2011 - seg newsletter cerro negro

INTRODUCTIONThe Cerro Negro district, in theDeseado Massif of southern Argentina,contains six known epithermal gold-silver deposits. Four of these were dis-covered by Andean Resources Ltd.between March 2005 and June 2010,and a fifth was elevated from anuntested vein outcrop to a significantresource. The mineral rights are held100 percent by Goldcorp Inc., throughits December 2010 merger withAndean Resources Ltd.

Andean released the results of afeasibility studyon July 6, 2010(Ausenco, 2010),which quotedprobable reservesof 2.07 Moz Auand 20.6 Moz Agin three deposits.The study pre-dicted that thesedeposits can pro-duce 1.96 Moz ofgold and 17.7 Mozof silver over a 10-year mine life, atan average cashcost of $168/ozAu. It was esti-mated that thiswould provide aninternal rate ofreturn (on a 100%equity basis, $800gold, $14 silver,and constant USdollar costs) of 43

percent on the initial capital invest-ment of $275 M.

In this paper, we trace the explo-ration history of the district from earlyexploration by Andean’s predecessors inthe 1990s, through Andean’s acquisi-tion of the property in 2004, toAndean’s merger with Goldcorp inDecember 2010. Rather than providinga comprehensive geologic description ofthe deposits, we describe the history oftheir discovery and attempt to focus onour evolving geologic understanding ofthe district.

† Corresponding author: e-mail, [email protected]

Discoveries of Low-Sulfidation Epithermal Au-Ag Veins at Cerro Negro, Deseado Massif, ArgentinaD. SHATWELL (SEG 2011),† Calle Monteflor 596, 33 Lima, Peru, J. A. CLIFFORD (SEG 1989 F), D. ECHAVARRÍA, G. IRUSTA, AND D. LOPEZ

ABSTRACTExploration by Andean Resources Ltd. in theCerro Negro district of southern Argentinabetween March 2005 and July 2010 delineatedresources of 2.54 Moz gold and 23.5 Moz sil-ver in three low-sulfidation epithermal veindeposits. Two of these, Eureka West and BajoNegro, are new discoveries; the third deposit,Vein Zone, had been explored previously.Additional measured and indicated resourcesof 2.7 Moz Au have been estimated by cur-rent owners Goldcorp Inc. for three other dis-coveries at Cerro Negro: San Marcos, MarianaNorte, and Mariana Central. The total goldresource for the project is 5.3 Moz Au mea-sured and indicated, plus 1.24 Moz inferred.

Andean completed a positive feasibilitystudy into an underground and open pit min-ing operation in July 2010, based on reservesof 2.07 Moz Au and 20.6 Moz Ag at Eureka,Bajo Negro, and Vein Zone. The study con-cluded that these deposits can produce anaverage of 200,000 oz of gold and 1.8 Moz ofsilver per year for 10 years, which wouldmake Cerro Negro the largest gold producerin the Deseado Massif without consideringresources or production from the other threedeposits.

The deposits are hosted by Late Jurassic volcanic and probable intrusive rocks of theDeseado Massif in which Triassic-Cretaceousextension created the structures which controlthe precious metal vein deposits. Four of thefive new discoveries were found through geo-logic mapping, but pioneering work by previ-ous explorers also contributed; the two mostrecent discoveries do not crop out. Geophysicalstudies helped to define drill targets and arelikely to be increasingly important in futureexploration.

A key ingredient in Andean’s success wasa willingness to drill test targets identified bya skilled and dedicated, largely Argentine,exploration team, supported by Australianand North American-based management.

SEGSEGwww.segweb.org

Advancing Science and Discovery

APRIL 2011 NUMBER 85

NEWSLETTER

VIEWS(pg. 12–16)

A. Yakubchuk and B. Cook

New Website additions in 2011

Oral History Videos, News Releases,

and Views Online

FIGURE 1. Regional setting of the Cerro Negro district in theDeseado Massif, with producing or former mines shown.

to page 17 . . .

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E X H I B I T B O O T H S S P O N S O R S H I P SC A L L F O R PA P E R S

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APRIL 2011 • No 85 S E G N E W S L E T T E R 3

F E A T U R E A R T I C L E1 Discoveries of Low-Sulfidation Epithermal Au-Ag Veins at Cerro Negro,

Deseado Massif, ArgentinaN E W S L E T T E R C O L U M N S

4 From the Executive Director: Summary of Activities for the Year 2010 7 Presidential Perspective: SEG in the 21st Century 8 SEGF Presidential Perspective: Sustaining and Expanding Global

Student Support Programs9 From the Treasurer: 2010 Year-End Summary

V I E W S12 VIEWS I — Exploration Approaches: Comparison of the Former Soviet Union with

the Rest of the World 15 VIEWS II — Exploration—It’s All About Turning Rocks into MoneyS E G N E W S

10-11 Contributions – SEG, SEG Foundation, and SEG Canada Foundation24 SEG Presence at MDSG 24 Why Do Geometallurgical Studies? No Surprises!25 Geometallurgy Forum—About Geologic Models and Metallurgical Response25 Geometallurgy Workshop26 VII Congreso Internacional de ExploradoresS E G S T U D E N T N E W S27 Student Chapter Field Trip Video Series: New Online at YouTube27 LaSalle Institut Polytechnique SEG Student Chapter28 University of Leicester SEG Student ChapterE X P L O R A T I O N R E V I E W S29– Africa · 30– Alaska · 30– Australasia · 31– Europe · 31– Northern Eurasia · 32– Contiguous United StatesM E M B E R S H I P33 SEG 2011 Officers and Committees34 SEG Membership: Candidates and New Fellows, Members and Student Members38 SEG Announcements & Deadlines39 Personal Notes & NewsA N N O U N C E M E N T S

2 Northwest Mining Association’s 2011 Annual Meeting, Exposition & Short Courses (inside front cover)

6 New Part-time Staff40 The Inaugural SOLOMON Meeting, Yallingup, Western Australia41 CERCAMS—Copper Deposits of Central Asia Workshop42 2011 Geomin Seminar 42 XVI Congreso Colombiano de Mineria, Medellín, Colombia43 LaSalle Student Chapter—3rd European SEG Student Chapter’s Conference44 II International Geology & Mining Forum, September 3–5, 2011, Magadan, Russia44 SGA 11th Biennial Meeting, September 26–29, 2011, Antofagasta, Chile45 GAC-MAC-SEG-SGA Ottawa Meeting 2011, Ottawa, Canada

46-47 Western Mining Services—Senior Exploration Management Course48-49 SEG at GSA 2011

51 XXX Curso Latino Americano de Metalogenia (inside back cover)52 U2011 Short Course—Geology of Roll-Front Uranium Deposits (back cover)52 SEG Contact Information (back cover)C A L E N D A R50 Calendar

ContentsNº 85 — APRIL 2011

EXECUTIVE EDITORBrian G. Hoal

NEWS EDITORAlice Bouley

EDITORIAL ASSISTANTLori Robertson

GRAPHIC DESIGNVivian SmallwoodPRODUCTION MANAGER

Christine HorriganSociety of Economic Geologists, Inc.

7811 Shaffer ParkwayLittleton, CO 80127-3732 USA

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WEBSITEhttp://www.segweb.org

The SEG Newsletter is published quarterly in January,April, July and October by the Society of EconomicGeologists, Littleton, Colorado, exclusively for membersof the Society. Opinions expressed herein are those ofthe writers and do not necessarily represent officialpositions of the Society of Economic Geologists. Whenquoting material from the SEG Newsletter please creditboth author and publication.

© 2011 The Society of Economic Geologists, Inc.

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— FOR CONTRIBUTORS —The SEG Newsletter is published for the benefit of theworldwide membership of the Society of EconomicGeologists. We invite news items and short articleson topics of potential interest to the membership. Ifyou have questions on submittal of material, pleasecall the SEG office at +1.720.981.7882 or send detailsby FAX to +1.720.981.7874; by email to <[email protected]>

Format: E-mailed news items should be 5 Mb max-imum. Send to [email protected]. Shortitems may be faxed. Please include your name andcontact information for verification purposes.Please e-mail Christine Horrigan at the above addressif you have questions.

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DEADLINE FOR NEWSLETTER #86:

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SEGNEWSLETTER

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2 Actlabs, Ltd. (inside front cover)51 ALS Laboratory Group (inside

back cover)50 Animas Resources24 Anzman, Joseph R.41 AVRUPA Minerals40 Big Sky Geophysics23 Canada Mining Innovation

Job Posting

50 Geocon, Inc.2 Geosense (inside front cover)

43 Howard, Avrom E.41 Laravie, Joseph A.26 Logemin S.A.41 LTL Petrographics28 Lufkin, John L., Ph.D26 Oldroyd, Geoffrey C.40 Petrographic Consultants Intl.

43 Recursos del Caribe, S.A.9 Resource Geosciences de Mexico2 SGS (inside front cover)

28 Shea Clark Smith41 Zonge Engineering & Research

4 S E G N E W S L E T T E R No 85 • APRIL 2011

NEW OFFICERSIn the August election of officers forJanuary 2011, the membership electedLluís Fontboté as President-Elect,Anthony C. Harris as Vice President forStudent Affairs, and Judith A. Kinnaird,T. Campbell McCuaig, and Moira T.Smith as Councilors.

MEMBERSHIPAs of December 31, 2010, SEG member-ship in all categories totaled 6,083, 9percent higher than the level at the endof last year. Members are currently dis-tributed throughout 105 countries world-wide, compared with 100 countries atthe end of last year. Two-thirds of themembership works for industry (corpo-rate or self-employed); the remainderare in academia and government.Approximately 60 percent of our mem-bers are from three countries, namely,the United States (28%), Canada (18%),and Australia (14%). The majority ofmembers (54%) come from outside theUnited States and Canada. About 82percent of new applicants are from out-side the United States, with the bulk ofapplications coming from LatinAmerica (22%), Europe (17%), andCanada (15%). For the year to date, theSociety has processed 953 new applica-tions (14 Fellows, 484 members, and455 student members). In addition, 64members upgraded to Fellowship, withFellows now making up 24 percent oftotal membership.

The Society ended the year with 51active student chapters located in 20countries: Canada (12), the UnitedStates (6), Australia (5), UnitedKingdom (4), Argentina (3), Chile (2),Colombia (3), South Africa (2),Switzerland (2), Brazil (2), France (1),Germany (1), Greece (1), Hungary (1),Indonesia (1), Papua New Guinea (1),Peru (1), Portugal (1), and Ukraine (1).Students make up 20 percent of theoverall membership.

The SEG Foundation continues toprovide important subsidies required tosustain special membership classessuch as students, Senior Fellows, andLindgren awardees.

CONFERENCES, FIELD TRIPS,AND SHORT COURSESIn 2010 the Society organized, spon-sored, or participated in the followingconferences, workshops, symposia, fieldcourses, and field trips:

� SEG was a co-sponsor of the MDSGMeeting in Glasgow, Scotland,January 5–7, 2010. Richard Tosdal,SEG 2009 Thayer Lindsley Lecturer,was a keynote speaker.

� SEG was an exhibitor at the AME BCMineral Exploration Roundup inVancouver, Canada, January 18–21,2010. 5,841 delegates attended thisevent entitled “Go for the Gold (andEverything Else).”

� SEG and the Universidad NacionalAutónoma de México held a two-dayshort course, “Epithermal Deposits:Formation and Exploration” inMexico, February 17–18, 2010.Presenters were Jeffrey W. Hedenquistand Antoni Camprubi.

� CODES SEG Student Chapter FieldTrip 2010, “Geology & Ore Depositsof Thailand & Laos,” was heldFebruary 21–March 2, 2010.

� SEG held a PDAC pre-meeting, two-day short course, “Uranium Geologyand Deposit Types” on March 5–6,2010, in Toronto, Canada. DanielBrisbin and Michel Cuney presented.

� SEG was an exhibitor at the PDACconvention, March 7–10, 2010. Thisevent attracted an estimated 22,000delegates including 417 trade showexhibitors. The SEG Council,Foundation Trustees, Executive Com -mittee, Program Committee, andPublications Board held meetings atthe Radisson Admiral HarbourfrontHotel in Toronto, March 5–7, 2010.

� The SEG-CSM two-day short courseon Epithermal Gold Deposits washeld at the SEG Course Center inLittleton, Colorado, USA on March11–12, 2010. Course presenters wereAntonio Arribas R. and JeffreyHedenquist. The course was sold outwith 52 paying attendees.

� SEG co-sponsored the one-day ThirdInternational Exploration ForumCESCO in Santiago, Chile, April 6,2010.

� SEG sponsoredthe 13th Qua -drennial IAGODSymposium,“Giant OreDeposits Down-Under,” in Ade -laide, Aus tralia,April 6–9, 2010. Richard J. Goldfarb,SEG International Exchange Lec -turer, and Michel Cuney, SEG ThayerLindsley Lecturer, were speakers atthis event. Jeff Mauk, Regional VPfor Australasia, coordinated the SEGexhibit booth activities.

� The SEG-PNG Minerals three-dayworkshop took place on April 15–17,2010, at the University of PapuaNew Guinea, Port Moresby, PapuaNew Guinea. The SEG program(April 15–16) consisted of presenta-tions by Jeffrey Hedenquist, JeffreyMauk, Richard Goldfarb, and DouglasKirwin. All presenters volunteeredtheir time at the SEG booth as well.

