2013 Bursary Applications Now Open

2013 Bursary Applications Now Open

Applications for 2013 AIG student bursaries are now open.

The Australian Institute of Geoscientists’ Student Bursary Program was initiated to promote and support geoscience research and education in Australia. The Bursary Program began in 2001 to mark the 20th Anniversary of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists (AIG), and since then the AIG has awarded 129 bursaries to geoscience students in Australian universities. In 2013 the AIG is again offering bursaries to Postgraduate, Honours and Third Year undergraduate geoscience students.

The 2013 Bursary awards, which have values between A$1000 and A$3000, are funded by the AIG and the generous support of corporate sponsors and donations from AIG members to the AIG Geoscience Education Foundation.  Contributions to the foundation are tax deductible.

Applicants must be current AIG members, Australian citizens or permanent residents and be enrolled in geoscience studies at an Australian university.

Applications for Honours and Postgraduate bursaries must be received by 27th June 2013.  Third year bursary applications must be received by 1st August 2013.


JORC SEMINAR SERIES

JORC SEMINAR SERIES

The JORC committee, withh the support of the JORC parent bodies (AIG, AusIMM and the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA)), ASX and ASIC, will be conducting an extensive program of seminars around Australia, to build mineral industry professionals’ understanding of the JORC Code, 2012 Edition.

These important professional development seminars will support the effective implementation of the revised JORC Code and provide an excellent platform for improved reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves.

The seminar programme will include:

  • Overview of the JORC Code, 2012 edition
  • “If not, why not” reporting
  • Technical studies
  • Requirements for an Ore Reserve declaration
  • Identifying areas of concern
  • ASX listing rules
  • Case studies and exercises
  • Q&A

Dates and Locations

Tuesday 7 May:  Perth, WA

Thursday 9 May:  Kalgoorlie WA

Tuesday 18 June:  Melbourne VIC

Friday 21 June:  Bendigo, VIC

Monday 8 July:  Brisbane, QLD

Friday 12 July: Townsville, QLD

Friday 19 July: Mount Isa, QLD

Tuesday 23 July:Adelaide, SA

Thursday 25 July: Sydney, NSW

Friday 26 July: Singleton, NSW

Registration Fees

AusIMM & AIG members $140, Non-members $280 (inclusive. of GST, online registration only via credit card).  On-line registration facilities are being provided by AusIMM.

To register, click on the links in the seminar date and location list above.  For all further information please contact:

Belinda Martin, Manager, Event Operations, The AusIMM,
T: +61 3 9658 6125 | E: bmartin@ausimm.com.au


Epithermal and Porphyry Deposits Short Course

Epithermal and Porphyry Ore Deposits Two Day Exploration Short Course

In addition to a course accompanying Mines and Wines 2013 in Orange, Greg Corbett will be presenting a two day epithermal and porphyry ore deposit short course in Brisbane, 24-25 September, Perth 7-9 October and in Adelaide 10-11 October.

The course focusses on field aspects of these deposits for exploration geologists.


Mines and Wines 2013: Sampling the Tasmanides

Mines and Wines 2013: Sampling the Tasmanides

The Mines and Wines 2013 web site www.minesandwines.com.au is now on-line. 

The fourth Mines and Wines conference will be held in Orange from 11 to 14 September 2013 and will bring together over 200 mineral explorers and industry experts to focus on mineral exploration and mining projects in eastern Australia. The event is jointly sponsored by the Sydney Mineral Exploration Discussion Group (SMEDG), the Australian Institute of Geoscientists (AIG) and the Geological Survey of NSW (GSNSW).

Current understanding of the tectonics and metallogenesis of the Tasmanides will be covered in keynote presentations. Industry presentations will cover exploration and mining projects across Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania.

A pre-conference excursion will visit the Copper Hill porphyry copper-gold deposit and the McPhillamys gold project.

Major industry suppliers will have booths at the Conference to allow you to catch up on what you need to successfully explore in the Tasmanides.

Following the Conference you can learn about the wines of the famous Orange region and taste the unique flavours on the Wine Tour.

A NOT TO BE MISSED EVENT!

Check the web site regularly for the latest information in the lead-up to the conference this September.


Geoscientist Employment – March 2013

Geoscientist Employment

AIG, in 2008, commenced a series of surveys to monitor the impact of the global economic downturn on geoscientist employment throughout Australia.  These surveys provided valuable data that was used by AIG in conjunction with other industry groups to track the impact of the downturn in exploration and mining geoscience employment, and the subsequent recovery of employment as economic conditions improved.

The global economic downturn was followed by a boom in resource industry activity which created robust employment conditions for several years, Recently, however, threats to Australia’s resource industries have emerged in the form of intense uncertainty regarding both the European and U.S. economy, whether China will be able to sustain high levels of economic growth, coordinated action by environmental groups against new resource development projects and, significantly, a growing tide of resource nationalism in which governments are seeking to increase revenue from mining projects or secure future, domestic access to resources, both of which could depress mineral and energy production by removing incentives to develop new mines.

AIG is maintaining a close watch on developments but needs “hard data” that only professional geoscientists can provide to ensure representations to government and other groups are supported by timely, relevant information.  Your assistance in completing this survey, when it is run on a regular basis, is critical to this.

The previous survey, three months ago at the end of 2012 showed signs of a deterioration in employment opportunities for Australian geoscientists.  Since then, anecdotal evidence suggests that these first signs have been followed by widespread retrenchments as both mineral and coal exploration activity in particular enter a period of pronounced downturn.

These surveys provide AIG with concrete evidence of the employment prospects facing geoscientists in Australia.  We encourage all AIG members to complete the survey and to recommend it to their colleagues.  The more people who contribute, the more reliable and authoritative the survey results.

The survey only takes a few minutes to complete.  No personally identifiable information is collected.  A few minutes of your time can help make a real contribution to your profession.

Click here to complete the latest survey.

The survey will remain open for contributions throughout April 2013.