease was tight, and amid waste dumps, the tailings dam, and operational considerations of distance from the pit, the crusher had to be located on a solid bedrock high in order to avoid costly excavation through thick, glacial till or very fractured bedrock. Drillholes were sparse outside of the resource area, so the company turned to airborne EM for consistent coverage of the whole mine lease. Prior petrophysical logging of resistivity (Figure 1) showed a sharp contrast between the conductive overburden (glacial till) and the very resistive fresh rock below. There is very little weathering on this site, but where it exists, in highly fractured bedrock, the resistivity

occupies an ambiguous middle ground. Inversion of the EM signal into conductivity versus depth served as the basis for picking an interface that would represent the transition from overburden to fresh rock. A system that could record very early time channels was chosen in order to be able to map the very near surface.Figure 2 illustrates the map of overburden depth using a cut-off of 500 ohm•m in resistivity. This ensures that, according to thepetrophysical statistics, highly weathered and fractured bedrock is included in the overburden category, since such ground would be unsuitable as a foundation for the crusher. All drillholes at the time of planning are also included in Figure 2, with logged depth of overburden in the same colour scale as the EM-derived depth. Darker colours indicate deeper weathering. Two facts are obvious: there were no drillholes around the crusher location at the time, and the EM shows a deepening of the overburden past 30 m, which is far beyond the 15 m that the engineers were ready to accept for excavation. Based on the existing drillholes with logged overburden to about 10 m depth, and a number of test pits that recorded overburden to no more than 5 m depth around the planned plant and crusher site, the engineers were ready to interpolate between these to assume a suitable site for construction. The EM results threw this planning into doubt, and it was obvious that more geotechnical holes needed to be drilled. These were placed as shown in Figure 3, and confirmed the EM results. Logging comments are included on the figure. The primary conclusion is that previous logging, and

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15AIG NEWS No 116, May 2014 geoPhysics

especially test pits, recorded the extent of glacial till up to the first instance of bedrock, whether or not this was followed by intense fracturing and weathering. In this area of very deep unstable ground, the later geotechnical holes recorded alternating fractured bedrock and clay/sand layers, which would never be seen in a test pit that stops when the excavator shovel hits first bedrock. Most strikingly, at the original crusher site, these periodic clay/sand layers and fractured bedrock persist to 50 m depth. This would have been a showstopper for the construction phase.On the strength of the EM supported by new geotechnical holes, the plant infrastructure was shifted about 150 m to the northwest, as shown in Figure 3. This brought the crusher onto shallow bedrock according to both EM and drilling results, which now satisfied the engineering team. The EM mapping exercise cost $75,000 for data collection, processing, and inversion for bedrock depth, and saved the company from placing $300M worth of crusher and plant infrastructure in a bad spot.One of the main points of education about geophysical mapping, and in particular this example, is that precise correspondence with drillhole data, on a hole-by-hole basis, is unreasonable. This is apparent in Figure 2, for example. The footprint of a single airborne EM reading is over 300 m2 at the surface (from a loop about 18 m across). The “footprint” of the core from a PQ geotechnical drillhole is 57 cm2 or 0.0057 m2. The EM reading represents a very large volume average and provides a qualitative way to interpolate between drillholes, as well as to verify how well a single hole may

represent the rock volume around it. Another ubiquitous caveat on comparing geological logging to geophysical mapping is that visual geological logging is inconsistent, and the greater the number of geologists involved, the truer this is. Geophysical measurements, to their advantage as well as their detriment, are entirely consistent across space and time. (The detrimental aspect is the inability to make informed and adjustable decisions about, e.g., slightly resistive overburden vs. equally slightly resistive fractured bedrock.) In the present case of overburden mapping, the challenge is to determine what the electromagnetic data are logging versus the geological boundary required and logged for in drillholes.

Figure 1: (Top) Representative petrophysical log of resistivity showing a large jump between overburden (glacial till) and fresh rock below. (Bottom) Resistivity statistics from the entire petrophysical database illustrating the large contrast between overburden and fresh rock, plus the ambiguous middle ground of fractured and weathered bedrock.

Figure 2: Overburden depth at the plant site derived from airborne EM data and drilling. Drillholes are coloured with the identical scale as the EM-derived depth, where black is more than 30 m.

Figure 3: EM-derived overburden depth around the crusher with follow-up geotechnical holes and logging results that confirm the EM story. The overburden depth uses the same colour scale as in Figure 2. The final crusher location is 150 m northwest of the originally planned location.

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AIG NEWS No 116, May 201416 PRoFessional develoPment

Wed 8th to Fri 10th October 2014 WMC Conference Centre

Curtin University, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia

Symposium Themes

Past, present and future of gold exploration and mining

New gold provinces and opportunities

The timing of gold mineralisation

Gold exploration methods and technologies

Programme

Pre-symposium mine visits: 4th to 6th October 2014 (Start and finish Kalgoorlie)The pre-conference field trip and mine visits will focus around and to the south of Kalgoorlie and will examine Eastern Goldfields outcrop lithostratigraphy and gold mineralisation. Leader: Stephen Wyche and GSWA colleagues.

Short course: 7th October 2014 (Kalgoorlie)Orogenic gold deposits: nature and geological targeting by David Groves.

Symposium: 8th to 10th October 2014 (Kalgoorlie)Technical sessions, keynote speakers, poster session and networking events, including sundowner and symposium dinner.

Post symposium mine visits: 11th to 13th October 2014 (Start and finish Kalgoorlie)The post-symposium trip will focus on the north Kalgoorlie and Leonora areas. The excursion will visit several mines and focus on mine- to regional-scale structural controls on gold mineralisation. Leader: Stephen Wyche and GSWA colleagues.

Short course: 14th October 2014 (Perth)Porphyry copper-gold and related epithermal deposits by Richard Sillitoe.

Gold14@KalgoorlieINTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUMGold14@KalgoorlieINTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM

For Further Information:

Julian: +61 [email protected]

Keynote Speakers: Bob Foster

(Stratex International PLC, London) Science and the City - the status of our gold industry

David Groves (Consultant, Western Australia) Province-scale Commonalities and Contrasts Between Orogenic, Intrusion-related, Carlin-type and Iron Oxide Systems

Richard Sillitoe (Consultant, UK) Gold Exploration Opportunities

Visit: aig.org.au or geosymposia.com.auEmail: [email protected] 00

23

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17AIG NEWS No 116, May 2014 the editoR's desk

dear editor,I have in the past unsuccessfully complained about editorials and editor's articles that seem inappropriate for a professional scientific organisation (some of which could lead readers to wonder if they were confusing AIG with AiG). The AIG Editor supports his claim of being able to water divine (issue 114) with "Dowsing or remote viewing might be dismissed as crank science but one suspects that view has more to do with an inability to explain it than anything else" (issue 115).Explain what? A 1948 New Zealand study of 30 water diviners, a 1979 review and a 2004 test of 50 dowsers ability to detect water showed that none of them was more reliable than chance http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dowsing. The Geological Survey of South Australia obtained a similar result years ago (I cannot locate the reference to substantiate this but others may know). James Randi and Dick Smith through Australian Skeptics set up a $40,000 award for successful water divining but it remains untaken http://www.skeptics.com.au/publications/articles/australian-skeptics-divining-test/. The James Randi Educational Foundation has since offered a $1,000,000 prize for anyone who can demonstrate it, but there have been no successful contenders http://www.randi.org/library/dowsing/. Dick Smith has run similar trials without it being successfully demonstrated http://youngausskeptics.com/2011/10/the-pseudo-scientists-podcast-episode-33/.The AIG editorial advances one piece of "evidence" in issue 115 ; "Varvoglis, Ph.D. noted, dowsing, ......is actually used in industry. For example, Ontario Hydro, the world's third largest water company, disclosed that they regularly employ dowsers in conjunction with their engineering techniques". Firstly, what possible relevance to science would this have if this company does use dowsing? This has all the scientific relevance as the fact that an Australian exploration company used psychic spoon-bender Yuri Geller as a remote sensing device. Secondly, Ontario Hydro has not existed as such for 14 years, suggesting any evidence is dated at best. And thirdly, Mario Varvoglis is not identified except for his PhD, but I suspect that this is a former president of the Parapsychological Association http://archived.parapsych.org/members/m_varvoglis.html, who has published such books as “A Voyage Into the Universe of Psychic Phenomena for Discovering and Developing PSI” (Amazon) - perhaps the editor could advise this and Vargolis’ knowledge of Ontario Hydro, as some would consider it relevant to Vargolis’ credibility? Accreditation of sources is a major problem in AIG News, as with the case of Guy Berthault (AIG News 107) http://www.evolutionpages.com/berthault_critique.htm.It is inappropriate that the newsletter of a professional organisation for geoscientists (that presumably include hydrogeologists) should repeatedly proclaim the merits of water divining or water dowsing, while giving no evidence whatsoever, and feedback that I have had from many geologists is that it makes the AIG a laughing stock (articles and editorials are not Letters to the Editor and carry more weight). It would be better confined to sites such as Louis Hissink's Crazy World http://fgservices1947.wordpress.com/.