� SEG was a sponsor of the GSN 2010Symposium, “Great Basin Evolution& Metallogeny,” in Reno/Sparks,Nevada, USA, May 14–22, 2010. Aspart of this meeting, the SEG GoldWorkshop, “Gold in 2010—GeologicalFeatures and Exploration Criteria,”was held on May 15–16, 2010.Presenters were Richard Goldfarb,John Muntean, Craig Hart, andJeffrey Hedenquist. The SEG exhibitbooth was organized by RichardNielsen.

� The SEG co-sponsored the Simexmin2010-IV Brazilian Symposium onMineral Exploration in Ouro Preto,Minas Gerais, Brazil, May 23–26,2010. SEG participated in two sym-posiums and two short courses. The“Gold Deposits: Orogenic, EpithermalGold, and the Transition to Au-RichPorphyry” short course was presentedby Richard Goldfarb and JeffreyHedenquist. The “Sedimentary Phos -phate Deposits: Ore Formation andExploration” short course was pre-sented by Peir Pufahl and Eric Hiatt.The SEG was also an exhibitor atthis event.

� SEG sponsored the annual “OreDeposits Models and Exploration”

F R O M T H E E X E C U T I V E D I R E C T O R

Summary of Activities for the Year 2010

BRIAN G. HOALSEG Executive Director

and Editor

workshop at the China University ofGeosciences (CUG), in Wuhan,China, on May 24–29, 2010. Lectureand Laboratory instructors were Z.Chang, H. Chen, D. Cooke, J.Gutzmer, C. Hart, D. Leach, C. Li, S.Scott, N. White, and K. Yang.

� SEG co-sponsored the 11th Interna -tional Platinum Symposium inSudbury, Ontario, Canada, June21–24, 2010. The SEG Laurentianstudent chapter coordinated and ranthe SEG exhibit booth.

� SEG co-sponsored the InternationalCommission on the History ofGeological Sciences (INHIGEO)Annual Conference in Spain, July1–14, 2010.

� SEG participated in and co-spon-sored the IMA 2010 BudapestMeeting in Budapest, Hungary,August 21–27, 2010. Feri Molnár wasthe meeting organizer. Maria Boni,along with Feri Molnár, coordinatedthe SEG booth activities, with DougKirwin, Jeffrey Hedenquist, LluísFontboté, Judith Kinnaird, and theSEG Eötvös Loránd University stu-dent chapter members volunteeringtheir time at the booth. SEG spon-sored the session, “Mineral depositsin terrestrial volcanic-hydrothermalsystems,” with Jeffrey Hedenquist,Jaroslav Lexa, and Ferenc Molnár asconvenors and Lluís Fontboté asKeynote speaker.

� SEG co-sponsored the IrishAssociation for Economic Geology:Zinc 2010 Conference in Cork,Ireland, September 17–19, 2010.

� The SEG Foundation Student-Dedicated Field Trip, “Ore Depositsof Utah and Colorado” took placeSeptember 25–October 1, 2010. Tripleaders were W. Chávez and E.Petersen.

� SEG organized and hosted the SEG2010 Conference in Keystone, CO,October 2–5, 2010. Record atten-dance of 812 with 165 students. TheOrganizing Committee was chairedby Jim Franklin.

� SEG co-sponsored the UNESCO-SEG-SGA Latin American MetallogenyCourse in Concepción, Chile,October 11–22, 2010.

� SEG sponsored several events at theannual GSA meeting in Denver,Colorado, October 31–November 3,2010, including a pre-meetingcourse, SEG sessions, SEG PresidentialAddress (J. Hedenquist), SEGDistinguished Lecture (Craig Hart),

and an exhibit booth. The presiden-tial address was entitled, “Formationof Advanced Argillic Lithocaps overPorphyry Systems, and ExplorationImplications,” and the distinguishedlecture was entitled, “A RedoxParadigm for Intrusion-related GoldSystems.” The pre-meeting SEGcourse, “EnvironmentalGeochemistry for Modern Mining”had 103 participants. The two leadpresenters were R. Seal and K.Nordstrom.

� SEG-Colorado School of Mines (CSM)Porphyry Epithermal Course, Novem -ber 11–12, 2010 was held inLittleton, Colorado, and presented byJ. Richards. There were 47 partici-pants.

� SEG collaborated with MGEI on twogold workshops, “Epithermal andPorphyry Deposits,” held inBandung and Lombok, Indonesia,November 18–22, 2010. Speakerswere N. White, S. Simmons, and S.Garwin. Each workshop had over100 participants and four post-work-shop field trips were attended by 10to 20 participants each.

� SEG co-sponsored and exhibited atthe 2010 AusIMM New ZealandBranch Conference in Auckland,New Zealand, November 24–26,2010. Regional VP, J. Mauk, orga-nized the SEG booth activities.

� SEG was an exhibitor at the 116th

NWMA Annual Meeting, “Our Futureis in Today’s Mines,” held in Spokane,Washington, December 5–10, 2010.J. Myers and A. Bookstrom mannedthe SEG booth.

� The SEG-Western Mining Services(WMS) Senior Exploration Manage -ment Course was held at the SEGCourse Center, December 7–10,2010. Presenters were B. Suchomeland J. Hronsky. With 30 partici-pants, this course was sold out.

EDUCATIONThe SEG Foundation (SEGF) and theSEG Canada Foundation (SEGCF)received a total of 100 student researchgrant applications. SEGF awarded 51grants for a total US$137,950, while theSEGCF awarded 9 additional grants forCDN$32,000. Research Grant awardeesattend 39 different universities in 14 countries: United States – 20,Canada – 15, Australia – 7, GreatBritain – 4, Argentina – 3, Germany –2, Switzerland – 2, and one each from

Hungary, Japan, New Zealand, Russia,South Africa, Spain, and Sweden. In theGraduate Student Fellowship program,a total of US$168,000 was awarded to24 students entering graduate school in2010, or who were currently enrolled asfirst-year graduate students. Recipientsattend 10 different universities in fivecountries: USA – 10, Canada – 8,Australia – 4, Argentina – 1, andGermany – 1.

AWARDS AND LECTURESHIPSThe SEG Awards Dinner was held onSunday, October 3, 2010, at theKeystone Resort and Conference Centerin Key stone, Colorado, during the SEG2010 Conference. The following SEGAwards were presented: R.A.F. PenroseGold Medal 2009 to David I. Groves(SEG 1973 F); SEG Silver Medal 2009 toLawrence D. Meinert (SEG 1989 F);Ralph W. Marsden Award 2009 toGerald G. Carlson (SEG 1983 F);Waldemar Lindgren Award 2009 toIain K. Pitcairn (SEG 2006 M); SEGDistinguished Lecturer 2010 to CraigJ.R. Hart (SEG 1993 F); SEG Interna -tional Exchange Lecturer 2010 toRichard J. Goldfarb (SEG 1989 F); andthe Brian J. Skinner Award 2009 toRonner Bendezú (SEG 2005 M) wasaccepted by co-author Lluís Fontboté onhis behalf. The SEG Thayer LindsleyLecturer 2010, Michel L. Cuney (SEG2006 F), and the SEG Regional VicePresident Lecturer 2010, Alvaro P.Crósta (SEG 2008 F), could not attend.

International Exchange Lecturer.Richard J. Goldfarb (senior researchgeologist with the Mineral ResourcesProgram of the U.S. Geological Survey,Denver, Colorado) presented lectures atthe National University Colombia,Bogota; National University Colombia,Medellin; Auburn University, Alabama;IAGOD conference, Adelaide, Australia;SEG Gold Workshop, Port Moresby,PNG; SEG Gold Workshop, GSN, Reno;Brazil Mining Conference, Ouro Preto,Brazil; Georgian Academy of Sciences,Tblisi; Uzbekistan National University,Tashkent; Bolivia National University,La Paz; Bolivian Geological Congress,Tarija; Universidad Nacional de Salta,Argentina; Universidad Nacional de laPlata, Argentina; Asociación deMineros de Sonora, Mexico; Universityof Arizona; and Arizona GeologicalSociety.

Thayer LindsleyLecturer. Michel L.


to page 6 . . .


Cuney (director of the research team,Genesis and Man agement of MineralResources, at the Henri Poincaré Uni -versity in Nancy, France) presented lec-tures at the University of WesternOntario, London, Canada; LaurentianUniversity, Sudbury, Canada; McGillUniversity, Montréal, Canada; LavalUniversity, Ste. Foy, Québec, Canada;Université du Québec à Chicoutimi,Canada; Inter. Assn. Geology of OreDeposits (IAGOD) meeting, Adelaide,Australia (chairman of the U session),Keynote Speaker; GoldschmidtConference, Knoxville, Tennessee USA(co-chair of the Uranium session);Amman University, Jordania; IGEM(Institute of Ore Geology, Petro graphy,Mineralogy, and Geochemistry);Moscow, Russia; Bucaramanga Uni -versity, Colombia; Humboldt University,Berlin, Germany; Southern IllinoisUniversity Carbondale, Carbondale, IL,USA; Cardiff University, UK; La Salle,Beauvais, France; Genève University,Suisse; and CERCAMS, London, UK.

Regional Vice President Lecturer.Alvaro P. Crósta (professor of geologyand remote sensing at the Insti tute ofGeosciences, University of Cam pinas(Unicamp), Brazil) presented lectures“Remote Sensing in Mineral Explora -tion”, Colorado School of Mines, Golden,Colorado, USA; “Remote Sensing &Spectral Geology” and “Remote Sensingin Mineral Exploration” at the Instituteof Geosciences, University of Campinas,Campinas, SP, Brazil; geology depart -ment, Federal University of Rio deJaneiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; SEG stu-dent chapter in Bogota, Colombia; geo-logy department, Universidad Nacionalde Ingenieria, Lima, Peru; and Geo -sciences Institute, Federal University ofBahia, Salvador, Brazil.

Distinguished Lecturer. Craig J.R.Hart, Director of the Mineral DepositResearch Unit (MDRU) at the Universityof British Columbia, Vancouver, Canadagave two presentations on be half of theSEG. The SEG Distinguished Lecture, “ARedox Paradigm for Intrusion-relatedGold Systems” was presented at the GSA2010 annual meeting in Denver, Colo -rado, USA, November 1, 2010, and a talkentitled, “Asia’s Golden Architecture–the tectonic foundations for Asian Gold,”was presented at the 34th annual wintermeet ing of MDSG, January 5–7, 2011.

Honorary Lecturers. The current listof SEG Honorary Lecturers follows: M.

Stephen Enders (Consultant, Denver,Colorado, USA), Richard J. Goldfarb(U.S. Geological Survey, Denver,Colorado, USA), William X. Chávez, Jr.(New Mexico Institute of Mining andTech nology, Socorro, New Mexico),Michael C. de Wit (BRC Diamond Core,Irene, South Africa), Mark D.Hannington (University of Ottawa,Ottawa, ON, Canada), Chusi Li(Indiana University, Bloomington,Indiana), Yasushi Watanabe (Institutefor Geo-Resources and EnvironmentAIST, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan),Francisco I. Camus (IndependentConsulting Geologist, Santiago, Chile),Jeffrey W. Hedenquist (HedenquistConsulting Inc, Ottawa, Canada),Douglas J. Kirwin (Ivanhoe Mines Ltd.,Bangkok, Thailand), and Noel C. White(Asia Now Resources Corp., KenmoreEast, Australia). Andrew M. Killick (for-merly of The Mineral Corporation,Emmarentia, Gauteng, South Africa)has retired but is available to con-tribute should the opportunity arise.

PUBLICATIONSPublication sales were made up largelyof bookstore orders (54%) with theremainder (46%) coming from exhibitbooth sales, overwhelmingly driven bythe Keystone event. Members salesmade up about 74 percent of total pub-lication sales. Revenue is attributed tosales of 15 different Guidebooks (includ-ing 10 CDs), 16 Reviews volumes (in -cluding 5 CDs), 15 Special Publications(including 4 CDs and new e-docs), 4Monographs (including 1 CD), 3 Com -pilation Series (CDs), 22 Videos, 5 Con -ference Series volumes (including 2 CDsand 1 DVD), as well as EconomicGeology back issues, the Dummett DVD,100th Anniversary Volume of EconomicGeology, SEG history volume, and theTables for Opaque Minerals (CD). Themost popular print publication was thelatest Special Publication No. 15, TheChallenge of Finding New MineralResources: Global Metallogeny, InnovativeExploration, and New Discoveries, editedby R.J. Goldfarb, Erin E. Marsh, andThomas Monecke. Following SP 15 inoverall unit sales was Special Publica -tion Number 14 on Supergene Environ -ments, Processes, and Products, edited bySpencer Titley, and the 100th AnniversaryVolume of Economic Geology, edited byHedenquist, Thompson, Goldfarb, and

Richards. In the VHS/DVD series, JonHronsky’s Video No. 21, 1) Self-OrganizedCritical Systems and Ore Formation: TheKey to Spatially Predictive Targeting,and 2) The Case for a GreenfieldsRenaissance, was most popular.

The four scheduled issues of the SEGNewsletter and seven issues of EconomicGeology were released through December.The latter included one journal issuecarried over from 2009. The January,April, July, and October issues of theSEG Newsletter were published accordingto schedule. The third CD in the SEGCompilations series, on gold in meta-morphic terranes, was released in May.Special Publication 14 was released inJanuary; Special Publication 15 wasreleased at the Keystone conference inOctober. Three new Guidebooks werereadied for CD, and materials for nineworkshops were compiled.

The new website for EconomicGeology, hosted by HighWire, launchedin mid-October. Initially, the onlinepublication is for subscribers only butwill subsequently provide RBAC formembers instead of the current accessto GSW. A modified subscription struc-ture was introduced for 2011 to allowfor various combinations of print anddigital content and recognition of non-profit and for-profit subscribers.

