AIG NEWS 143 IS AVAILABLE NOW!

AIG NEWS 143 IS AVAILABLE NOW!

The latest edition of AIG News, the Australian Institute of Geoscientists member newsletter is now available in full colour and digital format and best of all FREE for all readers!


NEW! View the latest AIG News in Click here to view Flipbook! Or download the PDF below:

PDF For web: AIG News 143: Download as Single Pages PDF
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Inside this latest issue…

From Your President; Institute News; QLD , VIC, TAS Branch Report; Education Reports; Membership Updates & RPGeo Applications; Annual General Meeting 2021; Dale Sims – Incoming AIG President; Dodgy Data and Dendrograms; Essential Non-Geophysical Software for windows; Geoscientist employment : 2020 ends with a strong improvement in geoscientist employments; Mines & Wines provisional program; The next generation of geoscientists; The humble quartz vein (and its gold); A geological career which is “out of this world”; Vale Edward Dronseika; The “C” in CSA : Rupert William Ashton Crowe, Geologist, Enterpreneur, Mentor; Peter (David) Timms : Obituary; Events Calendar; AIG Council & AIG News and more.


AIG News is optimised to be read with Adobe Reader. Versions are available for printing (with Adobe Reader version 4.1.3 or later) or either reading on-line or downloading for reading off-line with your laptop or tablet (with Adobe Reader version 6.1.5 or later). Both versions have been tested and are compatible with Apple Preview and iBooks for Mac and iPad users.

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We hope that you enjoy the latest AIG News and welcome your feedback.


SEG 100 Conference

SEG IS CELEBRATING ITS 100TH ANNIVERSARY IN 2021

The Society of Economical Geologists (SEG) and the Society of Economic Geologists Canada Foundation invite you to register for the SEG 100 Conference, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to celebrate SEG’s Centenary.

SEG 100: Celebrating a Century of Discovery

When: September 14-17, 2021

Where: Virtual Event

SEG has a rich history and was at the forefront of developing economic geology as a profession.  As an international society committed to advancing science, discovery and responsible mining, we are excited to share our program with a wide audience through our virtual platform.  In person attendance in Whistler may also be possible, if health regulations allow.

We welcome you to participate, exploring the game changing science and discovery of the last 100 years and looking forward to the future. The themes reflect key areas of understanding, including ore-forming processes, structural controls and the new and exciting advances in technology and understanding that will take us ‘Beyond 2021.

Conference themes

  • Game Changers — The First Hundred Years
  • Lindgren’s Legacy — Ore Deposits in Depth
  • Gold 2020s: Golden Past, Precious Future
  • Basins through Time — Linking Process and Ore Systems
  • Ore Deposit Structure — Processes, Patterns, and Innovations
  • Beyond 2021 — The Next Hundred Years
  • Diversity in Ore Deposits
  • Tectonomagmatism and Porphyry-Epithermal Metallogeny (Tribute to Jeremy P. Richards)

Visit the conference website to register, and for more information about the program and speakers.

Like SEG on Facebook, follow @segweb and #SEG100 on Twitter, follow @societyofeconomicalgeologists on Instagram and follow SEG on LinkedIn to share Conference updates with your networks and followers.


The 2022 NGEA challenge is now open!

 
Registration for the 2022 Frank Arnott
Next Generation Explorers Award (NGEA™) is now open!

Are you a current earth science student looking for career development, international recognition and a chance to win cash prizes? Then this is the challenge for you!

The NGEA™ is an international mining competition that offers students hands-on experience working with modern geoscience datasets encountered in the field, opportunities to improve their leadership and team-based skills, and the ability to expand their industry networks and increase potential employment opportunities.

The challenge is open to students who are either currently enrolled in an undergraduate earth science degree or post-graduate research (masters or PhD) at the time of registering. Teams are encouraged to be multi-disciplinary and include members from other fields of study (i.e., engineers, data scientists, economists, social scientists, etc.).

This year’s challenge features a grand prize of CAN$5000 for the team with the highest judges’ score. Three new prize categories of CAN$3000 each have also been created: 1) Innovation, 2) Data integration and 3) Impact & Exploration Significance.

The judges will award these prizes based on participants’ scores for each category. Teams are eligible to win both the grand prize and a category prize, however, they are not eligible to win more than one category prize. 

With the final contestants presenting at the PDAC 2022 convention, the NGEA™ will contribute funds for the flight and accommodation costs to Toronto for two to four members of the finalist teams (dependent on the convention being held in-person).

It’s important to note that each team must meet a minimum of two aspects of “Team Diversity” for entry into the NGEA™. Diversity may be in the form of discipline/specialisation, gender, nationality, culture, etc. Teams that do not meet these criteria will not be eligible for the award.

Please visit www.frankarnottaward.com to enter your team!


New Datasets Added

Students now have the ability to select from eight different datasets, including two new ones from Australia and Ireland/Northern Ireland.

While additional datasets may be added, we would like to thank our current dataset providers:

Geoscience BC, Geological Survey of Ireland, Geological Survey of Northern Ireland, Geological Survey of Queensland, Geological Survey of South Australia, New South Wales Geological Survey, NRCan-Geological Survey of Canada, Saskatchewan Geological Survey, Uganda Directorate of Geological Survey and Mines (UDGSM) and the Yukon Geological Survey.


 

Congratulations to 2021 Finalists!