Martin Hughes, Member

dear editor,Professionalism cannot be turned on and off according to audience or subject matter.Recent controversy over articles published in AIG News concerning phases of water and water divining is healthy and to be encouraged (Refs 1, 2, 3). But, the AIG with the ASX, ASIC and AusIMM have recently instituted JORC 2012 (Ref. 4). JORC 2012 is a clear set of Professional Requirements phrased as Transparency, Materiality and Competence. It is a prescriptive straitjacket with the requirement for the Competent Person to accept a life-long legal liability for material in Exploration, Resource and Reserve reports and removes the defense of “just doing what the boss requested”. I have heard past and present members of the JORC committee suggest that JORC applies only to grade and tonnes. But can Professionalism be turned on and off according to audience or subject matter? I think not, and clearly the AIG (and AusIMM) need to debate the reach of Professional Requirements. One unintended consequence of JORC 2012 is that articles in the AIG News are viewed by members with a sharpened perspective (Ref. 3). Would the AIG publish articles on “hidden” gold not found by recognised analytical methods? No, the AIG is extremely concerned about claims of this nature. So the argument that the AIG News is an easy to read magazine that may encourage controversial articles is little different to putting material on hotcopper.com.au when that content is ineligible for an ASX release.Professionalism applies to all aspects of Earth Sciences with a financial and/or societal implication. This includes, but is not limited to, Climate Change, Economic Demonstrated Resources (EDR), Fracking, Water Resources and Water Exploration. Technical articles (as distinct from opinion like this) should be accompanied by full references to demonstrate Transparency and a statement of the authors’ qualifications to show Competency. A recent AIG News article (Ref. 5) “What Reporting Portable XRF Data to 2012 JORC Code Guidelines Means” was itself not JORC-compliant lacking both references for Transparency and the qualifications of the authors for Competence. (I happen to know the authors are competent, and having talked to them I understand references were omitted for simplicity and qualifications to avoid accusations of marketing their business.) AIG members should be treated equally, all subject to the same Transparency, Materiality and Competence requirements. If one group are required to accept a life-long legal commitment then so should all others when publishing and providing advice to Government and Non-Government Organisations. This is especially important when data and advice involves orders of magnitude more dollars than the issues policed by ASIC and the ASX as is the case with Climate Change, Water Policy and Fracking. The unintended consequence of the prescriptive JORC 2012 code is that all AIG and AusIMM members and the Institute will be scrutinized for Professionalism beyond the limits of grade and tonnes. Good for the Goose is good for the Gander.

Julian Vearncombe, SJS Resource ManagementReferences1 Hissink, L. 2013. The Fourth Phase of Water – An EZ Phase to Add? AIG News No

114, p. 1-5.2 Hissink, L., 2014, From The Editor, AIG News No 115, p18.3 Letter to the Editor AIG News from Martin Hughes, this issue.4 The JORC Code 2012 Edition. Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration

Results, Mineral resources and Ore Reserves. http://www.jorc.org5 Arne, D., Jeffress, G., Sergeev, N and Margereson, A. 2014. What reporting Portable

XRF Data to 201 JORC Code Guidelines Means. AIG News No. 115, p1 to 6.

Letters to the Editor

(Unconventional Water Detection: Field Test of the Dowsing Technique in Dry Zones: Part 2, H-D Betz, in Journal of Scientific Exploration, Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 159-189, 1995. Abstract in part "..extensive field studies - in line with provable and reliable historic accounts - have shown that a few...dowsers are certainly able to detect faults, fissures, and fractures.. a series of .. projects were carried out in dry zones with unexpectedly high rates of success.." and "So far, neither critical consideration of all possible objections not attempts at reasoning have yielded a conventional explanation for the persistent success of the dowsing technique..." - ED)

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AIG NEWS No 116, May 201418 seRvices

Structural geology of quartz-scheelite veins, tungsten deposit, Western Australia

CONTACT Julian VearncombeMobile +61 437 477 220Phone +61-8 9364 7098

PO Box 1093Canning Bridge 6153Western Australia

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[email protected]

www.sjsresource.com.au

The AMEC Convention is a knowledge transfer event with a strong emphasis on

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• AMEC Convention dinner on 2 July where the AMEC Prospector Award,

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19AIG NEWS No 116, May 2014 aig council and committees

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AIG Council and Committee Chairs 2014 - 2015

The AiG federAl council for 2014 – 2015 was elected in April, along with the new executive and the chairs of the AiG committees. in this article we introduce your councillors and committee chairs for this year, and the AiG executive officer, lynn Vigar.

AIG COUNCILLORS

Adrian DiazAdrian is a geologist with almost ten years’ experience, mainly in coal and iron ore, but also with project work experience in minerals, including gold, copper and base metals in Australia, Venezuela, and other overseas projects. Adrian has a BSc Hons (Geological Eng.), MSc (Petroleum Geology), GC (Geostatistics), and is a Competent Person as defined by the JORC Code to estimate coal resources. Adrian has had hands-on exposure to all facets of the mining geology industry, from geological targeting, planning and execution of drilling programs to geological modelling, resource estimation and reconciliation. He has worked as an exploration, mine, project and resource geologist in the field and office based. Adrian’s experience includes working for mining houses, consultancies and government. He has acquired advanced skills using Vulcan, DataMine, MineScape, Leapfrog, Isatis and Supervisor software to create geological models, and is familiar with linear and non-linear multivariate geostatistical estimations and simulations.

Andrew WalthoAndrew Waltho lives in Brisbane with his family and has two teenage children, neither of whom aspire to be geologists. He has a B.App.Sc (Hons) from the University of Technology, Sydney, is a past AIG President and Queensland Branch Chairman, and is a Fellow and Registered Professional Geoscientist of AIG, a Fellow of both AusIMM and the Geological Society of London and a member of the American Geophysical Union.Andrew has more than 30 years’ experience in exploration and mining geology, spanning a number of commodities and roles, both

in Australia and overseas. He is currently Chief Geologist - Energy and Minerals with Rio Tinto Exploration's Project Generation Group where his responsibilities include leading a small team engaged in identification of greenfield and brownfield exploration opportunities globally, technical due diligence, resource estimation and the identification and effective implementation of improved geoscientific practices and technologies to improve orebody knowledge in commodities as diverse as coal, uranium, unconventional gas, heavy mineral sands, potash, phosphates and other industrial minerals. Andrew has worked with Rio Tinto in Brisbane for the past seven years and spent ten years with CRA Exploration earlier in his career. In between he has worked for several companies in exploration, mining geology and consulting roles, including Pasminco, Golder Associates, MIM and Shell.Andrew is currently the Chairman of the Complaints Committee, a member of the Publications and External Relations Committees, and responsible for the management of AIG's web site and social media platforms. He has a keen interest in professional ethics, the value of continued professional development and the role of professional societies in Australian geoscience.

Anne TomlinsonAnne Tomlinson has over 10 years’ experience having worked in gold exploration and mining as a graduate geologist, and on a wide range of gold, base metal, uranium, REE and iron projects in Australia, Southeast Asia, and Africa as a geophysicist with Southern Geoscience Consultants since 2005. Currently Principal Geophysicist at SGC, Anne gained a BSc in Geophysics from the University of Auckland, New Zealand in 2002 and an MSc (Hons) in Applied Geophysics and Economic Geology in 2004. Anne has been a member of the AIG since 2005, joining the WA committee in early 2011 and then the Federal Council in mid-2011. She currently chairs the Membership & Qualifications Committee and is working on developing an online application system and new membership management system. Anne is also a member of the Australian Society of Exploration Geophysicists and current WA President.