SEG OFFICE ADMINISTRATIONThe office was staffed by nine personsincluding four on a part-time basis–effectively eight full-time equivalents.While association management soft-ware (iMIS) and outsourcing havehelped moderate the need for addi-tional staff, two additional full-timeequivalents will be needed in 2011 tomanage the increasing workload tied tocopyediting, website-IT administration,and fund development. 1

Summary of Activities for the Year 2010 (Continued). . . from 5

NEW PART-TIME STAFFLauren Anand (website-IT) andLori Robertson (editorial assistant)have been hired as new supportstaff at SEG headquarters!


By the time you read this SEG Newsletter,the conference frenzy for the first quar-ter of 2011 will be over. For those ofyou who attended Roundup, Indaba,ProExplo, SME, or PDAC, you will be alltoo familiar with the hype, both realand imagined, in the exploration andmining business today. You will also bepainfully aware of the acute demandfor geological talent.

I’ve had the opportunity to partici-pate in many informal discussions aswell as formal panels and workshopsdevoted to education and training ofthe next generation of economic geolo-gists and explorers. As a result, I’vecome to the following conclusions:

� Faced with a continuing decline ineconomic geology education, indus-try will have to develop its owninternal training programs, similarto what has happened in the oilbusiness, as well as supporting thoseuniversities committed to economicgeology.

� To be effective, industry will have torely mainly on universities to pro-duce graduates of high quality witha strong fundamental background inscience or engineering and geology,regardless of whether or not thisbackground includes classic eco-nomic geology training.

� Industry will select students foremployment with a broad back-ground and a potential to excel in avariety of areas—students who arecritical thinkers with ability to inte-grate, interpret, and predict in 3-Dand 4-D from multiple datasets.

This creates a wonderful opportunityfor the Society of Economic Geologiststo collaborate with universities andcompanies to provide this training.Even for the biggest companies, it’s dif-ficult to fill the need for targeted educa-tion and training that addresses thespecial needs of the mineral explo-ration and mining business.

The oil companies figured this outlong ago. Some training is provided bythe companies, but much of it is nowavailable from American Association ofPetroleum Geologists (AAPG)-sponsoredshort courses, workshops, and field trips.The AAPG has developed an excellent

curriculum that is available for basicand continuing education(www.aapg.org/education). SEG can dosomething similar for our specialty.

At a series of Publication Board, SEGCouncil, SEG Foundation, and SEGExCom meetings in late February andearly March, we made several decisionsto work toward building a curriculumin economic geology. These decisionsinclude the following:

� SEG Council supported the formationof an ad hoc Curriculum Committeeto further develop the approach andsubstance for a regular series of shortcourses, workshops, and field trips.The Curriculum Committee willreport to SEG Council no later thanat the next council meeting withtheir recommendations.

� SEG Foundation supported the forma-tion of an SEG Field Camp in Eco -nomic Geology to be designed in asimilar fashion to university-runfield camps and for academic as wellas continuing-education credit infield methods. The CurriculumCommittee will in clude this opportu-nity in its evaluation of a recom-mended SEG curriculum.

� ExCom asked the CurriculumCommittee to consider the potentialto create an SEG curriculum devel -oper position that would cooperatewith economic geology programs atuniversities, and that would develop,coordinate, and collaborate in thedelivery of the SEG curriculum inLittleton and elsewhere. This spon-sored position would work closelywith the Executive Director, VP Re -gional Affairs, and short course andfield trip coordinators.

In addition, Pub Board and SEGCouncil approved the transition of publishing Economic Geology and otherSociety publications from hard copy to digital copies of record. This digitalformat will transform the way SEGdelivers and develops content for ourmembers and open a number of newopportunities, benefitting from newtechnologies.

This is not as big a stretch for ourSociety as it might seem. We alreadycan get the journal, newsletter, and

other content indigital form, andwe already delivermany shortcourses, fieldtrips, workshops,and symposiaaround the worldand at SEG head-quarters inLittleton. In 2010, the Society sponsored26 of these events—that is one everyother week!

In a wonderful stroke of good for-tune for SEG, Stewart Wallace’s estatedonated almost $4M to SEG in 2010, ofwhich almost $0.5M has been used tocomplete the build-out of the SEG con-ference center in the lower level of theSEG headquarters. SEG anticipatesincreasing the number of short coursesthey host each year in this facility.

SEG is a 501(c)3 organization, whichmeans we operate as a tax-exemptbusiness subject to certain U.S. tax reg-ulations and in line with our statedpurpose of disseminating informationthrough education. This requires think-ing beyond a break-even approach toensure that we generate sufficient rev-enue from delivering the SEG curriculumand publications to cover all relatedcosts, provide subsidies to student atten-dees, and generate some profit in theprocess. We will reinvest these proceedsin the Society to further develop con-tent, provide additional services, andimprove the Society’s programs.

SEG’s mission is to advance scienceand discovery in the field of mineralresources. There is an excellent oppor-tunity to better fulfill this missionthrough the establishment of a formalSEG curriculum and courses that meetthe needs of our members and busi-nesses.

This is the 21st century, and it istime we become a 21st century profes-sional society. Our new tag line couldread as follows: “SEG prepares theworld’s geologists and explorers todayto make discoveries tomorrow.” 1

P R E S I D E N T I A L P E R S P E C T I V E

SEG in the 21st Century

M. STEPHEN ENDERSSEG President

2011


Greetings to all SEG members. TheSociety of Economic Geologists Founda -tion trustees held their first meeting of2011 the day prior to commencementof the mammoth Prospectors andDevelopers Association of Canada(PDAC) convention. This annual event,expected to attract more than the22,000 delegates attending last year’sevent, brings exploration personneltogether from all over the world and isan ideal and convenient place for theFoundation trustees to meet each year.At that meeting, SEG President StephenEnders and SEG Executive DirectorBrian Hoal reported on some excitingactivities within SEG, Treasurer HarryNoyes and Brian Hoal reviewed thefinancial status and investments of theFoundation, the 2011 budget was pre-sented, discussed, and approved, andreports were received from the studentprogram chairs. The following arehighlights from the meeting.

Three new trustees joined the boardthis year: Bill Chávez, Andy Swarthout,and Diane Nicolson, who will eachserve a five-year term, through 2015.Welcome Bill, Andy, and Diane. Thenew board vice president is Peter Megaw,and David Broughton will continue assecretary. Some other important changeswere formalized at the meeting as well.Mary Little agreed to chair the TrusteeNominating Committee, a position for-merly, and very ably, held by Len Krol,and Patrick Highsmith will be the newchair of the Fund-Raising Committee—both important committees at the fore-front of the sustainability and continu-ity of the Foundation. Bart Suchomelcompleted his term as SEGF President atthe end of 2010, but fortunately willcontinue as past president and will alsoassist the Fund-Raising Committee.

I would also like to recognize threeSEG Fellows who are managing key stu-dent programs: former Trustee JamesMacdonald is coordinating the StudentResearch Grants program, Stephen J.Piercey, professor at Memorial Universityof Newfoundland, chairs the GraduateStudent Fellowship program, and TrusteeBorden Putnam chairs the Student FieldTrip program and also serves on the

Fund-Raising committee. These individ-uals bring keen interest and enthusi-asm to their roles, and I am pleased towork with such committed economicgeologists.

Foundation trustees approved a bud-get totaling more than US$645,000,which is about 12 percent larger thanthe audited 2010 expenses, reflectingthe increased support for the Founda -tion’s student programs. This budgetalso provides for a new fund develop-ment coordinator. The person filling thisimportant new position will be respon-sible for working with the Execu tiveDirector, The Executive Director Emeritus,the SEGF Foundation President, and theSEGF Fund-Raising Committee to coor-dinate fund-raising efforts involvingboth corporations and individuals.

A hallmark of the SEGF programs istheir global scope. Last year, SEGF pro-vided over US$360,000 in support of itsstudent programs worldwide: studentresearch grants, graduate student fel-lowships, student field trips, SEG studentchapters, and SEG student membershipsubsidies. A total of 89 students receivedresearch grants, graduate student fel-lowships, and field trip travel grants.The geographic distribution of this sup-port is illustrated on the following map.

Summary data for the three core stu-dent programs are as follows:

� Student Research Grants: Sinceinception in 1996, more thanUS$1,507,000 has been awarded to734 students worldwide. In 2010, student research grants totalingUS$167,320, with an average grant of$2,836, were awarded to 59 studentsin 14 different countries.

� Graduate StudentFellowships: Sinceinception in 2006,over US$623,500has been awardedto 64 outstandingstudents, repre-senting 28 differ-ent universities in12 countries. Cur -rently, 42 fellow -ship applications

for 2011 awardsare under review.

� Student FieldTrips: Six stu -dent field tripshave been heldsince this pro-gram was initi-ated in 2006, with the first field tripheld in 2007. Through 2010, 96 stu-dents from 51 different universitiesin 19 countries have participated inthese field trips. This is a very popu-lar program with three to four timesthe number of applications thanspaces available on each trip. Twostudent field trips are being held in2011—both will be held in northernChile—the first in March and thesecond in May.

SEG student membership in 2011will exceed 1,000 worldwide. With thecontinued growth in student member-ship and corresponding expansion ofSEGF student programs, one can sensethe challenge faced by the trustees tosource new, sustainable funding for theFoundation’s programs. I know thetrustees are committed to the task.Thanks to our corporate sponsors andcontributions from individual members,we had a great year in 2010. We willstrive to make 2011 even better. Mythanks to John Thoms and VickySternicki for the updated student pro-gram statistics. As with my column inthe January issue of the SEG Newsletter, Iencourage your participation in theFoundation’s mission. Thank you foryour contributions.1

F O U N D AT I O N P R E S I D E N T I A L P E R S P E C T I V E

Sustaining and Expanding Global Student Support Programs

DONALD J. BIRAKSEG Foundation President 2011

Areas represented by the various SEGF student programs in 2010


The Society and the Foundation begin2011 with a solid base. With excellentcontrol of expenditures, both theSociety and Foundation experiencedoperating income well in excess ofbudget. The combined investmentportfolio has increased US$5,577,409.

The Foundation has received contri-butions of $397,219, which is $178,219above budget. This generosity of indi-viduals and companies has allowedsubstantial increases in support for stu-dents, such as grants and field trips,furthering the Foundation’s efforts toenhance student interest in the profes-sion. In 2010, the Foundation spent atotal of $462,459 in programs and ser-vices. The Keystone conference con-

tributed substantially to the Society’sexcellent financial performance, net-ting several hundred thousand dollarsmore than projected, and reflectingmember interest in Society products.

Total financial assets (portfolio pluscash) at year end 2010 for the com-bined Society and Foundation totaled$15,826,903. The substantial increaseover 2009 is due mainly to the addi-tion of the Stuart Wallace Fund. StuWallace’s astounding generosity thatprovided funding for the Headquartersa decade ago was augmented in 2010with a nearly $4 million donationfrom his estate, significantly enhanc-ing the Society’s financial position.The portfolio continues to be managed

under the direc-tion of the SEGInvestmentCommittee withthe guidance ofInnovest PortfolioSolutions LLC, aColorado invest-ment advisoryfirm. Quarterlymeetings of the Investment Committeeand Innovest provide the opportunityto rebalance the investments, largelydomestic and international bond andequity funds, for optimum growth andsecurity for Society and Foundationobjectives.

The Society and Foundation are clos-ing on 2010 with a hopeful outlook ofa quick, near-term return to improvedmarket performance and a strongerfinancial position, with a broad arrayof programs, publications, and otherbenefits to support members and stu-dents around the world in this increas-ingly international organization. 1

Year End 2010 SEG, Inc. SEG Foundation, Inc. Total

Revenues/contributions, total $ 2,485,430 $ 397,219 $ 2,882,649Expenses, total $ 2,020,178 $ 575,052 $ 2,595,230Portfolio Value $11,280,313 $4,546,590 $ 15,826,903

F R O M T H E T R E A S U R E R

2010 Year-End Summary

HAROLD J. NOYESSEG Treasurer

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Contributions 12/1/2010–2/28/2011

SEG

Ireland, George R., USA

Foruria, Jon, USAPatton, Thomas C., USAQueen, Lawrence D., Australia

Ainsworth, Ben, CanadaAlbinson, Tawn D., MexicoAnderson, Thomas P., USABailey, Mark H., USABelkin, Harvey E., USABerry, James M., USABout, Jean-Paul F., AustraliaBundtzen, Thomas K., USACooper, Christopher, ScotlandCoupard, Michel M., AustraliaFleming, Adrian W., CanadaFunaioli, Giovanni, ItalyGoryachev, Nikolay A., RussiaHitzman, Murray W., USAHodkiewicz, Paul F., AustraliaHu, Ruizhong, ChinaJolly, James H., USAKrcmarov, Rob L., CanadaMay, David J., USANovajas, Roberto A., ChilePierson, John R., USAPotucek, Tony L., USARayner, Jeffrey G., ItalyRusk, Brian G., AustraliaSanchez Nannig, Geovanni C., ChileSchneider, Albrecht, ChileSchulz, Klaus J., USAScogings, Andrew J., AustraliaScott, Elizabeth A., USASimmons, Stuart F., New ZealandStruhsacker, Eric M., USATaylor, Anthony P., USAWilliams, Neil, Australia