Last year’s NGEA™ was a great success with the Inca Team winning the first place prize of CAN $5000! Inca worked on the Yukon Plateau dataset and featured students from the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marco in Peru, the University of Tasmania in Australia and Brigham Young University in the USA.

Team UWA from the University of Western Australia placed second and the CSM Exploration Initiative from the Camborne School of Mines, University of Exeter placed third.

To view all the finalists and contending teams, please visit our website


Thank you to our sponsors for their continued support of the award! To learn more about sponsoring the award or to view the full list of sponsors, please visit our website.


Frequently Asked Questions

Have a question for us? Check out the FAQ section on the website! 

If you have any questions about the challenge, please contact us at NextGenerationExplorersAward@gmail.com.


JORC Code Review

Members will be aware that a review of the JORC Code is in progress.

The JORC Committee are currently reviewing and assimilating information provided by a stakeholder consultation survey that formed the initial phase of the review.

The AIG Complaints Committee, in parallel with the review of the Code, has commenced a review of compliance with the Code by Competent Persons. The review was initiated partly in response to stakeholder concerns about whether the low-level of complaints related to the conduct of Competent Persons. The review involves a daily examination of randomly selected ASX announcements for which JORC Code compliance is required. To date, the review results suggest that the low-level of complaints reflects a high-level of compliance with the Code, with Competent Persons taking their obligation to report information relating to exploration results, mineral resources and ore reserves in a material and transparent manner. Issues have been identified with just over 10% of the annoucements reviewed. Less than 5% of announcements were referred to the AIG Ethics and Standards Committee and ASX for further consideration.

Announcements considered to require attention spanned the complete spectrum of exploration and mining project activities, from IPO documents, through exploration reports to feasibility studies and production announcements. Areas of concern have included:

  1. failure to nominate a Competent Person, or claims of Competent Person status by individuals not eligible to act in this capacity as either a member of AIG or AusIMM, or a recognised overseas professional organisation.
  2. not describing the physical characteristics of industrial minerals in resource announcements.
  3. reporting contained metal without reporting tonnes and grade.
  4. reporting metal equivalent values without describing the method by which equivalence was estimated.
  5. announcing feasibility study results and a decision to proceed with a project, accompanied by resource information, metallurgical process details and project economics, with no description of how the resource will be mined.

The review will continue for several months. A dashboard is being developed for publication on the AIG web site which will be continuously updated with review results, released without identifying information. Consideration is being given to the review becoming a permanent part of the Complaints Committee’s activities.

There has also been an increase in public complaints relating to the activities of members acting as Competent Persons, after only one complaint being received during 2020. This is attributed to increased interest in the JORC Code, catalysed by announcements relating to the review of the Code.

Members are also reminded of their obligation to report instances of non-compliance with AIG’s Code of Ethics by other members. Compliance with both the JORC and VALMIN Codes is required by the Code of Ethics.

AIG follows a best practice, procedurally fair complaints process in which complaints are managed in complete confidence. Members are only named if there is an adverse finding delivered by the Ethics and Standards Committee.

A detailed description of the complaints process followed by AIG is provided on the Institute website. Complaints may be received from any member, or member of the public, but must be submitted in writing. Complaints cannot be anonymous, but complainants are also protected by the confidentiality processes that AIG has in place for dealing with these issues. A web form is available on the AIG website to assist with complaint submission.

Maintenance and continuous improvement of professional practice standards is central to our profession continuing to enjoy public confidence in work performed and reported by geoscientists in all fields of practice, not just exploration and mining. Suggestions and ideas on how any aspect of AIG’s Code of Ethics and Complaints process could be improved are always welcome for consideration by the AIG Board.

Andrew Waltho


Porphyry and epithermal copper gold mineralisation short course

Greg Corbett and Stewart Hayward are presenting their popular porphyry Cu-Au and epithermal Au-Ag exploration course in Sydney, Australia, 13-15 September, 2021.

13 & 14 September, Chatswood Club, 11 Help Chatswood (5 mins walk from Chatswood train station) lunch, morning and afternoon teas provided. Two days of PowerPoint lectures focus upon mineral exploration for epithermal and porphyry ore deposits derived from Dr Corbett’s 40 years field experience, including short courses provided with the late Terry Leach from the early 1990’s. Exploration and mining examples from over 40 countries are used to delineate the characteristics of different epithermal and porphyry ore types, and controls to mineralisation, using tools such as alteration, structure and breccias. A final section considers geological features recognised in exploration marginal to ore bodies. Participants will be provided with exercises to test yourselves and a current draft of the new short course notes. Early drafts of the first few chapters are available at: http://corbettgeology.com/Publications/.

15 September, A practical exercise held at the W B Clarke Geoscience Centre, Londonderry, uses diamond drill core and geological specimens referred to in the lectures (above), to provide hands on training in ore and alteration mineralogy and the use of geological models. Greg is helped by and Stuart Hayward, who has over 30 years experience in epithermal-porphyry ore deposit exploration and mining. Return bus from Chatswood and lunch provided.

Prices include handouts, lunch, morning and afternoon teas and transport to and from Londonderry. Minimum of 20 participants required and limited to a maximum of 40.

Employed geologists from $1500 + GST
Unemployed geologists from $400 + GST
Students $150 + GST but if you need assistance contact greg@corbettgeology.com

Registrations are now open at www.corbettgeology.com/short-course