Cont. Overleaf

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AIG NEWS No 116, May 201420 aig council and committees

Grace CummingGrace Cumming is a graduate of the University of Tasmania and a consultant volcanologist who specialises in the delineation of volcanic successions which host epithermal Au-Ag deposits. Grace has worked in Asia, the SW Pacific, South and Central America, Australia and Russia, with field trips to Reunion Island, Italy, Iceland and New Zealand.Grace continues to maintain a strong link with the University of Tasmania (CODES), is responsible for the AIG branch in Tasmania and is an observer on AIG council.

Graham TealeGraham Teale has over 38 years’ experience as a mineral exploration, mining and research geologist. He graduated from Macquarie University with a first class Honours Degree in geology and began his career in the early 1970s as an exploration geologist and petrologist for Falconbridge (Aust) Pty Ltd in Western Australia. Graham’s extensive experience includes exploration and research on the Mount Leyshon gold deposit, the development and mining of gold deposits in the Broken River Province in North Queensland, and

active exploration and research on the Curnamona Craton – including exploration for Broken Hill Type mineralisation.Graham has consulted to numerous companies, presented workshops, and been involved in over 90 publications and conference abstracts. He has been an AIG Councillor for several years and, along with Tom Mayer, has been responsible for the development and growth of the AIG South Australian branch.

Heather CareyHeather Carey is an Exploration Geologist in the resource and energy industry. Heather graduated from the University of Victoria, Canada in 2006 with a Bachelor of Science in Geology. She began her career as an Exploration Geologist working on gold, diamond, and base metal exploration projects in the Canadian Arctic and Cordillera. In 2008, Heather relocated to Australia and has worked in a wide variety of tectonic environments across Africa and Australia interpreting potential field data sets for petroleum, mineral, and environmental clients. She is currently a Sales Manager for CGG Multi Client and New Ventures in APAC.Heather has been a member of the AIG WA Branch Committee since 2011 and was elected to Federal Council in May 2013 where she contributes to the National Graduate Committee and the Publicity / Promotions Committee. Heather is very passionate

AIG Council and Committee Chairs 2014 - 2015 Cont. from Page 19

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21AIG NEWS No 116, May 2014

Ian is a Fellow and RPGeo with AIG, was AIG Treasurer from 1995 to 1999, and rejoined AIG Council in 2012. He served on the UWA Centre of Ore Development and Metallurgy Committee from 1996 to 2000, SMEDG in the 1990's and again from 2002, the Executive Committee of the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia from 1992 to 2002, and is a fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Jonathan BellJonathan Bell is a geologist and mineral economist with experience in exploration, resource definition, mining and project valuation gained from work with Western Australian mining and consulting companies. Jon gained his BSc (Applied Geology) in 2000 and has since complemented his geological skills by undertaking an MSc and subsequently a PhD in Mineral Economics. Jon specialises in the field of mineral asset valuations, in which he is an innovator, practitioner and educator.Jon is a member of the AIG WA Branch Committee, an AIG Federal Councillor, and is an AIG representative on the VALMIN Committee. Jon is also a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and an Affiliate of the Stockbrokers Association of Australia.

Katarina DavidKatarina David is a hydrogeologist with over 17 years’ experience in hydrogeology and groundwater management in New Zealand, Australia, and Croatia. She has a BSc (Hons) in Geology from the University of Zagreb, and an MSc in Groundwater Management from UTS, Sydney. Katarina has extensive experience in groundwater assessments in mining environment, but also hydrogeology application to infrastructure, residential, irrigation and water supply problems. Her experience was gained by working in the mining industry, government, research organisation and consulting. Katarina is currently studying towards the PhD degree in groundwater at UNSW Australia and consults in the hydrogeology field.Katarina is an AIG Federal Councillor, and President of the International Association of Hydrogeologists, NSW branch.

aig council and committees

Cont. on Page 23

about education outreach and encouraging high school students to consider a career in geoscience. Heather is also an Active Member and the WA Treasurer of the Australian Society of Exploration Geophysicists (ASEG).

Ian NeussIan Neuss was born and raised in northern NSW. He studied geology at UNE and fortuitously ended up with a BSC (Hons) and a Dip Ed. Later he achieved an MSc from Birmingham Uni in Hydrogeology. Ian has worked for various mining companies commencing as a field geologist in Tasmania and Mt Isa with the Geophoto, then CSR in Australia and New Zealand with long stints in Indonesia and other Asian countries. He had an interlude in water consulting before going off to Indonesia again and ended up in Perth managing Outokumpu of Finland's commercial operations and exploration activities in Australia. When Outokumpu sold its mining assets he became involved in the floating of Finders Resources on Indonesian projects in 2004.Career highlights include being involved in Indonesia in the 1970's on producing mines, and positioning Outokumpu for its venture into nickel in Australia with the successful evaluation and opening of the Forrestania nickel mines, the discovery of the Silver Swan deposit as well as the assessment of the Honeymoon Well nickel project in WA, and all the good times between.

Silver Sponsor of the AIG Education Endowment

Foundation

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AIG NEWS No 116, May 201422 PRoFessional develoPment

The Australian Institute of Geoscientists with Geoscientists Symposia present

SYMPOSIA AND SHORT COURSES 2014

Contact: [email protected]

Short Course:Aeromagnetics 101by David Isles 19 June 2014Field Excursion: Structural and Stratigraphic Setting of Mineral Deposits in the Kalgoorlie DistrictLeaders: Stephen Wyche, Nicole Patison 4th-6th Oct 2014Field Workshop: Up-skilling Structure Workshop, KalgoorlieLeaders: Gerard Tripp, Julian Vearncombe 4th-6th Oct 2014Short Course: Orogenic Gold Deposits: Nature and Geological Targeting by David Groves 7th Oct 2014Symposium: Gold14@Kalgoorlie 8th-10th Oct 2014Short Course: Exploration Strategies for Sediment-hosted and Orogenic Gold by Ross Large 11th Oct 2014Field Excursion: Granite-greenstone Geology between Kalgoorlie and LeonoraLeaders: Nicole Patison, Stephen Wyche 11th-13th Oct 2014Short Course: Porphyry Copper-Gold and Related Epithermal Deposits by Richard Sillitoe 14th Oct 2014

For details:www.aig.org.au • www.geosymposia.com.au

0022

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23AIG NEWS No 116, May 2014

is currently a Principal Hydrogeologist and a Senior Associate (partner) of Sinclair Knight Merz. He has twenty-five years’ experience in groundwater and environmental projects. Martin is a Past President of the AIG and a former Councillor for Membership; his experience in both the AIG and hydrogeology provides valuable input into AIG strategy and program development.

Mike ErcegMike Erceg is a geologist with over 30 years’ experience in mineral exploration, mine development and operations in New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines and China. Significant projects include Red Dome mine (Qld), Mungana project (Qld), Wafi-Golpu project (PNG), Lawlers mine (WA), Tritton mine (NSW), Jianchaling mine (China) and Cadia East mine (NSW). Mike specialises in Southwest Pacific porphyry copper-gold and epithermal gold-silver systems and has extensive experience in managing remote area reconnaissance and helicopter supported drilling operations. Mike currently consults for several companies with exploration interests in Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea.Mike is a Federal Councillor, member of the RPGeo Committee and federal representative on the Queensland AIG Committee.

Steve SugdenSteve is a graduate of the University of Queensland with 30 years mineral exploration and management experience, working on projects ranging from conceptual grass roots exploration through to mining operations, throughout Australia, PNG and New Zealand, in a wide variety of commodities including Gold, Base Metals, Uranium, Iron Ore and Diamonds.During his career Steve has worked for a number of companies including CRA Exploration, Plutonic, Homestake and Harmony Gold and is currently a Principal Geochemical Consultant with ioGlobal providing specialist geochemical and geological consulting services to mineral exploration and mining clients.He has been instrumental in a number of economic discoveries both personally and as a team leader, including the discovery of the Wallaby Gold deposit in the Goldfields of Western Australia.

aig council and committees

Cont. Overleaf

Kaylene CamutiKaylene Camuti is an exploration geologist and consultant mineralogist. She has a BSc (Applied Geology) from Ballarat and an MSc (Exploration and Mining Geology) from JCU. Kaylene began her career as an exploration geologist on the west coast of Tasmania in 1981 and, since then, has worked on exploration projects for precious and base metals in Australia, and provided mineralogical and geometallurgical consulting services to projects in Australia, Asia and South America. She has presented short courses to postgraduate students and in-house training courses to industry on a variety of mineralogy and alteration-related topics. During the 1990’s Kaylene served on the committee of the North Queensland branch of the AusIMM and was Deputy Chair for several years. She is currently Deputy Chair of the Board of the Economic Geology Research Unit at JCU, a member of the advisory Board for the JCU Bachelor of Geology Degree course, and a member of the advisory Board for the eastern Australian Teacher Earth Science Education Program.Kaylene is an AIG Registered Professional Geoscientist (RPGeo), has been an AIG Queensland branch committee member since 1999, an AIG Federal Councillor since 2000, the Chair of the Education Committee since 2001, and was AIG President from 2012 to 2014. She is the current Vice President of the AIG.

Martin RobinsonMartin Robinson was born and grew up in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe). He gained his degree in geology, specialising in applied hydro-geology, from Rhodes University in South Africa. After graduating he returned to Zimbabwe where he worked for a small hydrogeological consultancy, undertaking groundwater resource investigations through much of central southern Africa. Martin then immigrated to the USA where he worked as a photogrammetrist and had his first exposure to groundwater contamination and remediation. Following his time in the USA, Martin immigrated to Australia, where he worked for a hydrogeological consultancy before doing a three year stint with the Rural Water Corporation of Victoria. Martin

AIG Council and Committee Chairs 2014 - 2015 Cont. from Page 21

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AIG NEWS No 116, May 201424

Chamber of Mines. Wayne was a founding director of the Mineral Deposits Research Unit (UBC) and a former Advisory Board member for the Centre for Exploration Targeting (UWA).Wayne is the current President of AIG Council and the Chair of the External Relations Committee, which promotes productive relation-ships with our fellow geoscience organisations around the world.

AIG EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Lynn VigarLynn Vigar graduated as a Diagnostic Radiographer and has worked as such in Queensland, ACT and Western Australia. Lynn has been on the sidelines of the mining industry for the past couple of decades having worked for a drilling company, a geology consultancy, a provider of field services, and latterly a mining company. Lynn also spent five years in Vatukoula, Fiji, before moving to Kalgoorlie. After moving to Perth, Lynn worked as a Practice Manager and CT Radiographer until she saw the light and embraced the world of administrative work. On weekends, Lynn was the volunteer bookkeeper and Approved Manager of a fishing club for 8 years before moving to Townsville.Lynn was appointed Executive Officer of AIG in October 2013.

Steve is a Fellow of the AusIMM and Society of Economic Geologists, a Member and Federal Councillor of the AIG and a Registered Professional Geoscientist (Mineral Exploration & Geochemistry).

Wayne SpilsburyWayne Spilsbury was born and raised in Vancouver, Canada. He received his BSc. (Honours Geology) in 1973 from the University of British Columbia and his MSc. (Applied Geology) in 1982 from Queen’s University, Ontario. With the exception of a four year interlude as a high school science teacher, Wayne spent most of his professional career working for Teck Resources as a field geologist and in various managerial roles in North America, Asia and Australia. Career highlights include the acquisition and initial drill-out of the Carrapateena IOCG deposit in South Australia and the discovery of several Seafloor Massive Sulphide fields with the Nautilus – Teck JV in PNG and Tonga.Wayne is a Fellow and CPGeo of the AusIMM, a Member (PGeo) of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of BC, and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He has served as a Councillor and Vice President of AMEC and Director and Vice President of the BC & Yukon

aig council and committees

AIG Council and Committee Chairs 2014 - 2015 Cont. from Page 23

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25AIG NEWS No 116, May 2014

Michael is currently a Member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists, an Affiliate with the Institute of Engineers Australia, and an Associate Member of the Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists. Michael Edwards is a Registered Professional Geoscientist in the field of Environmental Geoscience, with the Australian Institute of Geoscientists (RPGeo No. 10093) and was an AIG Federal Councillor for several years before stepping down in 2014.

Legal CommitteeChair — Sam LeesR N (Sam) Lees is a geologist based in NSW with over 40 years’ experience mostly in mineral exploration and management. He has a BSc from the University of Melbourne, an MSc from Imperial College London and a Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Studies from Macquarie University.Sam is a Fellow of the AIG and was a Federal Councillor between 2000 and 2010. Sam was the AIG’s representative on the VALMIN committee from 2000 to 2012 and chaired the VALMIN Committee from 2003 to 2008. He recently retired from the NSW Branch committee of the AIG after about 15 years. Sam is also a Fellow of the AusIMM and the AICD.Sam has worked in all state of Australia and in several overseas countries. He is currently a consultant and a non-executive director Anchor Resources Limited.

Qualifications (Membership) CommitteeChair - Anne Tomlinson (current AIG Councillor)

Registration BoardChair — Mike SmithMike Smith served as a Councillor of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists for 11 years (1992 – 2003) overlapping with AIG founding fathers Ken Glasson and Lindsay Ingall. During that time he held the position of AIG President for three years and AIG Past President for two years. As AIG President, he oversaw the establishment and introduction of the AIG Registered Professional Geoscientist (RPGeo) program. He took over the role of Chairman of the AIG Registration Board in August 1998 and has continued to manage the operations of the Institute’s registration program from that date to the present.Mike is an AIG RPGeo in the fields of Mineral Exploration and Geophysics reflecting a long career in the minerals industry throughout Australia and at many overseas locations. In 2008, he was the inaugural recipient of the AIG Service Award in the form of a gold medal. He is an Honorary Member and Past-President of the Australian Society of Exploration Geophysicists, a Past-President and former Chairman of the Australian Geoscience Council and a member of the Geological Society of Australia and the Steering Committee of the National Rock Garden. He is currently General Manager Exploration for Austpac Resources NL.

AIG COMMITTEE CHAIRSThe work of AIG committees is essential to the effective functioning of the Institute. The committees provide a range of valuable services, including managing critical AIG functions, providing advice to Council, and liaising with our fellow geoscience organisations. While some of the committees are chaired by current AIG councillors, others are chaired by AIG members who have volunteered their skills and experience to ensure the AIG continues to provide services and keep pace with a growing membership.

PERMANENT COMMITTEES

Ethics and Standards CommitteeChair — Michael EdwardsMichael Edwards, currently the Chair of the AIG Ethics and Standards Committee, has a degree in Geology (BSc.) from the University of Newcastle and a postgraduate masters (MAppSc) from the University of NSW in Engineering Geology, Environmental Geology and Hydrogeology. Michael has worked as a consultant in both engineering geology and environmental geoscience laboratories / consultancies. At the end of 1998 Michael formed EBG Environmental Geoscience (Edwards Blasche Group Pty Ltd.) EBG specialises in environmental geoscience (soil and groundwater contamination), as well as working as engineering geology and occupational health and safety consultants.

aig council and committees

Vector Research Pty LtdABN 80 086 727 273

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Cont. on Page 27

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AIG NEWS No 116, May 201426 PRoFessional develoPment

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27AIG NEWS No 116, May 2014 aig council and committees

WORKING COMMITTEES

AIG Service Award CommitteeChair - Wendy Corbett Wendy Corbett is a geologist by trade based in NSW with over 40 years’ experience, mostly in mineral exploration and management, including tenement management and compliance and native title and landholder agreements. She has a BSc from Sydney University and a Diploma in Education because no one had heard of, or knew what to do with, female geologists back then. She has assisted junior explorers through IPO and listing and has an extensive network in industry and government. Wendy is a Member of the AIG and was a councillor between 2007 and 2010. She chairs the NSW Branch committee of the AIG, the NSW Advisory Committee for AMEC and has regular contact with government. She is involved with the organisation for Mines and Wines, student careers nights at the NSW universities and numerous AIG workshops. She initiated NSW branch meetings and was part of the team that introduced the AIG Service Award.Wendy is currently a consultant and a non-executive director of Eastern Iron Limited.

Complaints CommitteeChair — Andrew Waltho (current AIG Councillor)

Geoscience Tourism LiaisonChair — Ian Neuss (current AIG Councillor)

Graduate Committee LiaisonChair — Heather Carey (current AIG Councillor)

Education CommitteeChair — Kaylene Camuti (current AIG Councillor)

External Relations CommitteeChair — Wayne Spilsbury (current AIG Councillor)

JORC LiaisonChair — Graham JeffressGraham Jeffress has worked as an exploration geologist for companies large and small throughout Australia and PNG. He is currently a Principal Geologist with CSA Global in Perth.Graham was an AIG Councillor from 2001 until 2013, serving as Secretary and then Treasurer.

Publications CommitteeChair — Andrew Waltho (current AIG Councillor)

Publicity & Promotions CommitteeChair — Andrew Waltho (current AIG Councillor)

Reciprocal RecognitionChair — Geoff TurnerGeoff Turner is a Registered Professional Geologist and Fellow of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists. He served as a Councillor to the Institute from 2002 to 2007, and is presently on the Recognised Overseas Professional Organisations (ROPO) Taskforce, a sub-committee of the Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) which assesses and makes recommendations on the suitability of overseas professional organisations to be recognised by the ASX. Geoff is also the Chairman of the Victorian Branch Committee.His academic qualifications include a BSc (Geol) from Adelaide University and a MSc (Exploration & Mining Geology) from James Cook University.He has over 30 years’ experience in mineral exploration during which time he held senior sexploration management positions in West Australia and Victoria, principally in gold exploration, and now operates through his service company, Exploration Management Services Pty Ltd.

VALMIN LiaisonChair — Jonathan Bell (current AIG Councillor)

ADDITIONAL SUPPORTSecretariat services for the AIG are provided by the Centre for Association Management (CASM) in Perth, and members who contact the AIG’s office will be assisted by CASM staff. CASM staff who provide services to the AIG include:Ron Adams - AIG SecretaryAllana Smith - Membership AdministratorJerry Lee Jones - Accounts Manager

AIG Council and Committee Chairs 2014 - 2015 Cont. from Page 25

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AIG NEWS No 116, May 201428 bRanch news - wa

Climate Change and Tomorrow’s World

roberT m. mAy (lord may of oxford, om, Ac, frs) presented an insightful lecture on climate change as a combined AiG & csiro land and water seminar. Lord May presented the case of anthropogenic climate change and highlighted the key concepts of cooperation and sustainability, and how to support a growing population. The scope of the lecture covered humanity’s ecological footprint, population growth, and resources and the environment. Lord May outlined the fact that increasing global population and our desire for energy has increased overall energy use by a factor of 50 over the past 150 years. Here in Australia we live well within the ecological bounds or “biocapacity” of the land, but our personal ecological footprint is vastly bigger than those in developing countries, where the lower biocapacity of the land is often exceeded.We were introduced to the concept of how the global population has grown since the start of the Holocene, and how population doubling time has varied. This introduced us to the evolution of cooperation, and how this had originally led to humans evolving from small groups of hunter – gathers to convening in larger co-habitations. The talk went on to focus on several critical areas relating to population growth, and global sustainability. Lord May highlighted

the need for freely available family planning in developing countries, and also highlighted how the education of women in developing countries is closely related to the average number of children they have. He hinted that perhaps women should rule the planet!

Andrew Turner BSc GAIG MSEG (SJS Resource Management)

(L to R) Julian Vearncombe (Geosymposia), Lyn Beazley (Chief Government Scientist), Lord Robert May (Oxford), Suzy Urbaniak (AIG) and Don McFarlane (CSIRO).

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29AIG NEWS No 116, May 2014 bRanch news - Qld

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Concentrating on the environment, it was noted that the use of nitrogen based fertilizers in agriculture had increased by 600% from 1965 -2000, to keep up with the demand for food production. Alongside this, topics discussed were habitat loss, species extinction, changes in biodiversity and ecosystems, and the forecast availability of fresh water. Lord May returned to his theme of the evolution of cooperation towards the end of the talk, and explained the concept of the instability of the theme when people cheated. Summarising the session, Lord May reiterated the importance of cooperation within society and the need to live sustainably within parameters of what the planet can provide. A lively discussion session followed and continued on to the networking event afterwards.This unique lecture was held on the 31st March in Perth and organized by the AIG, CSIRO and Geoscientists Symposia. The timing couldn’t have been better, considering that the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) had just that day released their latest report; Climate change 2014: Impacts, Adaption and Vulnerability.

AIG Queensland Branch GIS Seminar

The QueenslAnd brAnch of AiG held its first friday seminar of the year at the Theodore club in brisbane on 11th April. eleven high quality talks were presented from speakers representing government and industry. The event was well supported with over 50 delegates attending.Two talks focused on the practicalities of sourcing and uploading historical maps and data tables into a GIS software package. Tony Baylis (Senior GIS Officer at Chinova Resources) said it all with a picture of a container of rolled up maps from decades of field programmes. Tony emphasised the value of historic data and the potential cost of having to redrill/resample and the great care that was required to ensure the QA/QC of the data imported. Glenn Coianiz (Principal at ExplorIS) introduced the complexities of datums and grids and the care needed in avoiding or at least minimising spatial errors when registering maps and locating data points. Glenn finished with some useful tips on managing projections and files.Lachlan Smeed (Student QUT) and Clem Hill (Director and Principal Geoaxiom) presented a series of talks on Quantum GIS, an open source, community driven GIS software package. Andrew Mitchell (Forest and Sea) was to present a paper but decided protecting his waterfront property in Cairns from cyclone Ita had a higher priority and his talk was presented by Clem. Quantum GIS, being free, has a major strength over other GIS packages. Clem, as a committed user emphasised that this did not mean that it was a poor quality cousin of the commercially available packages. In fact Quantum GIS is becoming the GIS package of choice for consultants and students.Mark Hartland (Manager Spatial and Graphics Services Geological Survey) spoke about sourcing government data. Mark said his department’s goal was to allow easy global access to spatial geoscience and exploration data to encourage exploration in Queensland. The talk “Explore Mine Data Online” covered the variety of data websites including IRTM (Interactive Resource and Tenement Maps), MOMaps (Mines Online maps), QDEX (Queensland Digital Exploration Reports), QDEX Data (a new product to be soon available), Queensland Spatial Catalogue (cross government data e.g. lands data), Queensland Government Information Service (QGIS), a search engine for geological information, Google Globe a free plug-in developed by the government to allow viewing of spatial data on Goggle Earth, GSQ Business Website and the MinesOnLine service which handles regulatory and other approval processes for mining and petroleum. See Mark’s powerpoint on the AIG Website for the links to these products and services.Wayne Middleton's (CEO GeoImage) talk was on satellite imagery and delivering a quality product to GIS. GeoImage provide access to the largest range of satellite imagery in Australia from 19 satellites and satellite systems. Wayne compared products of passive optical satellite imagery from medium (5 to 30m), high (>1 to 5m) and very high (sub-metre to 1m) resolution and active radar satellite imagery. Wayne had many examples of the application of satellite imagery in mapping soils, clays and vegetation by selecting precise wavelengths and amazed the audience with a final set of high resolution 3D images.

Mike Erceg MAIG RPGeo

Cont. Overleaf

For the latest in Geoscientist news, views, codes, events, employment and education visit the AIG website:

www.aig.org.au

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AIG NEWS No 116, May 201430 bRanch news - Qld

The final four talks were examples of the application of GIS to exploration and mining. Dr Jane Hodgkinson (CSIRO) and Dr Micaela Grigorescu (Geological Survey) co-presented “GIS-based multiple criteria evaluation for spatial mine management”. Multiple criteria evaluation (MCE) is a structured framework for investigating, analysing and resolving issues, in this case flooding at a mine site. The issue of flooding investigated input parameters like drainage, slope, proximity to creeks, soil type, surface condition, and vegetation cover in raster format. Each input had a weighting factor and within each input areas were ranked from low to high risk with the final product being vulnerability maps. Interestingly Micaela said the MCE process was quite straight forward and emphasised the value of LIDAR imagery. The frustrating part of the process was capturing the historical data used in the inputs in the first place.Matthew Greenwood (Senior Geophysicist Geological Survey) introduced 3D GIS with his talk on the “3D Mineral Potential of the Quamby Area”. Matthew showed that 80% of Queensland was draped in cover rocks and the challenge was to encourage exploration of the next generation of giant orebodies that were concealed. Input dataset sets were all publically available open file data including surface geology, cross sections, mineral occurrence maps, magnetics, gravity, deep seismic, structure, and magnetotelluric surveys. Using serial cross sections a 3D geological

model was developed. Geophysical inputs using inversion techniques assisted in refining subsurface geology. The final product is a 3D voxtet model. The model was then evaluated investigating spatial relationships between mineral occurrences and other spatial data using weights of evidence (WoE) modelling. Areas of high prospectivity were compared with drill density to identify exploration targets.Glenn Pears (Principal Geophysicist MIRA Geoscience) furthered the concept of a Common Earth Model and 3D GIS in which the 3D geological model is a counterpart of a map in a 2D GIS platform using the Mt Dore region as an example. Statistical analysis, using the concept of 3D weights of evidence (WoE) targeting, results in a 3D prospectivity map to guide further exploration.Doug Menzies (Corbett Menzies Consultants) presented a talk on the GIS footprints of porphyry Cu-Au systems. The theme was vectors that could assist the field geologist in locating themselves spatially in a porphyry system. With examples from the SW Pacific and South America, Doug elaborated on the geological, geochemical, alteration, mineralisation, and geophysical signatures. Doug emphasised that GIS was just one tool available to the geologist and should not be a substitute for field work but an adjunct to it.

Copies of the powerpoints will be uploaded onto the AIG Website.

AIG Queensland Branch GIS Seminar Cont. from Page 29

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31AIG NEWS No 116, May 2014 education

The 26Th inTernATionAl APPlied GeochemisTry symPosium was held this year in rotorua, new Zealand and i would like to thank the AiG for their generous support that allowed me to attend the conference. Held in conjunction with the 35th New Zealand Geothermal Workshop over 500 delegates from 31 countries converged on sulphurous Rotorua for a week of talks, field trips, and workshops. To start things off, the Association of Applied Geochemists (AAG) put on a student publishing workshop on Saturday evening prior to the conference. It was a casual but valuable introduction to publishing work as a student and covered decisions like which journal to submit to, authorship, and surviving peer review. There were close to a dozen short-courses and workshops before and after the conference so Sunday I went to ‘Quality Assurance in Geochemical Analysis’ conducted by Liz Webber from Geoscience Australia. A full day of information and a full brain by the end of it, this short-course was a comprehensive overview of an important part of any geochemical or geoscientific research. The value in

AIG POSTGRADuATE STuDENT BuRSARY REPORT:

Geochemistry and Landscape Evolution of a Late Miocene-Pliocene Strandplain in the Murray Basin, Southeastern Australia

Stephanie McLennan, university of Adelaide2013 AIG Postgraduate Bursary Winner

attending courses like this is not only incorporating these concepts into my own research but being able to critically evaluate how other researchers have tackled the challenge of quality assurance and quality control. The day after the conference was spent at the epithermal deposit short-course run by Stuart Simmons. There are few better places in the world to learn about epithermal systems than Rotorua and it was a thorough introduction to epithermal deposits, their genesis, and how to explore for them.Keynote speeches in the first plenary session demonstrated the cross-over between the two disciplines, geochemistry and geothermal, and how each party had something significant to relate to in the Rotorua area. I was grateful to talk early on in the conference and on Monday afternoon I presented part of my PhD research in the Murray Basin to one of the largest, and the most specialised, audiences I’ve talked to. The IAGS is strongly attended by both industry and academia so the feedback and perspectives from both sides is ideal for someone like me interested in applied research. There was a large student presence at the conference, from honours to PhD level, and I’ve found the IAGS to be one of the most supportive forums for students to present their work. I was fortunate to attend the 25th IAGS in Rovaniemi, Finland, two years ago so the Rotorua conference was also a time of reflection for how far I’ve come in my project and how much more I got out of attending the conference again, particularly as I work towards finishing my PhD.The social programme is always a highlight at conferences but is often cursed the next morning when talks start at 8.30 am. The organisers at the IAGS put together a busy schedule with a student-industry networking evening (again demonstrating how well students are incorporated into the conference), formal dinner, ‘pub appreciation trek’, Maori concert, and farewell dinner. The standard of presentations was very high and with two to five concurrent sessions, there was no spare time. There was something to learn from every presentation I saw. At a smaller conference like the IAGS it’s easy to find people during lunch and tea breaks to ask questions and by the end of the week I could find few strange faces in the crowd. I’d like to extend my thanks again to the AIG for supporting my attendance at the 26th IAGS. I encourage other students to apply for opportunities like this, it’s a great way to get your work out there, to discuss your work with other researchers, and get some new ideas for your own project.

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AIG NEWS No 116, May 201432

diamond sponsorschRis bonwick

sponsoring thebonwick–aig geoscience student bursaries

geoFF davis sponsoring the

davis–aig geoscience student bursaries

macQuaRie aRc conFeRence – geological suRvey nsw

sponsoring themacquarie arc conference-aig geoscience

student bursaries

Platinum Plus sponsorssydney mineRal eXPloRation discussion

gRouP sponsoring the

smedg-aig geoscience student bursaries

Platinum sponsorsaig state bRanches

aleXandeR ReseaRch – Jonathan bell sponsoring the

alexander Research-aig geoscience student bursary

sa dePaRtment FoR manuFactuRing, innovation, tRade, ResouRces and eneRgy

sponsoring the dmitRe–aig geoscience student bursary

gold sponsorsgnomic eXPloRation seRvices Pty ltd

silver sponsorscRyPtodome Pty ltd

bronze sponsorsdoug young

sPonsoRs of theaig geoscience buRsaRies

The AIG wishes to thank the following individuals and organisations for

their support of theGeoscience sTudenT

bursAry ProGrAm

education

Education Report

This is A difficulT Period for geoscientists and for geoscience organisations. it’s also a difficult period for students, who are looking to graduate into an environment with few job opportunities and little job security. The role of the AIG Bursary Program in supporting students, and promoting student involvement in professional networks and technical functions, is valuable at all times. But during times like these it becomes even more important for the AIG to encourage and assist geoscience students, and we really value the support of bursary sponsors and donors – both past and present. The list of current bursary sponsors is included on this page, and a big thank you to all our sponsors. I would like to take the opportunity to welcome back sponsors who have committed to again supporting the Bursary Program this year:

Sydney Mineral Exploration Discussion Group (SMEDG)– PLATINUM PLUS SPONSORThis year SMEDG has increased its sponsorship of the bursary program and is offering two major bursaries to NSW students working on mineral exploration-related research. SMEDG is a non-profit group run by a volunteer committee, and supports its activities and bursary sponsorship through the proceeds of annual symposia.

SA Department for Manufacturing, Trade, Resources and Energy – Minerals (DMITRE) – PLATINUM SPONSORDMITRE (formerly PIRSA) has been a long-term and ongoing supporter of the AIG bursary program. This year DMITRE continues as a Platinum Sponsor, with a DMITRE-AIG bursary offered to a South Australian geoscience student. Eight DMITRE-AIG bursaries have been awarded to South Australian students since 2003.

Gnomic Exploration Services Pty Ltd – GOLD SPONSORGnomic Exploration Services has returned as a Gold Sponsor of the bursary program this year, continuing many years of support to geoscience students.

Cryptodome Pty Ltd – SILVER SPONSORCryptodome has been a major sponsor of the bursary program for many years, and has returned as a sponsor again this year.

Doug Young – BRONZE SPONSORThe inaugural Bronze Sponsor of the AIG Bursary Program is Doug Young, consulting geologist based in Brisbane. Doug is a member of the AIG Queensland state branch committee, a former AIG Federal Councillor, and serves on the AIG Education Committee. He has been a supporter of the student bursary program for many years.Thank you, also, to the AIG state branches, who regularly make significant contributions to the AIG Bursary Program each year, in addition to organising bursary presentation events. As with SMEDG, the state branches are run by committees of volunteers who raise the funds to support the Bursary Program by organising symposia and other technical events. The Program would be far less effective without state branch support. The bursary application form for this year’s program is being distributed to students and universities in May, and we invite applications from third year, honours and postgraduate geoscience students at Australian universities. A report from Stephanie McLennan, winner of a 2013 AIG Postgraduate Geoscience Bursary, is included in this issue of AIG News.

Kaylene Camuti (Chair, AIG Education Committee)

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33AIG NEWS No 116, May 2014 education

Shark Bay Field Trip 2014 - Kent Street Senior High School

yeT AGAin, the Kent street shark bay field was a success. for the first time in a long time the supervisory crew (excluding myself) were all field trip novices who with gusto embarked on this adventure. A community affair, the support team included our DP - Paul Currie who shared with the students the joys of snorkeling in the biodiverse waters of Shark Bay. Small sharks, moray eels and many different tropical fish were observed in the waters off Cape Peron and Denham. This activity was undertaken gladly by a number of our students and myself included. Our science laboratory technician - Kerry Hardes also gave her time to ensure that this field trip was a success. An extended professional learning experience for herself, she is now more familiar with rock types and more aware of the contextual setting of class investigations as a result. Most importantly her best learning experience related to her rapid development and achievement as a 4WD expert. She was graded highly by the ‘cricketers’ which she transported throughout the journey. Finally, there was Sam Battersby, a parent of a former EES student who loves geology and in particular volcanoes. Sam is an outdoor ‘junky,’ who was also a member of last year’s international field trip to Hawaii & New Zealand. Keen to learn about earth processes, she is also affectionately known as my PA, and someone who I can rely upon to ensure that these educational experiences are the best for Kent Street EES students.This field trip was also a first for a number of the Stage Two EES students. It was their first outdoor camping adventure and for all of them, a first taste of relevant, contextual learning in a real environment. This style of learning is difficult for most students to master. However, after Day 1 which was action packed with analyzing the Watheroo Granite, then the various sedimentary beds of the Irwin River Coalseam sequence, a team building exercise up the valley of the Irwin River, a ‘sponty’ stop relating to evaporites and dryland salinity and ending in marveling at the engineering of wind turbines at Walkaway, the students understood what was required of them.The second day was just as eventful and busy, including fossicking for garnets and sulphides in mullock heaps of the Galena Mines, observing photosynthesis occurring from the Stromatolites at Hamelin Pool and learning how to use a heavy duty drill to create tent peg holes in coquina block!! Another first, most of the students hadn’t used a drill before and as an educator such an activity verifies the need to be diverse. Three days were spent at Denham which included the highlight of the field trip, a 4WD tour to Cape Peron. Climate Change, Tamala Limestone, geothermal energy, heavy mineral sands and biodiversity were the key concepts learned through this exercise. The environmental setting of the Cape was a hit with the students as was our evening meal of burritos on the beach at Big Lagoon. Made from the back of my car on a peninsula of Dampier Limestone, they were tasty and appreciatively enjoyed by everyone. Astronomy (my knowledge is limited in this area) and satellite observations entertained the students for a long time, especially those for whom it was their first experience outside of suburbia. They were amazed and delighted by the clarity of the Milky Way. Light years, planets and constellations were all discussed.Ahead of schedule, our return leg included analysis of the Tumblagooda Sandstone of the Perth Basin at the Kalbarri Gorges.

A ‘sponty’ stop, concepts such as cross bedding, ripple marks, climate change and biological evolution were all addressed.High order ideas such as the rock cycle, stratigraphic correlation, biological evolution, plate tectonics, climate change and biodiversity were all observed and analysed on this field trip. This level of academic rigour positively supports the knowledge and skill base that is required to ensure high grade marks for both stages of EES. A strong advocate of the field trip learning experience as an advantageous educational strategy, such elaborate trips can only be made possible by the voluntary support of the supervisory team (thanks so much Paul, Kerry and Sam) and from the financial support I graciously receive from both the Australian Institute of Geoscientists WA Branch (year after year) and Earth Sciences Western Australia (ESWA). In conclusion, thanks to the Year 11 Stage 2 EES students who worked diligently and cooperatively. You are all a credit to our school, Kent Street and in years to come will become valued members of the community. The knowledge and skills you have experienced on this field trip will be remembered for years to come. As I’m writing this, I am chuckling inside as I visualize one of the many new skills learned by Ben and Lovedeep. In the shallow waters of Big Lagoon they developed their own original and unique hand-line fishing technique. I should have captured it on video!

Suzy UrbaniakEES Teacher Kent Street Senior High School, Chair AIG WA

AIG MEMBERSHIP BENEFITSSnowden offer 10% discount off

professional development courses for Australian Institute of Geoscientists members

To encourage new membership and in recognition of the services offered by the associations and societies that uphold the professionalism within our global mining industry – Snowden will be offering the individual members of these associations a 10% discount off our public training course registration fees during 2014.

Kent Street High School students role call at Shark Bay, WA.

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AIG NEWS No 116, May 201434 education

Yilgarn Field Trip 2014- Kent Street Senior High School

The 2014 yeAr 12 yilgarn craton field trip was an exemplar forʻLearningisFunʼ.All11studentswereexposedto⅞thsoftheir curriculum through a 2500 km round trip through the yilgarn carton and into the Albany fraser orogeny during a 6 day educational adventure. This was the first time that Kent Street students visited three mine sites;ironoreatCliffʼsKoolyanobbingPits,goldatEvolutionʼsEdnaMayGoldMineandnickeloreatWesternAreaʼsFlyingFox/SpottedQuoll Mine sites. This varied array of mineralization styles has equipped the students with robust and multi-faceted examples for their exams which align with the exploration, mining and environmental trainofWesternAustralianʼsresourcessector.FromobservingablastatEdnaMay,learninghowtotagonandoffduringKoolyʼsinductionand receiving pentlandite from Western Areas, who are still recognized as the highest-nickel-grade operating mine in the world (the samples are spectacular), this list of unique experiences has been recorded in a work book which will forever remain etched in the students' minds as a highlight of their secondary education.Thisfieldtripwasaʻroughy',campingatBevandNeilDavisʼFarmoutside of Westonia for two nights, one at the Wave Rock Caravan Park and the final two nights at a campground within Fitzgerald River National Park. We showered in the ocean, cooked nachos and tacos on the beach for our final dinner and for some were sent into a frenzy of fear when it was discovered that a huge huntsman spider was sharing the tent with us.

Thank you to all the minesite personnel at Cliffs Resources, Evolution Mining and Western Areas for giving us their time, expertise and feeding us whilst on site. Thank you also to Bev and Neil Davis for offering us their farm and home to camp at for two nights and the meals they also provided us with. These field trips are highly subsided by the Australian Institute of Geoscientists WA Branch who year after year graciously support the geosciences program at Kent Street. Thank you so much again. Finally, an additional thank you to ESWA for their financial support and strong belief in the benefit of the unique field trips which are run at Kent Street Senior High School.

Suzy UrbaniakEES Teacher/Geologist. Kent Street Senior High School

Kent Street High School at the edge of the Evolution’s Edna May Gold Mine with mine staff.

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35AIG NEWS No 116, May 2014

Membership update

New Members and upgrades at the March Council Meeting 2014

MEMBERS ALESCI, Andrew ScottAMIRIBESHELI, Said BANIN, Anton BRIGHT, Sian CONNER, Graham MarkDARMAWAN, Dody HARRIS, Dean MichaelHASELDEN, Roderick JohnHuANG, Shaofeng JOSEY, Janine MichelleJOVANOVIC, Helena KASKATI, Mustafa TunaKONIuHOV, Andrey AlexandrovichMCCORMACK, Benjamin MELVEY, Bradley PeterMOLLOY, Regina MaryNEILSON, Ian Erik

We welcome all new members to the AIG.

membeRshiP news

Registered Professional Geoscientist Approvals and Applications

We welcome all new members to the AIG.

CANDIDATES APPROVED BY AIG COUNCIL IN FEBRUARY AND mARCH 2014 mr christopher bennett of Mitchelton, QLD, in Geotechnical & Engineeringmr costante conte of Hove SA, in Hydrogeology & Environmental Geosciencemr Peter nicolson of Wakatipu, NZ, in Mineral Exploration ms ellen Kwantes of St. Leonards, NSW, in Hydrogeologydr matthew landers of Bardon, QLD, in Geochemistrymr david lawrance of North Croyden VIC, in Geotechnical & Engineeringmr Phillip mattinson of Cottesloe, WA, in Mineral Exploration & Miningdr Jan Vermaak of Lesmurdie, WA, in Hydrogeology

NEW CANDIDATES PUBLISHED FOR PEER REVIEW BY THE mEmBERS OF THE AIGmr simon mccracken of Swindon, UK, is seeking registration in Mining & Mineral Exploration. mr serge smolonogov of Dawesville, WA, is seeking registration in Mining & Mineral Explorationmr sebastion Kneer of Beaconsfield, WA, is seeking registration in Mineral Explorationmr Andrew nelson of Perth, WA, is seeking registration in Hydrogeologymr Garry straughton of Forestville, SA, is seeking registration in Hydrogeologymr dean harris of West Chatswood, NSW, is seeking registration in Geotechnical & Engineeringmr rod haselden of Unanderra, NSW, is seeking registration in Geotechnical & Engineeringmr daniel Jones of Fairlight, NSW, is seeking registration in Geotechnical & Engineeringmr robert rowe of Mount Hawthorn, WA, is seeking registration in Mineral Exploration. dr Andrew scogings of East Perth, WA, is seeking registration in Industrial Minerals & Mineral Exploration

AIG’s New membership Information management System

imPlemenTATion of AiG’s new membership management system has commenced. The system will be accessed via a “Member Portal” button that will appear on the AIG web site home page (www.aig.org.au) during May and will allow you to maintain your own contact details, renew your membership subscription securely on-line, obtain copies of past membership invoices and manage your subscription to AIG email newsletters. The system features a simple and clear user interface and is very easy to use. The new system will help to ensure any questions by members can be answered quickly and efficiently by the AIG secretariat, Councillors or Council committee chair-persons, with the progress in resolving the issue tracked by the system.All changes, including membership renewals, made to any profile in the system will be tracked to ensure any data integrity issues will be easy to identify and resolve.The membership portal will also include a number of new features including:• Memberclassifiedadvertisements(findagoodhomeforthoseold

journals!)• Employmentadvertisements• ACPDdiarythatappliesAIG’smultipliersforCPDactivityand

reports CPD both year by year and on a three-year rolling average basis. The diary is designed to assist RPGeos track their CPD but will be available to all members.

Your username will be your email address currently registered with AIG (based on the profile update sheet distributed with the 2013 membership renewals). Each member will require a unique password. If you currently use a shared email address for AIG correspondence, a new, unique email address will be required. All current members will be sent a username and initial password for accessing the new system during the third week of May. A notice will appear on the AIG web site and distributed by email when this takes place so that if you don’t receive a username and initial password you can immediately resolve this.The 2014 membership renewal notices will be raised by the new system and distributed in early June to provide time for payment by June 30 in order to take advantage of tax deductibility in the 2014 financial year.what you need to do to help with the transition to the new membership system:now: If you currently use a shared email address, provide a new, unique address for use by the new system to AIG’s Executive Officer, Lynn Vigar by email to [email protected] If you’re uncertain about your email address please contact Lynn.Third week of may: Watch for your username and initial password notification and notice that they have been distributed by email and on the AIG web site. If you don’t receive this notification, the web site and advisory email will contain instructions for resolving the issue.when you receive your login information: Access the portal via www.aig.org.au and ensure your profile is accurate and up to date to ensure that you receive your 2014 membership renewal during June.The new system will help AIG remain a low cost and responsive institute focussed on the interests of members.

NERONI, Regis Angelo O'KEEFE, Dean JamesOuTHWAITE, Michael David PALOMA, Reinhold Bobby REID, Peter WilliamSMITH, Mark PhilipSTOCK, David Howard TSCHABAN, Michael LukeVOCALE, Anthony MichaelVYPOLZOV, Vladimir Wu, Fan ZHANG, Wenqi

GRADuATESGRIFFITH, John HuSH, Melinda JoyJOHNSTON, Kieran James WONG, Ka Ho

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AIG NEWS No 116, May 201436

aig FedeRal council FoR 2014 – 15EXECUTIVEPresident: wayne spilsbury (wA) 0418 957 089 [email protected] President: Kaylene camuti (Qld) (07) 4772 5296 [email protected]: steve sugden (wA) 0419 490 527 [email protected]: ron Adams (08) 9427 0820 [email protected] officer: lynn Vigar (Qld) [email protected]

COUNCILLORS Adrian diaz 0427 986 919 [email protected] Andrew waltho 0412 426 764 [email protected] Anne Tomlinson 0400 183 679 [email protected] Grace cumming 0417 143 369 [email protected] Graham Teale (08) 8269 7188 [email protected] heather carey 0477 988 810 [email protected] ian neuss (02) 9660 5849 [email protected] Jonathan bell 0427 621 322 [email protected] Katarina david 0412 080 360 [email protected] martin robinson (Vic) (03) 9248 3365 [email protected] mike erceg 0458 051 400 [email protected]

RPGeo REGISTRATION mike smith 0411 103 761 [email protected]

AIG News is published quarterly as per the following table. Avoid disappointment by contacting the Editor at least several days

AIG NEWS

The business Address of AiG news is:Po box 8463, Perth business centre, Perth wA 6849Tel: (08) 9427 0820 fax: (08) 9427 0821email: [email protected] web: http://www.aig.org.auPlease use these contacts for all matters relating to advertising accounts, changes of address, AIG News distribution, or membership.

The ediToriAl Address is:editor: louis hissinkemail: [email protected]: (08) 9427 0820 Please submit all articles, letters and advertisements to the above email address.

submission formATs

Text: Word Files (Please DO NOT EMBED pictures in Word, supply as separate files.)

Pictures, logos, maps, diagrams: Resolution 300dpi. Photoshop EPS, Tiff, Jpeg or press-optimized PDF files in Grayscale/Bitmap. Please provide images of all pictures separate to text. Please EMBED ALL FONTS in EPS and PDF files.

AdVerTisemenTsAIG News provides an ideal opportunity to advertise your company and services to the AIG membership throughout Australia (and some overseas). There are over 2,800 members who receive the newsletter four times per year. Please contact the Editor for further details or to book advertising.Note: All advertisements are mono, no bleed or trim marks. Prices are inclusive of GST Per issueFull page - 264 mm (h) x 188 mm (w) $545Three quarter page - 200 mm (h) x 188 mm (w) $458Half page - 130 mm (h) x 188 mm (w) or 264 mm (h) x 90 mm (w) $372Third page - (90 mm (h) x 188 mm (w) $273Quarter page - 75 mm (h) x 188 mm (w) or 130 mm (h) x 90 mm (h) $198Business card – Members (90 mm x 55 mm) $25Business card – Non Members (90 mm x 55 mm) $125inserts - Pre-printed (1 page) $453 Pre-printed (2 pages) $495 Pre-printed (3 or more pages) By negotiation and weight Including printing By negotiation

The AiG website in currently undergoing a major update. Comments on content suggestions or new

features should be directed to Andrew Waltho: [email protected]

issue date contRibution deadline

February January 31st

May April 30th

August July 31st

November October 31st

AIG News is published by the Australian Institute of Geoscientists to provide information for its members and a forum for the expression of their professional interests and opinions. Observations, interpretations and opinions published in AIG News are the responsibility of the contributors and are not necessarily supported by the Australian Institute of Geoscientists or the Editor of AIG News.While the Editor and the Australian Institute of Geoscientists have taken all reasonable precautions and made all reasonable effort to ensure the accuracy of material contained in this newsletter, they make no warranties, express or implied, with respect to any of the material published in AIG News.

conTribuTion deAdlines

beforehand to advise submission of items for the newsletter.

aig


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