Abbott, Jeffrey T., CanadaArcher, Noel R., Australia

Armstrong, Frank C., USAAsare, Anthony A., GhanaAshley, Roger P., USABaar, Eric E., USABailey, Robert V., USABakker, Pieter J., ThailandBeale, Timothy J., CanadaBelther, Jones, BrazilBersch, Michael G., USABettles, Keith H., USABoswell, Jonathan T., USABoutes, Georges, FranceBowell, Robert J., United KingdomBoyes, Matthew G., United KingdomBradshaw, Herbert E., USABryndzia, L. Taras, USAButcher, Nicholas J. D., United

KingdomCanales, Juan J., PeruCardenas, Alan F., ColombiaCollins, William D., USADiaz Rodriguez, Julian M., ColombiaElston, Wolfgang E., USAEvans, David T. W., CanadaEvans, Michael J., South AfricaEvans, Thomas L., USAFlint, Delos E., USAFontbote, Lluis, SwitzerlandFournier, Robert O., USAFrench, Andrew G., CanadaGendall, Ian R., CanadaGize, Andrew P., United KingdomGodefroy, Marcelo, MexicoHalbert, Gary R., USAHannah, Judith L., USAHanneman, Harold P., USAHashimoto, Koji, JapanHlabangana, Sitshengiso, ZimbabweHoag, Corolla K., USAJoslin, Gregory D., SwedenKeller, John W., USAKoski, Randolph A., USALaidlaw, Robert O., USALogsdon, Mark J., USAMachamer, Jerome F., USAMarinov, Daniel R., CanadaMcdonald, Bruce A., MalaysiaMoye, Robert J., AustraliaMudry, M Phillip, CanadaMurakami, Hiroyasu, JapanNakamura, Takeshi, JapanOrtiz Ramos, Giovanny J., ColombiaPop, Nicolae, CanadaQuijano Laime, Freddy G., EcuadorReid, David C., USAReid, Richard F., USARichards, Thomas A., CanadaRobertson, Jacques F., USARosta, Zsolt F., USARuppel, Edward T., USASale, Marc J., ScotlandSauve, Pierre, CanadaShannon, James R., USASharp, W. Edwin, USASicoli Seoane, J. Carlos, BrazilSilva, Pedro G., ChileSkyllingstad, Paul E., USASmith, Charles S., USASuarez Llerena, Jaime C., PeruTexidor-Carlsson, Jose, CanadaTrammell, John W., USATwyerould, Stephen C., USA

Udubasa, Sorin S., RomaniaVan Oss, Hendrik G., USAVanderwall, William, USAVilla-Iglesias, Luis, SpainWhiteford, Sean M., USAWoodman, John R., USAZohar, Pamela B., USA

SEG Foundation General Fund

Coeur d’Alene Mines, USA

Inmet Mining Corporation, CanadaBear Creek Mining Corp., USA

Christensen, Odin D., USAFahey, Patrick L., USAInnovest Portfolio Solutions, Llc., USASwarthout, Andrew T., USA

Babcock, Russell, USABarton, Paul B., USABelkin, Harvey E., USAEggers, Alan J., AustraliaGlavinovich, Paul S., USAGuilbert, John M., USAHammer, Donald F., USAHardy, David G., USAHarris, Marcus F., AustraliaJennings, Donald K., USAJuhas, Allan P., USAKyle, J. Richard, USALipske, Joanna L., USAMuessig, Siegfried, USAPinsent, Robert H., CanadaPowers, Sandra L., USASchmidt, Paul G., USAStruhsacker, Eric M., USAWestervelt, Thomas N., USA

Anderson, Thomas P., USAArauz, Alejandro J., Costa RicaAshley, Roger P., USABeale, Timothy J., CanadaBelther, Jones, BrazilBerger, Byron R., USACampbell, Finley A., CanadaConway, Clay M., USAErickson, A. J., USALapoint, Dennis J., USALittle, Mary L., USARezende, Nelio G. A. M., BeninRotert, Joel W., USASmith, Shea C., USATwyerould, Stephen C., USAVilla-Iglesias, Luis, SpainWire, Jeremy C., USA

Student Fellowship Fund

AngloGold Ashanti Australia,Australia

Newmont Corporation, USA

Seavoy, Ronald E., USA

Hitzman, Murray W., USAHoag, Corolla K., USAJara, Constanza H., ChileUrbina, Octavio A., Chile

Adiya, Borohul, AustraliaDanne, Torsten, PeruDietrich, Andreas, ChileGagnon, Matthieu, CanadaGize, Andrew P., United KingdomGrose, Thomas L. T., USAHayston, Paul, BrazilKell, Robert E., USAMo, Xuanxue, ChinaMurray, Suzanne I., AustraliaOcubalidet, Seare G., USAPrevec, Stephen A., South AfricaRiedell, K. Brock, CanadaRodriguez Alvarez, Rafael, ColombiaSantos, Tatiana R., BrazilShaw, Eleanor M., United KingdomTeasdale, Nicholas, PeruTexidor-Carlsson, Jose, CanadaTwyerould, Stephen C., USAVanderwall, William, USA

Hugo Dummett Fund

Flood, Raymond E., USA

Harvey, Bruce A., USAOkita, Patrick M., USASwarthout, Andrew T., USA

Barron, Lawrence M., AustraliaCocker, Mark D., USAGosse, Richard R., CanadaHaynes, Douglas W., AustraliaHoag, Corolla K., USAKirwin, Douglas J., ThailandKoutz, Fleetwood R., USAKrewedl, Dieter A., USALaskowski, Keith A., USALittle, Mary L., USAMathewson, David C., USANewell, Roger A., USANistratov, Alexander G., CanadaPadilla Garza, Ruben A., CanadaPaul, E. Kenneth, USAStanaway, Kerry J., New ZealandTyrwhitt, David S., AustraliaWaldie, Craig, Canada

Foundation Corporate Sponsors

AngloGold Ashanti Australia, Australia $50,000

Bear Creek Mining Corp., USA $5,000

Coeur d’Alene Mines, USA $10,000

Inmet Mining Corp., Canada $6,500

Newmont Corp., USA $15,000Newmont Corp., USA $30,000

SEG Corporate Sponsors

IAMGOLD Corp., Canada $5,000


ContributionsThank you for your generous

contributions to the Society and the SEG Foundation.

Bolton, Barrie R., AustraliaBradley, Mark A., USABurt, Philip D., CanadaChapple, Kenneth G., AustraliaCloss, L. Graham, USADanne, Torsten, PeruEvans, Michael J., South AfricaFrost, John E., USAHauck, Steven A., USAHenderson, Frederick B., USAJames, Laurence P., USAKivi, Kevin, CanadaLarson, John E., USALogsdon, Mark J., USAMancuso, Thomas K., USAMango, Helen N., USAMarmont, Christopher, CanadaMaynard, James B., USAOrtiz, Francisco J., ChileParker, Harry M., USARoe, Robert, USASchafer, Robert W., USASharp, Robert J., CanadaSteed, Geoffrey M., United KingdomWalsham, Bruce T., United KingdomWilde, Andy R., AustraliaWurst, Andrew T., USA

Hickok-Radford Fund

Alaska Earth Sciences, Inc., USA

Barker, Alan L., CanadaBundtzen, Thomas K., USAEng, Tony L., USALipske, Joanna L., USALoskutoff, William, USAMillholland, Madelyn, USAMorris, Alan J., USA

Cox, Bruce C., USAHawley, Charles C., USAHedderly-Smith, David A., USAKurtak, Joseph M., USALarson, John E., USALeonard, Kevin W., USALindberg, Paul A., USASzumigala, David J., USA

McKinstry Fund

Hardesty, Ian R., USA

Jones, Richard D., USAKriewaldt, Michael, AustraliaMyers, Harold E., USAPaul, E. Kenneth, USASalazar, Guillermo, CanadaTorrealday, Heidie I., USAWalford, Phillip C., Canada

Astorga Delgadillo, Carlos E., PeruCoveney, Raymond M., USA

Frost, John E., USAGomez, Anabel L.R., ArgentinaKelson, Christopher R., USALarson, John E., USAMannion, Lawrence E., USAPerkin, Donald J., AustraliaWalsham, Bruce T., United Kingdom

The Timothy Nutt Memorial Fund

Coakley, George J., USADavies, Chris, United KingdomJones, Paul C., USAMoody, Ian W., AustraliaSchafer, Robert W., USA

Bloom, Lynda, CanadaBowell, Robert J., United KingdomDeane, John G., South AfricaHall, David J., IrelandHlabangana, Sitshengiso, ZimbabweKarpeta, Wladyslaw P., South AfricaKerr, David J., CanadaMiller, Graham C., AustraliaMoore, John M., South AfricaNowak, Gregory, USAOlson, Steven F., USARobb, Laurence J., United KingdomThamm, Albert G., Australia

The Alberto Terrones L. Fund

Vidal, Cesar E., Peru

Escandon-Valle, Francisco J., MexicoGriffith, David J., USASchroer, George A., Chile

Guerrero M., Tomas E., PeruJames, Laurence P., USANunez Othon, Aristeo, USARedfern, Richard R., USARivera A, Reynaldo, MexicoTristram, Esme J., ChileValdivia, Jose T., PeruVanderwall, William, USAZamora-Diaz, Percy P., Peru

Student Field Trip Fund

Putnam, Borden R., USA

Hunt, John Paul P. M., South AfricaLeon, Eduardo, PeruMorrison, Reuben E., New ZealandSeavoy, Ronald E., USA

Butler, Roland W., CanadaByrne, Kevin, CanadaDurning, William P., USA

Ellsworth, Peter C., USAHantler, Aaron G., AustraliaHarris, Marcus F., AustraliaIhlen, Peter M., NorwayJeffs, Caitlin L., CanadaKirwin, Douglas J., ThailandLipske, Joanna L., USAMccool, Ronan D., IrelandMyers, Russell E., USAParratt, Ronald L., USAVan Voorhis, Gerald D., USAWoodbury, Michael James, Australia

Adiya, Borohul, AustraliaBasha, Michael G., CanadaBennell, Michael R., BrazilBettles, Keith H., USABogdan, Kevin R., USABradley, Mark A., USABrodie, Colin G., ArgentinaBrueckner, Stefanie M., CanadaCathles, Lawrence M., USACorriveau, Louise, CanadaCreel, Leslie K., USA $70.00Doucet, Dominique, CanadaErlfeldt, Asa B., SwedenFournier, Robert O., USAGuilbert, John M., USAGurevich, Dimitriy V., KazakhstanHalbert, Gary R., USAHammond, John M., AustraliaHatton, Owen J., AustraliaIlchik, Robert P., AustraliaJames, Laurence P., USAKell, Robert E., USAKodolanyi, Janos, GermanyLelacheur, Eric A., USALentz, Brian C., USAManion Baar, Jennifer L., USAMargeson, G. Bradford, USAMathewson, David C., USAMcnamara, Galen S., CanadaMedrano, Bruno R., PeruMoye, Robert J., AustraliaMurray, Suzanne I., AustraliaNunez Othon, Aristeo, USAPudack, Claudia, SwitzerlandPulido Rodriguez, William A.,

ColombiaRedfern, Richard R., USARiedell, K. Brock, CanadaSantos, Tatiana R., BrazilSchloderer, John P., AustraliaShannon, James R., USAShaw, Eleanor M., United KingdomSicoli Seoane, J. Carlos, BrazilSidder, Gary B., USASkinner, H. Catherine W., USAStanton-Cook, Kim, AustraliaSuarez Llerena, Jaime C., PeruSutcliffe, John, EcuadorTexidor-Carlsson, Jose, CanadaTwyerould, Stephen C., USAVanderwall, William, USAWallis, Toni L., Canada

The Discovery Fund

Harvey, Bruce A., USA

Gostevskikh, Alex V., CanadaHaynes, Douglas W., AustraliaIdziszek, Chet, CanadaMathewson, David C., USAParratt, Ronald L., USASalazar, Guillermo, Canada

Cuadra, Waldo A., ChileDe Carvalho, Delfim, PortugalEvans, Michael J., South AfricaFrost, John E., USAHall, David J., IrelandHawley, Charles C., USAPerkin, Donald J., Australia

Canada Foundation

Collins, Michael, CanadaHutchinson, Richard W., Canada

Anglin, Lyn D., CanadaBurrows, David R., CanadaChamberlain, Claire M., CanadaFonseca, Anna L., CanadaFournier, Antoine, CanadaGalley, Alan G., CanadaHocking, Michael W. A., CanadaJefferson, Charles W., CanadaLeishman, Douglas A., CanadaMackean, Boyd E., CanadaMactavish, Allan D., CanadaPop, Nicolae, Canada $101.00Reeve, Edward J., CanadaSauve, Pierre, CanadaWalford, Phillip C., Canada

Beaulieu, Christian, CanadaBlann, David E., CanadaBrisbin, Daniel I., CanadaCarr, Patrick M., CanadaChanner, Dominic M. D., EcuadorCovello, Louis, CanadaDick, Lawrence A., CanadaFrench, Andrew G., CanadaGonzalez, Ralph A., USAGostevskikh, Alex V., CanadaGriffith, Twila D., CanadaHarper, Charles T., CanadaHoy, Trygve, CanadaJebrak, Michel, CanadaLake, John H., CanadaLambert, Andre C., MaliLeech, Geoffrey B., CanadaLesher, C. Michael, CanadaLydon, John W., CanadaMarsden, Henry W., CanadaMersereau, Terry G., CanadaMudry, M Phillip, CanadaNistratov, Alexander G., CanadaPrevec, Stephen A., South AfricaPrice, Barry J., CanadaRoberts, R. Gwilym, CanadaSebert, Christopher F. B., CanadaSuarez Llerena, Jaime C., PeruTexidor-Carlsson, Jose, CanadaTremblay, Robert J., CanadaWeick, R. James, CanadaWhiteford, Sean M., USA

VIE

WS


In recent issues of this Newsletter, a dis-cussion was initiated on why discover-ies, particularly of world-class deposits,have not kept pace, despite the recentupward spiral of money invested inexploration. I look at this situationfrom the position of having worked,both as an explorer and in academia,in many different business cultures andsystems, including the Soviet Union, andthen independent Russia, Kazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan, plus Mon -golia and China, as well as severalWestern countries (Canada, Australia,the EU, and Turkey). My experiencesuggests that the problems contributingto this situation are universal regardlessof the system.

Dan Wood mentioned in the January2010 SEG Newsletter (no. 80) that thereare two principal approaches to explorefor and delineate orebodies: a cautiousspacing between follow-up drill holesand the initial discovery hole vs. quick,bold assessment with widely spacedholes. Growing the assets slowly byclosely spaced drilling is particularlyencouraged by stock price-driven con-siderations and the need for additionalphases of fund-raising. As a result, themineral endowments in most Westerndeposits tend to grow with time. How -ever, major companies and some of the

well-funded intermediate and juniorcompanies (e.g., Ivanhoe at OyuTolgoi, Hunter Dickenson at Pebble,Imperial at Red Chris) drilled deepholes and stepped out boldly. Thisapproach helps to recognize the upsidepotential relatively quickly, althoughthe deposits must still be carefullydrilled out for proper delineation of theresources.

In the Former Soviet Union (FSU),the exploration approach was designedto cover and quickly assess vast territo-ries of the world’s largest country byzooming in from regional to local scales,with recognition of the largest possiblemineral potential of an occurrence,classified as P1 to P3 resources. “P”stands for prognosticated or potential,with P3 being the least certain; resourcein this case is not used in a Westernsense. Russia, for example, declaresitself as possessing the largest gold re -sources after South Africa, but most ofthis resource is in the “P” categories.Still, there are some notably well-explored but undeveloped resources likeSukhoi Log (Au), Natalka (Au), andUdokan (Cu-Ag).

Further testing of this potential wouldusually convert the initially large “P”resources into smaller-sized C2 and C1categories, roughly equivalent, respec-tively, to inferred and indicated re -sources in the West. These could thenbe converted to B (during preparationfor mining) and A (after reconciliationwith the actual recovered metal). As aresult, the endowment of deposits in theFSU had a noticeable tendency to shrinkwith time during conversion from “P”to “C.” However, this does not alwaysmean that the initial “P” estimate wasincorrect, although it is often very spec-ulative and overly optimistic.

Because of such an approach toexploration and resource delineation,there is a split in opinion whether theFSU is over- or underexplored. On onehand, the entire FSU territory (one-sixth

of the world’s landsurface) is mappedand sampled at ascale of at least1:200,000 (i.e., it iscovered by geologi-cal traverses or geo-chemical samples with 2-km spacing).This means that the FSU geologists,especially in Russia, just scratched thesurface and, therefore, the potential ofmost areas remains large.

My focus here starts with an analysisof some recent world-class discoveriesabout which I have first-hand knowl-edge, both in the FSU and the rest ofthe world, to set the scene for a com-parison and contrast of various sys-tems, followed by discussion of the dif-ferences and implications for the futureof the mineral resource industry.

BROWNFIELDS VS. GREENFIELDS

Brownfields ExplorationIn Russia, an old saying by explo-rationists is “Explore for ore near theore” (in Russian: ),and this seems to be internationallyuniversal. Indeed, the leap-frogging ofGoldcorp into the Top 10 gold produc-ers was possible after a 1998 brownfielddiscovery at deeper levels of their 60-year-old mine in Ontario, Canada. In2009, Gold Fields announced the recog-nition of 4 Moz gold potential at itsmature St Ives gold mining camp inWestern Australia. These two examplesare the result of better geological under-standing and slow endowment growthin mature mining camps through addi-tional detailed exploration.

In the FSU, recognition by PolyusGold during last five years of a huge(>60 Moz gold) resource at Natalka inMagadan took place at a mine thathad been in production since 1945. Thelarge, low-grade resource potential ofNatalka, in the P1+P2 categories, was

Views columns are the opinions of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SEG. SEG members areinvited to submit opinion pieces of 1000-2000 words on an issue facing economic geologists. Authors may wish to send a50-word synopsis for consideration ([email protected]; subject line, Views). Letters to the Editor on past Views columns, upto 300 words, are also welcome. VIEWS ARE NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE FOR THE PUBLIC TO READ, NOT JUST SEG MEMBERS, AS WE STRIVE FOR OUTREACH.

Alexander Yakubchuk is COO and Directorof Exploration for Orsu Metals Corporation,based in London. He has worked for GoldFields, BHP Minerals, Moscow State University,and the USSR Geological Survey, and has pro-vided consultation to many companies. Fieldassignments have taken him to the FSU andnumerous other countries worldwide. Alexanderwas one of the top three finalists of theGoldcorp Challenge in 2001 for best explo-ration proposal of the company’s Red Lakeproperty. He was involved in the re-discoveryof the >11 Moz Au equivalent Taldybulak Au-Cu-Mo porphyry deposit in Kyrgyzstan, plusother discoveries and resource calculations inRussia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and Australia.

V I E W S IExploration Approaches: Comparison of the Former Soviet Union with the Rest of the World

ALEXANDERYAKUBCHUK(SEG 1999 F)


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SAPRIL 2011 • No 85 S E G N E W S L E T T E R 13

known for many years; there were sev-eral failed attempts to convert anunderground mine of relatively narrowhigh-grade (~5.5 g/t Au) veins into abulk-minable operation in the 1980s and1990s. A new exploration effort to con-vert this potential into C1 and C2 cate-gories was fuelled by increasing goldprices, which justified exploration expen-diture and allowed economies of scale tobe potentially applied; this is now beinginvestigated with construction of thepilot plant. The Natalka example wasquickly followed with varying degreesof success by Russian junior companiesin adjacent Pavlik, Ridionovskoye, andother deposits of the Tenka mineral district in Kolyma. However, a similarapproach by Polyus Gold at theNezhdaninskoye gold deposit in Yakutiawas not as successful be cause of anoverestimate of geological similaritieswith Natalka. In essence, this brown-fields exploration activity in the RussianFar East is similar to what happenedduring the 1980s in Western Australia,when expansion of the Golden Mileand other Yilgarn projects was realized.

Greenfields ExplorationThe discovery of the >6 Moz Kupolgold-silver epithermal deposit inChukotka, Russia, would have beenunlikely if the country was overex-plored. What were the critical factors atKupol? Chukotka is remote, mappedmostly at 1:200,000 scale; the epi-thermal veins at Kupol have a north-south strike, occurring close to thenorth-south boundary of the mapsheets. For these reasons, as empha-sized by the late Dr. Sergey Strujkov,the area of outcropping veins was sim-ply not visited, falling between the 2-km-spaced, north-south–oriented tra-verse lines of the mapping survey.However, samples with anomalous goldwere found in the 1980s at smallprospects nearby and plotted on themaps; field checks of these occurrencesby the local Russian exploration com-pany in 1996 (in spite of the mapboundaries) led to discovery of a 3-km-long vein with initially modestresource. The full potential of thedeposit was then recognized by BemaGold during a few years of aggressivedrilling. Bema Gold was subsequentlypurchased by Kinross, which is buildingon this success by acquiring underper-forming assets nearby, such as therecently announced Dvoinoe acquisi-tion, located ~80 km north from Kupol.

Kupol-like experiences drive explo-rationists into immature terranes toconduct greenfield exploration. Therisks are definitely higher, but therewards can be significant, sufficient toovercome the costs related to a com-mon lack of infrastructure. One of thebest recent examples is the Oyu TolgoiCu-Au porphyry in Mongolia, an areawhere the FSU approach was previouslyapplied as well. In the 1990s, the futureOyu Tolgoi property was acquired byMagma Copper, and Garamjav, aMongolian geologist hired by the com-pany, recommended returning to aturquoise hill (Oyu Tolgoi, in Mongolian)that he had observed during Sovietexploration, which was indicated as amolybdenum occurrence in the govern-ment database. The deposit was subse-quently first drilled by BHP in 1998after they acquired Magma Copper.The BHP exploration philosophy was toidentify a large, open-pitable depositwith 1×1 km Andean-style footprintwithin 2 to 3 years from first recogni-tion, employing widely spaced drillingin the first instance, an approach simi-lar to that of the FSU. However, in con-trast to the Soviet-style exploration,which would focus on the same promis-ing prospect for up to 10 years, BHPmanagement advice was to not fall inlove with a project, and if necessary,walk away to hunt for another one.BHP drilled relatively shallow holes inthe hunt for an open-pit porphyry tar-get with secondary enrichment, andidentified a medium-size (~400 Mt),mostly hypogene potential resource;however, the 1998 economic crisis forcedit to reconsider its exploration strategy.As a result, the license was optioned toIvanhoe Mines, who then identified agiant resource via closely spaced drillingof deeper and vertically elongated tar-gets, with the larger deposits being essen-tially blind. It is now more than 10 yearssince the discovery of Oyu Tolgoi, butonly in late 2009 was an agreementreached with the Mongolian governmentfor development. Thus, timing-wise, theresult is not so different from the prac-tice used in the FSU. Persistence is there-fore essential regardless of the politico-economical system! A similar persistentapproach also led to the discovery of thegiant Pebble East porphyry in Alaska.

Only a few examples of recentworld-class discoveries have been men-tioned here. With the exception ofKupol, they have been discovered undercover, typically using indirect evidence.As there is some degree of database

available for almost all areas, manycompanies now employ a probabilisticapproach. The outcomes of these studiesdrive explorationists to work in under-explored regions, which tend to includepolitically and culturally less familiarand less stable countries in Africa, Asia,and the FSU, most closed to interna-tional exploration before the 1990s.

POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, ANDHISTORICAL CONSIDERATIONSWe currently live in a time of globaleconomic uncertainty. The earlier crisisaffected everyone everywhere to a vary-ing degree, but countries responded dif-ferently. Crisis is also a time of opportu-nity and we have witnessed economicrepartitioning of the world, with theChinese government and public com-panies being more aggressive in thelast couple of years.

The international activity of Chinesecompanies is largely inversely propor-tional to the economic situation outsideChina, owing to it possessing the world’slargest hard currency reserves. This hasled to a major expansion of Chineseinvestment worldwide during the eco-nomic upheaval. In countries such asCanada and Australia, this has takenthe form of huge investments in majormining companies, sometimes blockedby protective governments. In SouthAmerica and Africa, Chinese compa-nies have made major acquisitions ofmining and development projects.

In Russia, the government remainsprotective, using legislative means toprevent foreign entrance into its naturalresources sector, although recently somepotential liberalization was announced.Because major Russian companies pre-fer not to enter into greenfields projectsdomestically due to their high risk, onlythree large discoveries have beenannounced in Russia since the breakupof the FSU in 1991: Kupol epithermalAu in Chukotka, Blagodat noye oro-genic Au in Krasnoyarsk, andBystrinskoye Cu-Au skarn in Chita.

After accumulating a large amountof cash before the current crisis, Russiancompanies also started internationalexpansion, but they are more comfort-able expanding into FSU countries toacquire past Soviet treasures, as theyfeel it is easier and faster to buy ratherthan to spend years conducting green-fields exploration.

The lack of atten-tion to greenfields to page 14 . . .

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exploration from modern Russian companies has an historical basis.Geological education was usually broadto allow for coverage of large territories,but the practical experience of individ-ual geologists was rather narrow, andthey were never asked to think in eco-nomic terms. As a result, the explo-ration divisions of most modern majorRussian companies are run by non-geologists with an education in eco-nomics or finances; thus, there is awide gap in expectations and under-standing between management andgeologists. Consequently, greenfieldsrisk is not now undertaken by Russianmanagement; rather, the Russian gov-ernment funds early stage projects(with a $200M budget in 2009), essen-tially taking the same risk that juniorcompanies do in the West. On a muchsmaller scale, some other FSU govern-ments are doing similar things.

The Metals Economic Group (MEG),which surveyed the budgets of 1,846companies worldwide, reported that theFSU region accounted for seven percentof the global $7.32 billion explorationbudget in 2009. According to MEG, fivepercent (or $366M) of this expenditurewas spent in Russia alone, sharing fifthplace with Mexico and Chile, afterCanada (16%), Australia (13%), Peru(7%), and the United States (6%). Inreality, exploration expenditure inRussia is much higher if greenfieldsexpenditure by the government isadded in. The Russian Ministry ofNatural Resources has just released areport stating that foreign and domesticcompanies invested about $600M inexploration work in 2009, indicatingthat the total exploration expenditurewas around $800M, much higher thanthe MEG estimate.

DIFFERENCES IN EXPLORATIONAPPROACHES BETWEEN THEFSU, CHINA, AND THE WESTIn summary, the main difference inexploration approaches between the FSU,China, and the West is how early-stageprojects are funded. In the West, govern-ments are unwilling to fund risky green-fields projects. This role is undertaken bythe stock exchange or private money.The risk is high, but the reward can behigh as well. As a result, it is not uncom-mon for several exploration companies

(as many as 7 or 8) to have worked onthe same ground, re sulting in a longlead time to discovery of an economicdeposit. Even in terms of producingmines, Western governments generallyprefer to simply collect taxes, a funda-mental historical difference between thediversified Western economies to theemerging markets of the FSU and China.

In FSU countries, economies arebased on mineral resources. Conse -quently, some governments (e.g.,Uzbekistan and Tadjikistan) directlycontrol the mineral resource extractionand access to exploration, whereas oth-ers (e.g., Russia and Kazakhstan) areless restrictive. But in general, with fewexceptions, FSU governments allow lim-ited access to their potential wealth,thus preventing or delaying the discov-eries of new deposits, possibly becausethey do not want to deal with the orga-nized chaos of Western-style exploration.

China, with its cheap labor, becamea global factory for the world; however,from my point of view, the country isrelatively deficient in base metals, bothgeologically and relative to its hugepopulation. Consequently, there is alsono easy access to its ground for interna-tional exploration. The country alsohas a cultural and historical traditionof not allowing direct access by foreign-ers. This restriction is aided by a lan-guage barrier and different economictraditions. Also, many deposits areworked at grades below internationalstandards, which is possible to achievethrough a combination of cheap laborand Chinese efficiency.

SPECULATION ON FUTURE TRENDSWhat might future exploration trendsand economic plus corporate tendenciesbe over the next 10 to 20 years? Thestructure of country economies isunlikely to change within such a shortperiod of time. In addition, the currentdecline in discoveries in the Westernworld suggests that mining companieswill have to “sweat” their existingmines while becoming more sophisti-cated in the exploration for and discov-ery of blind deposits in more matureterranes, or they will need to enter theriskier markets, which in the case of theFSU means forming 50/50 JVs to mini-mize the risks.

The FSU territory is underexplored.The lack of discoveries during recentyears largely reflects small and ineffi-cient investment. Being largely drivenby the resource-oriented structure oftheir economies, FSU governments arelikely to remain restrictive in allowingaccess to their ground. For example,after expansion of the gold resource atKupol, Russia introduced a law onstrategic deposits that limited accessforeign companies can have to mineralassets above a certain size. For instance,the threshold for gold deposits was setat 1.6 Moz, obviously to prevent poten-tial world-class deposits from ending upin the hands of foreigners, whetherfrom the West or China.

One possible scenario could be thatRussia and other FSU countries will tryto establish a role as mineral resourcesuppliers to China. FSU companies maybecome more active in their own well-endowed regions (and adjacent jurisdic-tions), perhaps with some increasedpenetration into Africa.

Chinese companies will have to lookfor opportunities in other areas of theworld. However, it is unlikely that theworld will be dominated by Chineseresource companies in 10 to 20 years,as these companies generally feeluncomfortable outside their nativedomain. Rather, Chinese companiesprefer to acquire substantial stakes inWestern resource companies, a movethat may be supported or restricteddepending on different Western govern-ments. Perhaps China is more likely toprovide finance for new developmentsagainst off-take and equipment forinternational projects, just as Japan didfor many years; by contrast, China islikely to continue exploitation of itslow-grade domestic resources.

What will be the response fromWestern companies? Who will developthe most effective approach to explo-ration? I hope to receive answers tothese questions in ongoing discussionin future Newsletter columns. 1

VIEWS I (Continued). . . from 13

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INTRODUCTIONI’ve been in the exploration and min-ing business for 32 years, during whichtime my professional career has evolvedfrom mapping and sampling rocks into“turning rocks into money.” During thistime I’ve evaluated and valued every-thing from grassroots properties to fea-sibility stage projects in over 60 coun-tries as a consultant to junior or majormining companies and, more recently,as an advisor to funds and retailinvestors. This history forms the basis ofthe perspective presented here, thatthere is a disconnect between the geolo-gists and financiers. This disconnectbetween rocks and money is due to alack of understanding between the twoand results in inefficiencies and poorcapital allocation within the explo-ration business.

Exploration Geology—A Lifestyle ChoiceExploration geology is not a job; it’s away of life with fortunes tied to thecyclical nature of the global economyand metal prices. The people who arebest at it, the ones who are ultimatelysuccessful, stay with it through goodand bad times. I realize that there arethose amongst our SEG membershipwho would have it otherwise, who wouldlike to make the profession more secure

for those young, energized learners justjoining our ranks. Thompson and Kirwin(SEG Newsletter, April 2010) recommendthe perfectly logical (and true) approach,that mining companies should mentorand employ explorationists during thebust times because every bust is fol-lowed by a boom—a boom in whichthe mining companies desperately needthe people they just laid off. I whole-heartedly agree, but it ain’t gonna hap-pen. The company’s cash position andbalance sheet trumps all else.

When metal prices are low and amine isn’t making money, it will alwaysbe the guy or gal who is spendingmoney looking for yet another depositwho will be let go. Therefore, my sin-cere advice to all of you is that duringboom times (NOW—when your intellec-tual capital is most needed) you shoulddouble your rates if you are independentand demand stock options if you areworking for a company. If neither ofthese is feasible, go where they are.There is no reason why the promotersand brokers should make big money offthe explorationists’ ideas without com-pensating them in full. The explorationgeologist is the invaluable linchpin forthe whole junior stock machine.

It’s All About Money and OddsIn the end, true exploration is aboutcreating value through discovery: therecognition and delineation of a poten-tially economic mineral deposit—onethat actually makes money for the people putting up the high-risk dollarsneeded to explore. The money angle isa very important point that is all toooften overlooked by geologists and theSociety of Economic Geologists. MoreSEG papers should address the basiceconomics of mining and the cost ofexploration as it pertains to the sciencebehind mineral deposits. The time andcost to delineate the tonnes and gradeof a deposit are critical aspects of eco-nomic geology.

That cost for a junior explorationcompany is borne by speculators whoare taking a long-odds gamble that theteam can find something of potentialinterest before the money runs out. Each

dollar spent by ajunior explorer hasto be replaced,which meansshareholder dilu-tion at the com-pany level throughthe issuance of more shares. For a spec-ulator in the junior exploration sector,i.e., the person putting up the high-riskdollars to drill, that cost and dilution iscrucial. Of what value is a discovery tothe shareholders if the share price goesnowhere because a ten-fold increase inthe market capitalization is accompa-nied by a ten-fold increase in sharesissued? It’s all about the share price!Ditto your stock options.

We, as a profession, are wasting sub-stantial sums of money on bureaucraticactivities (Sillitoe, SEG Newsletter, October2010) that have little if anything to dowith discovery, and drilling propertiesthat don’t warrant drilling. Think aboutit; how many dog properties have youwalked over that someone is promoting—trying to raise money to drill test—and the money actually comes through?That’s another way of saying money istoo easy to come by ($5.2 billion wasraised on the Toronto Venture exchangefor mining equities last year alone), asopposed to the more commonly pitched“not enough is being spent on explo-ration.” The reality is that the availablemoney is not being spent efficiently onwork that leads to a discovery: fieldwork and intelligent drilling.

All too often, an exploration geolo-gist seems to see his or her job as one offinding a drill target. It isn’t. The job is,or at least should be, delineating a drilltarget that honestly offers a viable shotat a game-changing discovery—a findthat takes a junior stock from $0.25 to$2.50 or $25, or truly adds to the bot-tom line of a mining company. Thecommon shortsighted junior explorer’sbusiness plan of raising money anddrilling every anomaly commonlyignores the characteristics and probableeconomics of the mineral system beingtested. It means a lot of money getswasted, and ultimatelythe company share to page 16 . . .

Brent Cook is a geologist (BSc Geology, UtahState University 1978) who has been involvedin the minerals exploration and mining busi-ness for 32 years. During this time he hasevaluated and valued grassroots through fea-sibility stage projects on nearly all deposittypes in over 60 countries. In 1997 he gottired of promoters making all the money onquestionable properties while he was leftstanding soaking wet in the jungle and joinedGlobal Resource Investments. He was principalmining analyst at Global until going indepen-dent again in 2002. Since 2002 he has beenan outside analyst and advisor to severalinvestment funds and high net worth individu-als. He is author of the investment letterExploration Insights, which covers selectinvestment opportunities in the junior explo-ration and mining sector.

V I E W S I IExploration—It’s All About Turning Rocks into Money

BRENT COOK(SEG 1997)

Views columns are the opinions of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SEG.


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structure gets blown out to a levelwhere a discovery is almost meaning-less to the share price.

Mother Nature and High FinanceA big part of the predicament is thatMother Nature has been very generousto exploration geologists and financiersby scattering geochemical and geo-physical anomalies all over the world.She has not, however, been as generousin providing us with economic mineraldeposits, or even anomalies that war-rant serious work. Hence, we have toomany geologists and financiers chasingtoo few truly prospective anomalies.

Therein lies the rub. Finance is avery profitable business that derives a 5to 8 percent commission from themoney raised, plus about 5 percent inbroker warrants (B warrants) before adeposit is delineated, and often before adrill hole is even put into the ground.On a $10M financing deal that’s up to$800,000 in commissions. The B war-rants represent additional leverage on anearly free ride if the company getslucky. That’s a strong monetary incen-tive, especially if you have a condo inCabo, two kids in private school, andyour eye on a Bentley.

Because minerals exploration is suchan inexact science—described by aunique and obscure jargon referencinggrams per tonne—that is devoid of anyeconomic basis, selling an explorationplay to someone with a limited under-standing of mining and geology isn’tthat hard. That pitch is made all theeasier because it is generally acceptedthat most exploration ventures are des-tined to fail, anyway; therefore, “Who’sreally to blame?” However, because theprofit potential from that 1 in 1,000discovery is unparalleled, I find thatmost people are willing to take thegamble based on very little hard dataor research. The net result is that thesimplest story to sell to most of the peo-ple with money ends up being the pro-motion of historically good drill holesor ounces or pounds in the ground—basically, recycled projects.

Flashy drill holes and resources aresomething nearly everyone can readilycomprehend without having to concernthemselves with the scientific or eco-nomic details. Promoters know this,and it seems to me that more money israised on old drill holes and worthlessresources than is actually raised for

legitimate exploration plays. It’s beyondme why time after time investors fundthe twinning of a good drill hole, whenin fact the original problem with theproperty wasn’t the good hole but allthe other miserable ones. Wouldn’t itmake more sense to test those lesserholes in the hopes that there was a mis-take in the previous assays as opposedto confirming the previous good assays?Likewise, valuing a property based onounces or pounds in the ground with-out some sort of economic reality is asham. But these are the stories that toooften seem to bring in the money.

The mining community’s tacit sup-port of this financing model is borne outby commonly repeated maxims that sug-gest that the more companies that drilla property the better the odds, and theonly way to discover a deposit is to drill,drill, drill. This only works if you havethe money to do so and recognize whenyou are in the right place. Al though itis true that discoveries are commonlymade on properties that have under-gone many previous rounds of explo-ration, and that it can take dozens oreven hundreds of holes to find a deposit,the reverse logic that every propertyneeds to be tested and drilled ad nau-seam is untrue. Add money and stir isnot the answer. Intelligent drilling is.

What’s the answer?We are finding fewer and fewer depositsdespite spending more on exploration.The exploration community has coveredEarth fairly comprehensively; at thispoint most big discoveries will requireeven more money and commonly high-tech methods of exploration. That meansmore cost and a lower success rate. Wealso face increasing issues of metal pro-duction due to rising demand for themetals (reserves are being depletedfaster than ever), higher capital cost,longer lead times to build a mine, andmore social realities to work through.To me, this all points to long-termhigher metal prices and premiums forsignificant discoveries, and if you aresavvy, higher pay. Exploration will con-tinue to be a great profession for thosewilling and able to handle a bit ofuncertainty during the inevitable lowerpart of the cycle.

I concur with all the previous contrib-utors to this op-ed series who say thatwe need mentors to pass on their knowl-edge and wisdom. Geology and explo-

ration require observational skills,abstract thinking, and the ability to seewhat others may have missed. Theseskills take time to develop. Boots-on-the-ground field experience is priceless, andcreating hand-drawn maps and sectionsshould be a requirement—the thoughtthat goes into actually drawing that con-tact cannot be replicated by a computer.

These skills need to be backed by anunderstanding of what succeeds in mak-ing an economic deposit and what fails.It is important to know what it is you areactually looking for, what it looks like,and what it doesn’t. Next, what are thecosts to get to a go, no-go decision, andhow (and at what price) do you raise themoney to get there? Exploration fund-ing is success-based, so what constitutessuccess (and failure) at the explorationlevel needs to be flexible but based onsomeone’s economic assumptions andunderstood by the investors. These top-ics, plus exploration case histories,more deposit descriptions, and maybe abit more empiricism in SEG paperswould be helpful in reaching this goal.

On the finance side, I would like tothink that the people approving thebudget or putting up the money under-stand the business and the science. Ex -ploration is the research and develop-ment arm of mining. However, mostaccountants, lawyers, and engineers arenot equipped with the experience to dif-ferentiate the relative potential of anumber of exploration proposals pre-sented by the research department.Most brokers and retail investors facesimilar hurdles; exploration is generallynot their field of expertise.

Finally, it’s worth remembering thatthe people who put up the money forexploration are doing so for a profit,hoping to do so via a discovery. Whenthe business relationship betweenfinancier and geologist is structured suchthat their financial interests are closelyaligned, the odds of success improveand capital can be more efficientlyemployed. A discovery relies on explor-ers successfully executing the job ofexploration with the money available.It also relies on the financiers under-standing an outline of the sciencebehind exploration, and recognizingthat discovery is a process that takestalented explorers and time. How tobest execute this relationship should bethe topic of a whole new dialogue.

That’s the way I see it. 1

Views II (Continued). . . from 15

REGIONAL SETTING OF THECERRO NEGRO DISTRICT The Cerro Negro gold-silver veins aresituated near the western margin of theDeseado Massif, a 60,000 km2 crustalblock in southern Argentina boundedto the north by the Río Deseado, to thesouth by the Río Chico, to the east bythe Atlantic coast and to the west bythe Andean Cordillera (Fig. 1). TheMassif is in a back-arc position relativeto the Andean subduction system, andis flanked by the Golfo de San Jorgeand Austral sedimentary basins to thenorth and south, respectively.

All known deposits are hosted byJurassic volcanic sequences which formpart of the Late Triassic to Cretaceousextension linked to the opening of theSouth Atlantic Ocean. Pankhurst el al(1999) concluded from U-Pb zircon agesthat Jurassic volcanism occurred over>30 m.y., with periods of peak activityat 188–178, 172–162 and 157–153 Ma.Mineralization at Cerro Negro and else-where in the Deseado Massif (Fernándezet al., 2008) is hosted and, in places,overlain by rocks deposited in the thirdphase. Basaltic volcanism commencedin the Cretaceous and continuedthroughout the Cenozoic, accompaniedby more sporadic episodes of felsic vol-canism. The youngest units are Pleis -tocene gravel terraces and Holocenecolluvial and alluvial deposits.

Prior to the 1990s, there was no his-tory of hard-rock precious metal min-ing within the Massif in Santa Cruzprovince. Then, starting in the 1990s, anumber of major and junior companiesbecame active in exploration. Theseprograms identified commercial goldand/or silver resources at Cerro Van -guardia (AngloGold/Fomicruz), SanJosé (Hochschild/Minera Andes),Manantial Espejo (Pan-American Silver)and Mina Martha (Coeur d’Alene). Allof these mines were in production dur-ing 2010.

PROSPECT GEOLOGYAll known mineralization at CerroNegro consists of low-sulfidation epi-thermal quartz veins hosted by UpperJurassic andesitic to rhyodacitic vol-canic and/or intrusive rocks.

Cobos and Panza (2003) describe thegeneral geology of the region in termsof the traditional Deseado stratigraphic

nomenclature. However, the mappingby Andean geologists identified someshortcomings with the traditional vol-canostratigraphic nomenclature, espe-cially when attempts were made toplace units with local distribution in aregional stratigraphic framework.Instead, work by Andean emphasizedthe sequence and environment of depo-sition of the volcanic rocks, which sug-gests that the six known deposits aredistributed within and east of a vol-canic-subvolcanic complex that is sur-rounded and overlain by a series ofrhyolite domes (Fig. 2). The complex isflanked to the east by lake sedimentsand to the north and south by exten-sive ignimbrites. These ignimbrites post-date the mineralization and have pre-served both the epithermal systems andtheir paleosurface manifestations,which include travertine, fluid vents,and probable sinter. Post-Jurassic coverincludes localized Tertiary ash, exten-sive Tertiary basalt, remnants of previ-ously extensive fluvial gravels, andunconsolidated Holocene deposits.

The area shows a pattern of north-west and local east-west faults that arethought to form the margins of a seriesof grabens. Gold-silver veins are located

in both the east-west and northwestfaults, or in splays off them.

PROPERTY ACQUISITIONThe Cerro Negro district is within a26,487-hectare group of claims andapplications held 100 percent by Gold -corp (Fig. 2). Before December 1997, theCerro Negro tenements comprised twoblocks: a western group covering theEureka-Mariana area, held by MineraNewcrest SA, and an eastern group,covering the Vein Zone prospect, heldby MIM Argentina Exploraciones. Thesetwo companies amalgamated theirrespective areas in December 1997, andexplored them under a joint ventureagreement in which MIM was the oper-ator, with 70 percent interest. Newcrestwithdrew in 1999, leaving MIM as thesole tenement holder.

In May 2001, an unlisted Brisbane-based company, Oroplata Ltd., signed ajoint venture agreement with MIM thatgave Oroplata the right to earn a 49percent interest in the property subjectto expenditure commitments, or to buythe property outright for $4.1 M. OnDecember 10, 2003,Andean Resources Ltd.


Discoveries of Low-Sulfidation Epithermal Au-Ag Veins at Cerro Negro, Deseado Massif, Argentina (Continued). . . from 1

FIGURE 2. Simplified geology and deposit locations, Cerro Negro property.

to page 18 . . .


signed an agreement with MIM toacquire the remaining 51 percent of theCerro Negro tenements for $US1.5 Mpayable over the next 15 months. Thefollowing April, Andean shareholdersapproved an off-market takeover of Oro -plata, thereby consolidating Andean’sequity to 100 percent of the project.Goldcorp’s acquisition of the projectthrough a merger with Andean Resourceswas finalized on December 31, 2010.

EARLY EXPLORATION1992–2004When Andean acquired the Cerro Negrotenements in 2004, 112 (mostly RC)drill holes totaling 14,446 m, as well asgeological, geophysical, and geochemi-cal programs had been completed byprevious explorers. Most of this explo-ration was concentrated at the VeinZone prospect, in the eastern part ofthe property, but the Eureka and SanMarcos areas in the western half hadalso received some attention. Table 1summarizes exploration between 1992and 2004 by Andean’s predecessors.

ANDEAN EXPLORATION2005–2010: VEIN ZONE,EUREKA, AND BAJO NEGRO

Vein ZoneAndean’s exploration of the CerroNegro property commenced at Vein Zone

because it appeared to offer the bestshort-term opportunity to define a goldresource which might be fast-tracked intoproduction. To that end, a program wasinitiated that involved detailed remap-ping of surface exposures, relogging ofdrill core, compilation and validation ofall data, and replotting of cross sections.Based on these data, the first hole wascollared by Andean on March 10, 2005.

Vein Zone continued to be the focusof Andean’s exploration for the nexttwo years and sporadically thereafteruntil January 2010. By then, 19,744 mhad been drilled in 113 exploration,geotechnical, and metallurgical holes.

East-west–striking structures wererecognized early in the northwesternpart of the Vein Zone deposit, changingto a northwest-southeast strike in thecentral and southeastern parts. Acquisi -tion of further data and, in particular,detailed mapping by consultant geolo-gist Jeff Edwards, identified a steeplynorth dipping east-west structuraldomain, and steep to shallow north-east-dipping, northwest-striking struc-tural domains as the main controls toVein Zone mineralization.

This most recent interpretation of thegeology underpins the followingresources at a cutoff grade of 0.5 g/t Auequivalent (Ausenco, 2010):

• Indicated: 8.36 Mt at 2.21 g/t Au, 5 g/t Ag;

• Inferred: 3.12 Mt at 1.05 g/t Au, 2 g/t Ag.

EurekaAs drilling advanced, Andean becameaware that the Vein Zone would neverbe a “company maker,” prompting amove away from the Vein Zone areaand new geological mapping aroundthe previously known Eureka vein.

Prospecting soon located a narrowbut prominent quartz vein 500 m westof the impressive Eureka Main Veinoutcrops (Figs. 3, 4). The vein was ini-tially interpreted to be in fault contactto the west with younger volcaniclasticrocks that are overlain by Pleistocenegravels. The outcrop coincided with agradient array resistivity anomaly thatwas at least as strong as anomaliesover the Eureka Main Vein. Unknownto Andean at the time, UniversidadNacional de La Plata student RamiroLópez had also mapped the vein out-crop, which appears in the geologicmap accompanying his 2006 doctoralthesis.

The new site was named the EurekaWest Vein. It was first sampled byAndean geologists in May 2006. Chipsamples returned assays of up to 7.7 g/tAu, and subsequent channel samplesassayed up to 14 g/t Au.

Based on these results, a 16-hole,4,000-m drill program was proposed totest the West Vein and the more prospec-tive parts of the Main Vein. Drillingcommenced in January 2007. The first


TABLE 1. Summary of Pre-Andean Resources Exploration at Cerro Negro

Period Activity

1992 “Silica Cap” south of Vein Zone discovered on Cerro Negro summit byArgentine prospector Roberto Schupback

1993–1995 Newcrest regional reconnaissance of Deseado Massif discovers EurekaMain Vein outcrops, and acquires Eureka-Mariana tenements; Newcrestholds option over Silica Cap, 1993–1994

1995 MIM obtains tenements covering Vein Zone and adjacent areas1996–1997 Newcrest signs JV agreement with Pegasus Gold International; the latter

drills 11 holes at Eureka, San Marcos (then called Mariana Norte) andMariana Sur; MIM drills first 17 RC holes at Vein Zone

1998–1999 MIM (70%) and Newcrest (30%) form JV and amalgamate tenements;exploration at Vein Zone provides the basis for an internal resource of 3.6Mt grading 2.6 g/t Au; at Eureka Main Vein, 5 more holes drilled with a bestresult of 62 m at 1.2 g/t Au, 15 g/t Ag from 58 m in CNRC-50; Newcrestwithdraws from JV, and MIM acquires 100% of project, September 1999

2000 MIM submits final report on Cerro Negro, February 20002001–2003 MIM options 49% property to Australian company Oroplata Ltd May 2001;

Oroplata drills 11 holes at Eureka; Andean buys remaining 51% of propertyfrom MIM, December 2003

2004 Oroplata drills 11 more RC holes at Vein Zone; Andean takes over Oroplata(April 2004) and thereby acquires 100% of property

FIGURE 3. Eureka West Vein discovery out-crop, looking NW toward a hill of youngervolcanic rocks and gravels which concealmost of the vein.

two holes, EDD-701 and EDD-702, weredrilled into the known Eureka MainVein below previous shallow drilling,including hole CNRC-50, drilled byMIM. These two holes gave moderatelyencouraging results, with a best inter-cept of 2 m at 25.5 g/t Auand 129 g/t Ag in EDD-702 at 222 m.

The next four holeswere drilled on four sec-tions 50 m apart below theWest Vein outcrops andthe corresponding resistiv-ity anomaly. These holesindicated a significant

increase in grade with depth below theoutcrops, and suggested that the WestVein had the potential to host aresource (Table 2).

Although exploration of the Eurekasystem has included many holes drilled

into the Main Vein and an adjacentarea of complex east-west–trendingveins between the Main and Westveins, the focus of exploration and thebulk of the resources are concentratedin the West Vein (Figure 4). One of themost important holes in the explo-ration of the West Vein was EDD-723,drilled in April to May 2007, followinga suggestion by consultant RichardSillitoe to explore for a possible exten-sion of the vein into the covered areanorthwest of both its outcrop and thecorresponding geophysical anomaly.The hole intersected 51.8 m of 25.3 g/tAu and 379 g/t Ag from 227 m. It con-firmed that the vein was not faulted, aspreviously thought, and high-grademineralization extended westwardbelow the postmineral unconformityoverlain by younger volcanic rocks.Subsequent drill holes traced thesehigh-grade values to the west and atdepth, thus delineating most of theresource, and confirmed the unconfor-mity by detecting abundant quartz veinclasts at the base of the cover sequence.Drilling also determined that the WestVein is wide, locally, averaging 9 m.

By July 2009, 248 diamond and RCholes (67,946 m) had been completedto delineate a resource, using a 3 g/t Auequiv cutoff, estimated (Ausenco, 2010)as follows:



Bajo NegroAs part of the initial programs at VeinZone, a concerted effort was made in2005 to compile and interpret a com-prehensive database of surface soil androck chip geochemistry acquired byMIM and others during their explo-ration. By filtering out areas of knownmineralization (essentially the VeinZone, Eureka, and Mariana-SanMarcos areas), Andean geologists iso-lated anomalous rock chip samplesthat had not been systematically inves-tigated. These included a 1.4-g/t Auassay near barren silicified outcropsthat MIM had called the Bajo Negroprospect (Fig. 2).

In May 2005, Andean found a smallquartz vein outcrop near the reportedlocation of the anomalous MIM sam-ple. A rock chip across the veinreturned 3.32 g/t Au over 1 m width.Other small outcropsand a trench exposure


FIGURE 4. Plan and sections of the Eureka area. Footprint of the Eureka resource shown inred on the plan; vein outcrops omitted from the plan for clarity. See text for discussion ofvein-fault relationships.

TABLE 2. Initial intersections, Eureka West Vein

Hole From (m) Width (m) Au (g/t) Ag (g/t)

EDD-703 158 6 14.5 79182 4 35.9 115

EDD-704 137 10 28.7 356EDD-705 119 19 8.6 26EDD-706 141 17 7.8 165 to page 20 . . .


also gave encouraging results. A drillingprogram was recommended but waspostponed due to ongoing drilling atVein Zone and the subsequent discov-ery of the Eureka West Vein.

Toward the end of 2008, explorationat Eureka was at an advanced stageand attention turned once again to theBajo Negro prospect. Andean excavatedfive trenches to explore the strike extentof the vein. These defined a structure atleast 300 m long, consisting of one ortwo splits, 1 to 2 m wide, grading up to2.8 g/t Au with anomalous Ag, Pb, Mn,Sb, Ba, and Hg.

An initial program of 12 RC holes(2,356 m) was completed in February2009. All of the holes intersected signifi-cant gold grades, including 7 m of 60.7g/t Au and 90 g/t Ag from 160 m depthin BRC-911. By 30 June 2010, 137 holes(34,719 m) had been drilled into theBajo Negro Vein, all of them coredexcept the first 12. These demonstratedthe continuity of mineralization abovea 2.5 g/t gold cutoff grade over a strikelength of 1.1 km, to a maximum depthof 350 m. As with the Eureka WestVein, the northwest part of the BajoNegro Vein was found to be concealedby what David Coller (pers. commun.,October 2009) regards as a slide blockof hydrothermally brecciated ignimbritecontaining vein quartz clasts at its baseand remnants of a barren silica cap atthe level of the present ground surface.

At a 3 g/t Au equivalent cutoff,resources at Bajo Negro are estimated(Ausenco, 2010) as follows:



FURTHER DISCOVERIES,2009–2010: SAN MARCOSAND THE MARIANAS

San MarcosIn 1996, Pegasus Gold had identified anorthwest-trending fault breccia withan east-west quartz vein splaying off itat San Marcos, which was then calledMariana Norte (not to be confused withthe current Mariana Norte Vein).Pegasus had trenched across these twostructures and reported that trenchsamples averaged 18.5 g/t Au over 12m in the east-striking vein. One of five

RC holes drilled by Pegasus in the areaintersected this structure at shallowdepth, with a best assay of 3 m of 3.7g/t Au. Discouraged by this result,Pegasus terminated exploration.

Andean did not consider that theprospect had been adequately tested bythe single Pegasus hole that intersectedthe vein, which in fact had passed overthe top of a major ore shoot. Andeanchip-sampled outcrops of both the east-west vein and the northwest-trendingbreccia in September 2009. Sixteensamples from the former averaged 12.2g/t Au and 55 g/t Ag, and six samplesfrom the latter averaged 1.1 g/t Au and2 g/t Ag, excluding a seventh sample,which assayed 121.6 g/t Au and 51 g/tAg. In October 2009, Andean drilledfive RC holes to test the east-west veinon north-south sections 100 m apart.Three adjacent holes intersected poten-tially economic grades (Table 3).

By June 30, 2010, 53 core and RCholes had been drilled into the east-west vein for a total of 11,171 m. On -going exploration is defining a shallow,easterly plunging shoot which remainsopen down-plunge.

The MarianasAndean geologists had been aware

since 2005 of reports by Pegasus Gold,Newcrest, and MIM of highly anoma-lous vein quartz float to the east ofEureka. In particular, thesecompanies had reportedanomalous vein quartzfloat in the Mariana Surarea in the 1990s. Inde -pendently, during regionalmapping in 2007, Andeanhad found small vein out-crops with bonanza silvergrades in the Mariana Surarea. Follow-up drilling hadintersected narrow quartzvein structures with similarand higher grades belowthese outcrops. Clearly, thearea had become the nextpriority exploration target.

In the second half of2009, the area wherePegasus and others hadfound mineralized quartzfloat was mapped andprospected in detail.Colloform-banded quartzfloat was traced well to thenorth of the area where it

was first reported, and found to be con-centrated on the flanks of a low ridgestudded with silicified and hematite-cemented breccia outcrops. Fifty floatsamples of quartz, many of whichshowed colloform banding, averaged 7g/t Au and 41 g/t Ag. Three trencheswere excavated in an area where floatseemed to be concentrated at the baseof the ridge. They exposed strongly brec-ciated andesitic rock, now considered tobe a rubble breccia (see below), with afew quartz clasts but no veins.

Initial drilling of the prospect com-menced in November 2009, and con-sisted of a northeast-southwest–orientedfence of six RC holes across the lowridge regarded as a likely source of thefloat. These holes obtained the intersec-tions noted in Table 4.

The structure intersected by MRC-905and MRC-906 was subsequently namedthe Mariana Central Vein; the oneintersected by MRC-909 and MRC-911was called the Mariana Norte Vein.Drilling continued to intersect stronggrades over significant widths in bothstructures throughout 2010, with 43holes (9,082 m) completed at MarianaNorte and 47 holes (10,719 m) atMariana Central by June 30, 2010.

Neither of the Mariana veins reachesthe surface, and both are concealedbelow a blanket of rubble breccia withclasts that include vein quartz, similar

TABLE 3. Initial Drill Intersections, San Marcos


SRC-901 177 26 7.5 51SRC-902 195 16 10.3 86

218 2 6.0 27223 3 7.0 37

SRC-903 189 7 8.1 77SRC-904 No significant intersectionSRC-905 No significant intersection

TABLE 4. Initial Drill Intersections, Mariana Norte andCentral


MRC-905 80 4 10.9 687 5 3.3 8

MRC-906 186 7 18.5 87205 18 20.6 33

MRC-907 No significant intersectionMRC908 No significant intersectionMRC-909 96 5 12.8 104MRC-911 131 7 12.3 142

147 6 41.8 81150 5 7.1 18


to the breccia which occurs above thewestern part of the Eureka West Vein(Fig. 5). The mineralized quartz floatwhich led to the discovery had appar-ently been re-cycled from the veins intothe breccia and distributed on the sur-face as a lag deposit during erosion ofthe breccia. Resource assessments havebeen completed at San Marcos and theMarianas with results detailed below.

THE ROLE OF GEOLOGY AND GEOPHYSICS IN EXPLORATION

GeologyEarly understanding of the geologic andstructural setting of the Cerro Negromineralization in 2005 was based to alarge extent on work done 10 years ear-lier by Newcrest geologists Tim Heenan,Steve Nano, and Johan Smit.

Andean geologists soon realized,however, that the Newcrest mapping,although extremely useful, needed tobe updated and remapped in more

detail. Accordingly, regional mappingbegan in 2005 in the area surroundingVein Zone, and later extended west tothe Eureka-Mariana area.

Mapping led to several key observa-tions which contributed to subsequentdiscoveries:

• The geology at Eureka-Marianawas much more complex than atVein Zone-Silica Cap, and it wasdifficult to fit the geology into theconventional stratigraphic frame-work (e.g., Cobos and Panza,2003) of the Deseado Massif.

• There were more outcropping veinsthan previously recorded, especiallyin the Eureka and Mariana areas.One of these was the Eureka WestVein.

• The Eureka vein outcrops showedshallow-level textures, includingcolloform and crustiform banding,which suggested that previousdrilling might not have been deep enough to fully test the zonewith potential for precious metaldeposition.

• Geologists who had previouslyworked in the area, especially SteveNano and Ramiro López, reportedhot-spring discharge deposits inthe Mariana area, which they con-sidered to be preserved at the pale-osurface of the epithermal miner-alizing system. Andean geologistsagreed with this interpretation,which provided further evidence ofthe very shallow nature of theEureka-Mariana veins.

Geologic mapping supported by geo-physical studies (see below) has shownthat northwest- and east-west–trendingfaults, and their intersections or jogs,are important controlling structures tomineralization. These features includethe following.

• Vein Zone: E-W and NW strikingveins

• Eureka: NW veins linked by aneast-west jog

• Bajo Negro: NW veins • San Marcos: E-W vein splaying off

NW fault• Mariana Norte: E-W veins• Mariana Central: NW veins

Most of these structures dip verticallyto steep north or northwest, but theEureka and part of the San Marcosveins dip toward the south, consistentwith the graben tectonics.

A study by David Coller in late 2010showed that mineralization within theEureka Complex occurs in splays offmajor north-west–trending faults thathave undergone prolonged normal dis-placement in response to Jurassicextension. The major faults were con-duits to mineralizing fluids but did notnecessarily host mineralization; themost productive veins may be splays ofsmall displacement, decoupled from theparent structure and dilated by long-lived normal displacement on the latter(Fig. 4). Erosional degradation of thefootwalls of major faults rapidly buriedthe veins in rubble breccia and othertypes of graben-fill material, as occurredat Eureka West and the Marianas (Figs.4, 5). The Bajo Negro vein was alsoburied beneath a wedge of hydrother-mally brecciated ignimbrite above ashallow-dipping fault plane whichtruncates the upper part of the vein.

GeophysicsGradient array resistivity was first triedin 2005 at Vein Zone,where it defined a strong


FIGURE 5. Plan and section of the Mariana veins. The plan shows surface geology (approx.650 m elev) with projected vein positions at 550 m elev. to page 22 . . .


anomaly over the deposit. This encour-aged Andean to try the method atEureka in 2006, and three anomalieswere delineated; one over the strongMain Vein outcrops tested earlier byNewcrest and MIM, a second anomalyover an adjacent area of east-west vein-ing drilled by Oroplata in 2002, and athird, 250 m long, over the newly dis-covered Eureka West Vein to the west.

The initial gradient array surveyswere extended in a somewhat piece-meal fashion, and in April to June2007, a 749-line-km ground magneticsurvey was completed over the Eureka-Mariana area. It clearly delineatedregional structural trends, includingmajor northwest and east-west faultswhich control the vein systems.

In 2009, Andean extended the ear-lier gradient array and magnetometersurveys over the newer prospects andprospective areas. The new groundmagnetic survey was performed over1,419 line km, giving continuous cover-age of the Eureka-Mariana-Vein Zone-Bajo Negro area. The new gradientinduced polarization data covered 39km2 in the Eureka-Mariana and VeinZone-Bajo Negro areas. Whereas onlyresistivity was recorded in the 2005–2006surveys, both resistivity and chargeabil-ity were measured in 2009.

Data from both resistivity surveyswere merged, as were the data from thetwo magnetic surveys. Aeromagneticdata acquired by MIM in the 1990s werereprocessed and used where groundmagnetic information was lacking. Thisgenerated over 20 geophysical targetsto be investigated eventually, includingstrong resistivity and chargeabilityanomalies in the San Marcos area thathave yet to be tested.

CURRENT STATUSThe Cerro Negro feasibility study(Ausenco, 2010) provides probablereserves for the Cerro Negro project,shown here in Table 5.

These reserves form part of an indi-cated resource of 2.54 Moz Au and 23.5 Moz Ag, along with an inferredresource of 0.52 Moz Au and 3.1 MozAg in these three deposits (Ausenco,2010). A decline to access the Eurekaresource began in early 2010. As ofOctober 2010, Andean had drilled196,208 m in 858 diamond and RC

holes at Vein Zone, Eureka, Bajo Negro,San Marcos, and the Marianas.

On December 31, 2010, Goldcorp Incacquired all of the Andean shares in amerger deal which valued the Andeanequity at approximately C$3.6 billion.

On February 9, 2011, Goldcorpannounced measured and indicatedresources of 2.7 Moz Au, with inferredresources of 720,000 oz Au, in the SanMarcos, Mariana Norte, and MarianaCentral deposits, in addition to thereserves and resources cited above.

To June 2010, Andean had spent$68.8M. The expenditure equates to adiscovery cost of about $13 per ounceof indicated gold resources, or $33 perounce of probable reserves.

CONCLUSIONSA number of factors contributed to thediscovery of a 5-Moz gold resource atCerro Negro in six years of exploration:

• The Deseado Massif is a highlyprospective and still underexploredregion for low-sulfidation preciousmetal deposits. The Eureka West,Bajo Negro, and San Marcos veinsshow that outcropping mineraliza-tion can still be found by conven-tional prospecting.

• Andean had a head start at CerroNegro by inheriting the results ofover 100 drill holes, as well as geo-logical, geophysical, and geo-chemical data acquired by previ-ous explorers.

• Exploration success at Cerro Negrodepended heavily on field geology.Mapping and prospecting locatedthe Eureka West Vein; data min-ing combined with prospectinglocated the Bajo Negro Vein; care-ful mapping of float and outcropresulted in the Mariana Norte andCentral discoveries; the Vein Zoneand San Marcos resources werelargely delineated by following upprevious exploration.

• Four of the six known deposits atCerro Negro are covered to some

extent, and Mariana Norte andMariana Central have no surfaceexpression at all except for quartzfloat and barren silicification.Erosion or gravity sliding of thefootwalls of fault systems rapidlyburied the epithermal systems andpreserved them intact, creatingopportunities for the discovery ofblind orebodies under relativelyshallow cover.

• The lack of erosion of the paleo-surface created opportunities todrill below barren alteration, or toexplore low-grade vein outcrops atdepth. The willingness of manage-ment to support drill testing ofsuch targets was a crucial elementin the success of the program. TheEureka West and Bajo Negrodeposits, in which the preciousmetal zones in outcropping veinsbarely reach the surface, are goodillustrations of this point. One ofthe lessons learned by Andean isthat deep (>250-m) drill holes maybe required to effectively test thesesystems.

• The extent of cover also meansthat there are opportunities to usegeophysics to prospect for blindde posits. Geophysics, especiallygradient array I.P., provided astrong incentive to drill the Eurekavein system, and there is closecoincidence between the Eurekaresource footprint and the resistiv-ity image. Geophysical surveys willcontinue to provide drill targetsand hopefully new resources andreserves.

Andean was fortunate to have askilled and enthusiastic explorationteam composed largely of Argentinegeologists and technicians, supportedby expatriate exploration consultantsand backed by a management groupwhich ensured that exploration contin-ued to be funded when money wasscarce. The final ingredient in theexploration-success recipe was luck.

TABLE 5. Cerro Negro Project Ore Reserves

Au grade Ag grade Contained ounces

Deposit Ore (Mt) (g/t) (g/t) Au (oz) Ag (Moz)

Eureka 2.93 13.6 198 1,284,000 18.6Bajo Negro 1.83 7.7 21 457,000 1.2Vein Zone 2.38 4.3 9 331,000 0.7Total 7.14 9.0 90 2,072,000 20.6


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We thank Andean Resources andGoldcorp for permission to publish thispaper. We gratefully acknowledge thecontribution of the many geologists andtechnicians from Andean Resources,whose work has been crucial to the suc-cess of the project. We also thank DiegoGuido, Ramiro López, Jeff Edwards, JonForuria, Steven Nano, Richard Sillitoe,Greg Corbett, and Dave Coller for providing us with fresh insights into the geology of the deposits. We aregrateful to Jeffrey Hedenquist and ananonymous SEG reviewer for revisionsand comments to an early draft of thispaper.

REFERENCESAusenco Solutions Canada Inc, 2010,

Unpublished technical report on the CerroNegro feasibility study, Santa Cruzprovince, Argentina (July 20, 2010).

Cobos, J.C. and Panza, J.L., 2003, