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The AusIMM Geoscience Society newsletter | Vol 3 2012
Notes from the Chair
Hello Everyone,
Welcome to the final edition of the Geoscience News for 2012.
It’s been a busy few months for the Geoscience Society. The
34th IGC was held in Brisbane in August, and was a resounding
success with more than 6000 delegates attending. The plenary
sessions were recorded and have been made available for
viewing – further details are included in this newsletter.
Our annual field course has also been held recently – this year
with an additional course in Mount Isa. From all accounts, both
courses were a resounding success and we look forward to
running them again next year.
We have been lucky enough to have several Distinguished
Lecturer presentations in recent times. A notable upcoming
event is a planned lecture by Professor John Clemens in Bendigo
in November. Professor Clemens is an engaging speaker and his
talk should be fascinating.
The AusIMM has also started developing a speakers’ database.
This database will house a list of speakers with their biography,
past presentations and member feedback on said presentations.
It will be designed for easy access of committee members to
locate appropriate potential speakers for their events.
Nominations are now being taken for the database – please email
[email protected] to nominate any high quality speakers
you may have heard.
In good news, I want to congratulate our Deputy Chair Dale
Sims on his election to the AusIMM Board for 2013. I know
Dale is going to make an excellent and engaged board member.
However, in significantly worse news, August brought the
Geoscience Society committee extremely bad news with the
untimely death of Peter Elliott in a plane crash in Indonesia.
Peter was a highly valued member of our committee and his
passing was a shock to us all. Our condolences are with his
family in this difficult time.
Planning for 2013 is in full swing and we are working towards
another big year. In addition to running our field course, the
Geoscience Society will also be running a new course in
conjunction with Digirock aimed at graduates entering the
exploration industry. Further details are listed below.
In final news, the 2012 JORC Code Exposure draft has been
released, along with a release from the ASX detailing draft
changes to the listing rules for mining and exploration
companies. While public comments on the drafts have now
closed, I would encourage everyone to review the drafts.
Amanda Clements, Chair
Two courses were run this year, one in the Pilbara in
September and the other in Mount Isa in October. The Pilbara
course was the third time the program had been run while the
Mount Isa course was an inaugural event. The Pilbara course
ran for six days while the Mount Isa course ran for five days.
Both courses ran with six attendees along with two course
leaders.
Although the objectives of the courses are identical the
delivery for each was different. The courses are intended to
assist younger geoscientists to further develop their skills in
observation, data recording and communication using field
sketching as a thought-development and communication tool.
The courses have been developed as an initiative of the
Geoscience Society to assist in the technical development
of younger professionals. Field sketching and geometrical
In this edition: Notes from the Chair | Field Courses 2012 | Geology of GOLD course | |Chartered Professional Accreditation | GPIC Technical Lecture | Resilience | Transactions | AMMOP update| Vale Peter Elliot | Contacts | Bulletin
AusIMM Geoscience Society Field Courses 2012 by Dale Sims FAusIMM(CP), AusIMM Geoscience Society, Deputy Chair
Field Course
Sketch mapping in Pilbara
Pilbara group field inspection near Mt Bruce.
Page 2
Field Course, continued
analysis were issues identified as primary
objectives for the events.
In the Pilbara the attendees arrived on
Friday evening at Newman with field
work commencing the next morning with
a Hamersley Group stratigraphy
familiarisation tour. The second half of
day one involved a mine visit to BHP
Billiton’s Mount Whaleback operations
followed by presentations on the Pilbara
geology and ore-forming processes in the
evening.
Day two involved field sketching
exercises around Newman with the next
day being a transit day to Tom Price with
sketching stops along the way including a
visit to Dales Gorge in Karijini National
Park, the type section for the Dales Gorge
Member.
Day four involved field work around
Mount Nameless at Tom Price in the
morning then presentations in the
afternoon on the AusIMM Code of Ethics
and the JORC Code, followed by
sampling, assaying and drilling
discussions. Day five was spent with
sketching exercises at Australian
Premium Iron’s Hardey Syncline project
west of Paraburdoo while the final day
involved two Rio Tinto mine visits;
Paraburdoo in the morning then Tom
Price in the afternoon. Attendees returned
to Perth or to local work Friday morning.
At Mount Isa the opportunities for skills
development were more focussed on
observation of mineralisation systems
rather than field and mine scale structural
sketch mapping as in the Pilbara.
Attendees arrived on Sunday evening
with the course commencing the next day
with introductory presentations followed
by field visits to review key Isa valley
exposures around the mine for the
remainder of the day in the rising heat.
Tuesday commenced with a mine visit to
Xstrata’s Black Rock open cut zinc and
lead mine followed in the afternoon by a
core logging exercise reviewing
intercepts from the Isa copper
mineralisation system. The day was
capped off by a copper concentrator tour
followed by an AusIMM technical
session at the Irish Club – perfect.
Day three commenced with further field
visits in the morning inspecting key
outcrops around Mt Isa followed by
presentations in the afternoon again on
the AusIMM Code of Ethics and the
JORC Code, then sampling, assaying and
drilling discussions. An hour was also
spent on stereoscopic air photos to see the
value of ‘old technology’ for mapping
(with feedback that people wanted more).
Thursday involved a site visit in the
morning to Xstrata’s Ernest Henry
operations for an introduction to the
copper gold deposit and its mining
methods then an underground visit to
inspect exposure on development levels.
The afternoon was spent at Mary
Kathleen. On Friday morning the group
undertook another core logging exercise
at Xstrata’s George Fisher mine 20 km
north of Isa followed by sketch mapping
around the mine in the afternoon then on
to sketch the Spillway Fault exposure at
Lake Moondarra. Most of the attendees
departed Isa on that evening’s flight to
Brisbane.
Isa group in the Ernest Henry pit.
Air photograph inspection at Mount Isa.
Page 3
Core inspection at George Fisher core yard.
Field Course, continued
Pilbara group at Dales Gorge.
It is intended to run these courses
again in 2013 so if you would
like to be put on our mailing list
for course notifications please
contact Stacey Harris via shar-
The 34th IGC was the largest and
most complex international scientific
meeting ever held in Brisbane and
the first to occupy every single
meeting room at the Brisbane
Convention and Exhibition Centre.
The Organising Committee is
pleased to announce that the Congress Plenary Session
presentations can now be viewed online via www.34igc.org. All
presentations made by plenary speakers are available complete
with their PowerPoint slides.
Interesting facts about the 34th IGC: 6012 participants; 112
countries were represented; 3712 oral papers presented by 3232
authors; and 1439 scientific posters displayed.
IGC – Plenary Session presentations now available
Conference
On both courses the calibre and enthusiasm of the young
professional attendees was very high with sustained levels of
interest and involvement. There was camaraderie after hours
with shared meals and experiences and from the feedback
provided the groups departed as firm colleagues after
enjoyable and informative weeks.
Other feedback involved suggestions for making the courses
more focussed and relevant from attendees’ perspective and
many of these will be considered for the 2013 courses. The
overall impression was positive regarding the value the course
represents and the longer term benefits of the training.
Courses like these would not be possible without the strong
support of mining companies in the
regions of our activity. Our deep
appreciation and thanks goes to the
local management of the visited
operations owned by BHP Billiton, Rio
Tinto, API and Xstrata for providing
this support and to their professionals
for their time and enthusiasm.
GRANITE: SOME THINGS WE THINK WE KNOW OR “ALL THAT GLISTERS IS NOT GRANITE”
Professor John ClemensStellenbosch University, South AfricaAusIMM Distinguished Lecturer
Prof. Clemens will pose eight questions about granites and granitic magmas. Where do granitic magmas come
from? What reactions produce granitic magmas and what H2O contents do these magmas have? How much CO2
do granitic magmas contain? How much S is in a granitic magma and in what form? How big is a batholith? What
will be in fluids expelled from cooling granitic magmas? Are granites “good for gold”? What are the relationships
between gold and granites?
ABOUT THE PRESENTERProf. Clemens gained his Fellowship Diploma of Geology from the then Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (now
RMIT University) in 1973. In 1982, he received his PhD in Geology from Monash University for studies on Victorian silicic
igneous rocks of Devonian age. From then until 1986 he was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Chemistry at
Arizona State University.
In 1987 he moved to the Department of Geology at the Blaise Pascal University of Clermont-Ferrand (France), as an
Associate Director of Research. In 1989 he joined Manchester University as Lecturer in Geology. From 1994 to 2007, he
held the Chair of Geosciences at Kingston University (London) and, from 2001, was also Associate Dean in the Faculty
of Science.
From 2007 to 2012 he was Executive Head of Earth Sciences, at Stellenbosch University, and his present appointment
is Professor in Geology. His 90 published works have accumulated over 3000 citations. His most important work has
been on the origin and evolution of granitic and silicic volcanic magmas, experimental studies and modelling of
crustal melting and the mechanics of ascent and chemical evolution of granitic magmas. These continue to be his
main interests.
Date Tuesday 13th November
Time Nibblies from 6.30pm ∙ Presentation at 7.15pm
Venue Basement on View - 50 View Street, Bendigo
Cost $5 Members ∙ $10 Non-Members ∙ Students Free
aig.org.au | ausimm.com.au
GPIC TECHNICAL MEETINGNOVEMBER 2012
FUTURE GPIC MEETINGS GPIC hold regular meetings on the second Tuesday of every month.
FURTHER INFORMATION Allan Rossiter AIG Victoria Branch Secretary [email protected]
Event & Nibbliessponsored by
watsondrilling.com.au
AusIMM members are encouraged to
demonstrate their technical proficiency
and ongoing professionalism through
Chartered Professional (CP)
accreditation. This accreditation shows
others in the minerals industry, and the
wider community, that an individual has
undertaken the required study and years
of experience to achieved this status and
will endeavour to develop themselves
professionally through various means.
To become a CP you must have a degree
in the area of discipline you wish to be
chartered in as well as five years of
relevant work experience. A CP must
also partake in an average of 50 hours of
professional development (PD) per year
over any three year period.
To gain the requisite PD hours, CPs
undertake a variety of PD activities
including formal and informal education
and training, attendance and presentation
at conferences, workshops and technical
talks, publishing articles in learned
technical publications and reading of
these publications, participation in
committees and groups related to The
AusIMM, mentoring (either as a mentor
or being mentored) and site visits to
different operations.
The AusIMM CP program links in with
the assessments we do for those who
wish to become a Registered Professional
Engineer in Queensland (RPEQ) and by
applying for both CP accreditation and
RPEQ assessment at the same time
members are able to obtain these with
one set of paperwork instead of two.
As at 17 October 2012, the count of CP
was as follows:
These figures show that, compared with
the October 2011, the total number of
CPs has increased by 12 per cent. That
means that more members are taking the
opportunity to become chartered in their
area of discipline but there are still many
that are eligible to apply that have not yet
done so.
The majority of our CPs are geologists
with mining engineers coming in at a
close second with 356 CP members.
CP accreditation shows the global
community that those working in the
minerals industry are highly skilled
individuals that take their profession
seriously. By promoting the CP program
The AusIMM hopes to build the standing
of minerals professionals within the
wider community and to encourage the
display of well earned respect towards
these professionals and the minerals
industry as a whole.
For more information on The AusIMM
CP Program us on (03) 9658 6100 or
email [email protected]
Chartered Professional accreditation – Recognising commitment to technical
proficiency and life-long learning by Xanthus Weber, Manager, Professional Development, The AusIMM
Chartered Professionals
Page 5
Geology: Geo CP(Geo) MAusIMM CP(Geo)
Geotechnical : Geotech CP(Geotech) HonFAusIMM CP(Geotech)
Mining Engineering: Min
CP(Min) FAusIMM CP(Min)
Metallurgy: Met CP(Met) HonFAusIMM CP(Met)
Environmental: Env CP(Env)
Management: Man CP(Man)
Earlier this year, The AusIMM Board approved the reinstatement
of specific post nominals for Chartered Professional (CP)
accredited members. The resulting changes provide CP members
with two options for the use of their post nominal:
1. Continuation of current usage with general (CP) shown
after the membership grade post nominal:
MAusIMM(CP)
FAusIMM(CP)
HonFAusIMM(CP)
2. Use of a discipline-specific CP post nominal in the format CP
(discipline) shown after the membership grade post nominal (see
table below).
Holders of CP accreditation in more than one discipline have the
choice of listing their disciplines within the same set of brackets
separated by a comma. For example, CP(Geo,Geotech), CP
(Min,Man).
Post nominals may therefore be either just CP in brackets as part
of the member post nominal, or as a separate grouping with a
space after the membership grade with the discipline abbreviation
shown in brackets. For the sake of simplicity, The AusIMM will
maintain member records and address all correspondence using
the current non-discipline-specific format.
It must be noted that ‘CP’ in post nominals refers only to
Chartered Professional accreditation. It does not refer to
Competent Person as defined in the JORC Code. Where there
may be any confusion caused by the use of the acronym ‘CP’
when referring to Chartered Professionals, it is recommended that
the full terminology be used. The term ‘Competent Person’
should not be abbreviated to CP in any official documentation.
For more information on The AusIMM CP program contact us on
(03) 9658 6100 or email [email protected]
Changes to Chartered Professional post nominals
Discipline Total
Environment 39
Geology 365
Geotechnical 68
Management 123
Metallurgy 129
Mining 356
Total 1080
Resilience
Introduction
Due to the cyclical nature of the mining
industry, a large number of well trained
geological professionals lose their
positions whenever there is a down
turn in the mining industry. Although
many geologists return when there is
an up-swing, a significant number of
geoscientists are lost, never to return to
the industry. As well as the personal
cost, this pattern represents a wasted
human resource and under-utilised
skills. To help geologists be more
resilient to market swings, several
strategies are recommended and briefly
discussed below.
Education and training
This is a very realistic alternative for
providing some security and insurance
for the future. Consider the following:
Additional skills
Obtain additional skills and
qualifications during undergraduate
years to ensure a broad based education
that will provide alternative
employment in sectors other than the
mining industry. Having skills that
allow employment in different areas
may expose a geoscientist to concepts
and ideas that are not in mining and
that may have a positive and
meaningful impact. Someone with an
innovative streak, who introduces
beneficial changes that are significant
and have a positive and lasting impact,
will be rewarded, boosting their
resilience.
Gaining skills
Whilst working, seek to obtain other
skills whilst ‘on the job’ or through a
tertiary institution. Some ‘on the job’
skills that could be obtained or
developed include:
Verbal communication; position
yourself to give presentations.
Written communication; from
power point presentations to simple
reports; seek regular feedback from
colleagues to aim for continuous
improvement.
Computing skills; many mining
companies have a suite of Microsoft
Office products, database products
and specialised mining software
packages like Surpac, Vulcan and
Datamine. Learn how these work,
computing and database skills are
very portable across a wide range of
sectors.
Financial knowledge; (Michael
Chaney graduated in geology and
has progressed to Chairman of the
National Bank Ltd, after many
years leading Wesfarmers Ltd).
Other skills
Other tertiary qualifications obtained
while employed can provide other
opportunities. However, it is important
to obtain skills that will allow you to
continue to develop your career by
building on previous qualifications and
experience. Qualifications in the
following areas are useful but not
limited to:
Environmental science, there is a
demand for modelling groundwater
Engineering Geology as there are
capital city based positions
Business Computing which can
lead to employment in software
companies and general staff
positions in the higher education
sector
Masters in Business Administration
can lead to managerial positions
Geophysics or Geostatistics.
Employment
Endeavour to learn as much as possible
about your job by working hard and
learn from other experienced geologists
who are willing to share their skills.
Try to build a reputation for being
competent, reliable and completing all
tasks in a timely, efficient and friendly
manner. Innovation is a fundamental
key in being resilient. Even if you are
not innovating, explore possibilities
with innovators rather than finding
reasons why the ideas will not work.
Consider medium to long term options
that might provide other opportunities
for employment. For example,
geologists have successfully moved
into areas such as teaching, software
development, sales and support, human
resources, management and geospatial
work with local councils, brokers,
finance and analysts.
Take advantage of all learning
opportunities even if they are not
directly related to your current
employment. For example, some
companies provide accounting courses
for non-accountants and finance and
business management courses for
technically orientated staff.
There are opportunities for people who
are prepared to adapt and change.
Professionalism
Develop a strong professional attitude
by aiming for a general standard of
excellence in all tasks. Tips to obtain
this include but are not limited to:
Always act with the highest
degree of integrity.
Ascertain and seek to meet the
requirements of all tasks and if
time permits add value to what
you are doing. If you are not
sure about what is required, ask
questions. If you are still unsure,
generate a quick proto-type of
what is asked for, eg design of a
new drill hole log, procedure
for a particular task and present
for a brief discussion for
refinement.
Treat others the same way you
would like them to treat you.
Communicate regularly with
your supervisor or project
champion and with team
members in both oral and
written forms.
Specialise in a particular
Page 6
Resilience for geologists by Paul Forman, AusIMM Geoscience Committee
Resilience, continued
Page 7
field.
Learn from mistakes made by
you and others.
Meet with people who have
been successful in their chosen
career and learn from them.
Understand that your
qualifications and work
experience are of value to you
and the company employing you
and act accordingly.
If you feel that you need to
change positions to get
experience or met family needs,
discretely look for a different
job. Always consider new
opportunities with your current
employer when you feel stale
with what you are doing: simply
indicating that you are looking
for a little more challenge may
be enough to precipitate a
sideways and possibly upwards
move. Do not tell others that you
are looking for a new job and
avoid the temptation of job
hopping. Remember, resilience
in mining is substantially
strengthened with family
support
Networking
Get to know others in the industry and
support the activities provided by
professional bodies like The AusIMM.
Become actively involved to help your
enthusiasm and increase your contacts
within the industry.
Reading technical earth science books
will help maintain the ‘passion’ and
other technical books will widen and
improve your knowledge.
It is only three years since the AusIMM
was developing guidelines for
resilience of its members in the face of
a serious downturn in the industry. We
were drawing upon combined
experiences to help one another
through difficult times. Here is a book
that should be essential reading for
anyone who thinks the mineral industry
might face another downturn in the
future.
This is a well-presented A5 soft-back
of 140 pages written by an
organisational psychologist who works
as a consultant within the minerals and
other industry sectors. At the same time
as being industry-friendly in its style,
the book retains the rigour and depth
that comes from the author’s other role
as a university researcher and lecturer.
The style is practical and personal,
rather than technical or abstract.
Readers will appreciate the pertinence
of the liberal sprinkling of quotes.
As the author says, there is nothing
new about resilience, but what
McEwen has done is translate theory
and practice to some of the familiar
situations and remedies of the
workplace. We are told that resilient
people are more optimistic, adaptable
and independent. They are also better
at solving problems and have sound
levels of self control. Resilient teams
have similar characteristics, and find it
easier to rebound from setbacks.
This book and its message have to be
one of the obvious pathways to follow
for improved success within any
exploration or mining company. The
book can be read quickly, but also has
the depth to explore slowly over time.
Available through:
www.australianacademicpress.com.au
Book review
Building resilience at work by Kathryn McEwen reviewed by Neil Philips FAusIMM(CP), AusIMM Geoscience Society
ISBN: 9781921513831 Pages: 148 Price: A$29.95
Resilient people are more optimistic, adaptable and independent. They are also better at solving problems and have sound levels of self control. Resilient teams have similar characteristics, and find it easier to rebound from setbacks.
Transactions
Page 8
New issue released
A new issue of Applied Earth Science
(Transactions Part B) was released at the
end of August. Issue 120.3 comprises
four papers that offer a variety to both
the mine and exploration geologist
covering gold, iron ore and base metals.
The contents include:
Editorial
Origin of Witwatersrand gold: a
metamorphic devolatilisation-
hydrothermal replacement
model, by G Neil Phillips and R
Powell
Ore selection and sequencing,
by J E Everett
Predicting finished product
properties in mining industry
from pre-extraction data, by J E
Everett and T J Howard
Metallogenic elements of the
Halasu-Hadansun copper belt in
the Junggar region, northern
China, by Z Zhao, K Zhou and
C Xue.
The first paper (Phillips and Powell)
addresses the origin of the goldfields that
extend for 300 km around the margin of
the Archaean Witwatersrand Basin in
South Africa, investigating current
mineral assemblages to present a model
outlining the processes of formation.
The second paper (Everett) addresses the
complexities involved in optimising the
net present value (NPV) of mined ore,
given the multiple factors and
alternatives that contribute to the costs
and benefits included in NPV. The paper
discusses some of the issues involved
and suggests an alternative set of
approaches to complement existing
procedures.
The third paper (Everett and Howard)
discusses the application of regression
modelling to predict the grade and
condition of finished product from pre-
extraction data. These models can be
applied to the generation of the daily
crusher plan to assist in maintaining
finished product grade.
The fourth paper (Zhao, Zhou and Xue)
discusses the Halasu-Hadansun copper
belt, located in the Central Asian-
Mongolian metallogenic domain, which
hosts a variety of mineralisation types
and elements including Cu, Mo and Au.
To read the full papers online, or to
access the printable PDF files, please go
to: www.ausimm.com/transactions, log
in and follow the links to Applied Earth
Science.
Issue 120.2, April 2011
Issue 120.2 of Applied Earth Science
(Transactions Part B), released at the end
of April, comprises abstracts from the
35th Annual Winter Meeting of the
Geological Society’s Mineral Deposits
Studies Group and the Applied
Mineralogy Group of the Mineralogical
Society, held on 3-5 January 2012 at the
National Museum of Wales, Cardiff,
Wales.
This issue also includes the following
full papers:
3D visualisation of portable X-
ray fluorescence data to improve
geological understanding and
predict metallurgical
performance at Plutonic Gold
Mine, Western Australia, by M
F Gazley, G Duclaux, L A
Fisher, S de Beer, P Smith, M
Taylor, R Swanson, R M Hough
and J S Cleverley
Geochemical signatures of
stream sediments within the
main geological domains and
terranes of North and Central
Madagascar, by A J Scheib, D J
Lapworth, P E J Pitfield, A V
Ralison, T Randriamananjara, M
Rabarimanana, J-M Rafahatelo
and M Bejoma.
To read the abstracts and full papers
online, or to access the printable PDF
files, please go to: www.ausimm.com/
transactions, log in and follow the links
to Applied Earth Science.
Free access for members
AusIMM members can access all of these articles (and past issues dating back to 2000)
free of charge via www.ausimm.com/transactions. You will need to log in with your
AusIMM username and password and select Applied Earth Science from the list of
links. (If you have forgotten your password, you can retrieve it from www.ausimm.com/
forgotpwd.aspx.)
Submit a paper to Applied Earth Science
Members are encouraged to submit papers for publication in the Applied Earth Science
journal. To submit a paper, or for further information, please visit
www.editorialmanager.com/aes.
AusIMM Transactions Journals – Applied Earth Science Free access for AusIMM members by Jenni Stiffe, Director, Communication & Publishing, The AusIMM
Page 9
The AusIMM’s much anticipated release
of the third edition of Australasian
Mining and Metallurgical Operating
Practices (AMMOP) is soon to be met.
The publication will shortly be sent to the printers, and will be ready to be released
on 14 February 2013 in Melbourne, at an
exclusive book launch event.
AMMOP includes 187 papers, covering
218 mine sites and metallurgical
operations across Australia, New Zealand,
Papua New Guinea and Fiji. The
publication will be spread across two
volumes of 1000 pages each.
Along with the operations-focused papers,
AMMOP also includes commodity
overviews; introductory papers on key
industry topics such as environment,
health and safety, research and education;
and commodity specific maps showing all
operations that have been included in
AMMOP.
As mentioned in various newsletter
updates over the past year, AMMOP is the new iteration of a classic AusIMM
publication first published as Monograph
10 in 1980 with a second, two-volume
edition (Monograph 19) published in 1993
– often referred to as the Mawby
Volumes.
The idea for producing an updated edition
of AMMOP first came about in 2006,
when the Metallurgical Society of The
AusIMM started planning the
development of the publication in
conjunction with the Mining Society of
The AusIMM. By August 2010, a formal
Project Committee was formed along with
a Project Team, led by Rob Burns
FAusIMM and including John Rankin FAusIMM(CP) – the Volume Editor of
AMMOP – and AusIMM Services staff.
The Project Committee, chaired by Peter
McCarthy FAusIMM(CP), along with the
Project Team, have been working hard
over the past three years to bring this
publication together and ensure its
success. The support from industry
sponsors has been extensive and we are
very appreciative of this support in order
to make the publication possible.
Thanks to Principal Sponsor Rio Tinto,
Major Sponsors Anglo American, AngloGold Ashanti, BHP Billiton, MMG,
Newcrest, Newmont, Xstrata along with
Sponsors AMC Consultants, Atlas Iron,
Ausenco, Centennial Coal, Gold Fields,
Iluka, Lycopodium, Ok Tedi, Sandvik,
Vedanta Resources, Wesfarmers and
Western Areas.
There has been a great level of
involvement across The AusIMM’s
membership base in the production of AMMOP, with many Societies and
Committees assisting with the writing and
reviewing of papers, organising
submissions from companies, and
providing input and guidance into the
content of the publication.
The book launch for AMMOP will be held
on Thursday 14 February 2013, from 6
pm at Comme, 1 Alfred Place, Melbourne
Victoria. Along with the Project Committee, authors, reviewers and
sponsors, AusIMM members who are
interested in attending the book launch are
invited to register (limited places
available).
If you are interested in attending, please
contact me via 03 9658 6166 or by
emailing [email protected].
Peter graduated with a BSc (Hons) in
Geology and Geophysics from the
University of Melbourne (1976). He was
later awarded an MSc from the University
of Melbourne in 1984 and a PhD from
Macquarie University in 1997.
He started his profession as a cadet
geologist with the Geological Survey of
Victoria in 1975 working as a geologist in
Regional Mapping for a couple of years
and then as a Geophysicist with the newly
formed Geophysics Section in the
Deptartment of Mines, Victoria (1977–
80). He later joined the Shell Company
(Australia) Ltd in 1981 where he worked
as a Regional Geophysicist with the
Metals Division (1981–87). During this
time he worked out of Melbourne, Perth,
and Adelaide. In 1987, Peter left Shell
and with Alex Copeland established
Search Exploration Services. Peter then
moved to Indonesia to set up his own
exploration services company, Elliott
Geophysics International. Peter also gave
courses in Electrical Geophysics at the
University of
Adelaide and published more than 20
scientific papers.
Peter passed away as a result of an aircraft
crash in Kalimantan on the 24th of
August.
Peter was an active member of the ASEG,
AIG and AusIMM and had been on the
Geoscience Committee since August
2007. He was a highly regarded member
of our committee, who contributed
significantly to the activities of the
committee over the years. His
thoughtfulness, fairness and common
sense will be missed.
Peter leaves behind a wife and family, and
our thoughts are with his family at this
difficult time.
Vale Peter Elliot
Obituary
AMMOP update
AMMOP launch event set for February 2013 by Stephanie Omizzolo, Publication Projects Coordinator, The AusIMM
Page 10
The AusIMM Geoscience Society is
pleased to announce an initiative to
assist graduates in making the
successfully transition from university
study to working in the exploration
industry. A five day course has been
developed as an introduction to the role,
activity and business of exploration
covering a range of topics which
graduates are likely to find useful in
their first years of employment.
Importantly the course is intended to be
delivered early in a graduate’s career
near the start of initial employment and
hence is being offered early in the year.
It is intended as a primer for technical
aspects of exploration young
professionals are likely to encounter
mixed with information on the business
end of exploration
and expected work
ethic.
The course has been
developed will the
assistance of Perth-
based exploration
services company
DigiRock and will be
delivered jointly by
DigiRock, AusIMM
and invited specialist
presenters. The initial
course will be
delivered in the
Kalgoorlie area in the
week commencing
Monday 11 February
2013 and will include
both classroom and
field components as well as evening
sessions.
The course will include content in the
following key areas:
the role of exploration in the mining
industry, corporate exploration
objectives in the context of company
size and market fit, target generation
and area selection processes
the structure of exploration groups
and the role of the graduate
land administration, environmental
management, Native Title, heritage
and cross cultural awareness
geochemical sampling processes and
regolith aspects of field sampling
drill programs including design,
management and the role of the rig
geologist. This includes a full day on
drilling methods, safety, a rig visit,
rig setup and reporting.
sampling, analysis and QAQC
including a laboratory visit; handheld
XRF processes
data collection for drill core and chip
logging including oriented core
geological interpretation and 3D
analysis overview.
This notice serves to announce the
course and to seek expressions of
interest from employers who may wish
to include their graduate
intake into the program.
Numbers will be limited to
ensure all participants are
well exposed to the
training.
A call for registration will
be issued in coming
months but in the
meantime expressions of
interest or further
enquiries can be made to
Dale Sims on 0457 405
229 or via email
In the exploration for new deposits the
State governments play an important part
by their administration of tenements. In
all states of Australia the mineral rights
are owned by the crown on all lands sold
by the crown since about 1890 which is
almost all land. Any subsequent acts
establishing native title have not altered
that. It is up to the State governments
who issue rights to explore the subsurface
to administer the act fairly – to require
holders to carry out their work
commitments, to provide accurate reports
of their work to the State governments
who should release those reports to open
file to be made available to everyone
after a decent interval usually two years.
This enables future explorers to use
previous exploration work. The rights of
surface holders for adequate
compensation must also be upheld. In
Queensland there are too many tenements
being held without any work being done
on them. There is no reward for initiative.
If you apply for a vacant area in
petroleum you will be told that they will
put it up for combative bid which allows
the vulture companies to put in excessive
bids which they have no intention of
carrying out. It is to be hoped that the
new state government administers the
administration of tenements better.
Comment
Professional Development
New Geoscience Society professional development course by Dale Sims FAusIMM(CP), AusIMM Geoscience Society, Deputy Chair
Queensland tenements by Colin Laing FAusIMM, AusIMM Geoscience Committee
It is suitable for geologists in the mineral industry or government with early exploration or mining experience who want a broad coverage of gold geology as well as some of the latest research ideas and how they apply to mineral exploration.
The course also serves as an Honours and Postgraduate course for students interested in entering the mineral industry. Interaction between the various groups of participants has become a much-valued feature of the week since this course was first run in 1995.
The course covers all major types of gold deposits with emphasis on world-class greenstone-hosted and sediment-hosted orogenic gold deposits (Archaean deposits of Western Australia, Victoria). Other gold deposits covered include IOCG, porphyry, epithermal, Carlin and Witwatersrand, with discussion of current ideas on each and approaches to their exploration. An overnight field trip takes participants through the heart of the Victorian gold province visiting past goldfields and present operations.
Geochemistry, structural geology, metamorphic geology, deposit geology, regolith issues and the most appropriate exploration approaches for the different styles are covered, at a level to enable participants to take their place in industry and government teams and make a contribution in all of these areas. An emphasis of the course is on a holistic approach that uses all applicable fields of geology to address gold issues.
Course leader: Professor Neil Phillips
PreseNTers INClude: Dr Martin Hughes, Dr Andrew Tomkins, Professor Janet Hergt, Jonathan Law and Professor Roger Powell.
CosT for INdusTry ParTICIPaNTs: AUD$950 that includes overnight field trip. Numbers will be limited due to the field component, and registrations are likely to close early.
reGIsTraTIoN: Kerry Grieser, school of earth sciences, university of Melbourne +61 3 8344 9866, fax: +61 3 8344 7761; [email protected]
Geology of Gold course 18-22 March 2013
School of Earth Sciences, University of Melbourne
This is a 5-day course of lectures, practical sessions and a field trip, devoted to the Geology of Gold.
AusIMM Geoscience Committee and contacts
Page 12
The AusIMM is not responsible for statements
made or opinions advanced by authors in this
publication and accept no liability (including
liability in negligence) for and given no
undertaking concerning the accuracy,
completeness or fitness for the purpose of the
information provided.
wwwlinkedin.com | www.twitter.com/theausimm
www.facebook.com/ausimm | www.youtube.com/theausimm
A full listing of the features can be viewed via
www.ausimm.com.au/content/docs/ausimm_bulletin_mkit_2012.pdf.
Members who have an interest in contributing editorial should contact the Editor via
The Bulletin – contributions
Recently two articles have been published
in The Bulletin on the issue of geoscience
training either in the workplace for
graduates or at undergraduate level. The
Geoscience Society seeks feedback and
comment on the issues raised by these
articles:
The geoscience education shortfall in
Australia by Professor Bill Collins
(Bulletin #5 October 2012)
www.ausimm-bulletin.com/
article.php/193/2074
Graduate geoscience training in the
workplace – how well is it working? by
Dale Sims (Bulletin #3 June 2012)
www.ausimm-bulletin.com/
article.php/199/1892
Please pass on any comments for potential
inclusion in the next GeoSoc Newsletter to
Donna Edwards via
Features for the 2013 series of The Bulletin have been set, they include:
Amanda Clements (Chair)
Dale Sims (Deputy Chair)
Prof Neil Phillips (AES Editor)
Aslam Awan
John Elliston
Paul Forman
Dr Lloyd Hamilton
Colin Laing
Dr Anna Mahizhnan
Nick Oliver
Bob Smith
Andrew Waltho
Secretariat and AusIMM contact
Donna Edwards
Senior Coordinator, Society and Committee
Services
Contacts
The Bulletin
February edition
Article proposal due 9 Dec
Regional Feature: Queensland
International Focus: Africa
Coal
Professional standards
Mine rehabilitation and closure
April edition
Article proposal due 10 February
Regional Feature: Western Australia
Workforce diversity
New technologies
Greenfields explorations
Geotechnical engineering
Feedback
Feedback on published Bulletin articles
The Melbourne Geology of Gold course has
received funding from the Bicentennial Gold
88 Endowment and is very grateful for this
support. The funds are used to make the field
trip financially accessible to all students, so
that we can contribute to their undergraduate
mine and field contacts. The funds also aid
the update the various modules of the course
on a rotation basis. In recent years the
upgrading has included background levels of
gold in common rocks with Dr Iain Pitcairn,
weathering of gold deposits, the field
component, and Carlin gold deposits. A
significant upgrade for IOCG and
Witwatersrand gold is planned for 2013. See
flyer for further information.
Geology of GOLD course
Course Social Media
Connect with The AusIMM on social media
If you have any feedback, would like to
make a suggestion or contribute to the
Geoscience News with an article or comment
piece, please email the Secretariat Donna
Edwards via: [email protected]
Contribute
Contribute
26 - 29 September 2013 Hilton Brisbane Hotel, Queensland, Australia
World Gold 2013ConferenCe
www.ausimm.com.au/worldgold2013
Submission of Abstracts All abstracts due by 26 November 2012
Late Abstract Submissions may be considered
For further information, please contact: Claire Lockyer, Publications Assistant, The AusIMM Telephone: +61 3 9658 6167 | Email: [email protected]
EvEnt MAnAgEMEnt: thE AusIMMFor all enquiries including sponsorship and exhibition, please contact: Jessica Cowan, Senior Coordinator, EventsThe AusIMM, Melbourne AustraliaTelephone: +61 3 9658 6105 | [email protected]
World Gold BaCk to BaCk With ... GeoMet 2013
30 September – 2 October 2013 Brisbane, Australia
2013
gold Sponsors
Platinum Sponsor
Conference Dinner
Metallurgy
Conference Supporters
thE ConFErEnCEthe World gold Conference series is a joint venture between the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (the AusIMM), the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (SAIMM) and the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM).
World Gold will include all aspects of gold mining, including exploration, geosciences, mining (including geotechnical aspects), metallurgy (processing), environment and related themes.
Due to the diversity of gold mining interest, various workshops will be incorporated within the program and the conference will be followed back to back by the Second AusIMM International Geometallurgy Conference 2013 (GeoMet 2013) at the same venue. Take advantage of these two growing leading industry events and have your company represented at both events.
Dr Leon Lorenzen World Gold 2013 Conference Chair
thEMES■ Exploration, mining and processing of gold-containing ores■ Particular challenges of complex gold ores including those that are poly-metallic■ Mine to market concept■ Improved production and development costs (efficiencies, productivity, people)■ Living and dealing with uncertainty across the gold industry■ Reliable water, energy and labour at an affordable cost■ Corporate knowledge in a rapidly changing workforce■ Region specific challenges facing the gold mining industry■ Social aspects of gold mining and the communities
WorkShoPSWS1 - Formation of gold Deposits This short course is designed for exploration and mining geologists. It provides a comprehensive coverage of the principles of how gold-bearing fluids are produced, then migrate and finally form gold deposits.
WS2 - gold Processing The 1.5-day course will provide attendees with a refresher course on current unit operations in the gold processing flowsheet plus an update on emerging technologies and their likely integration into existing and proposed gold plants.
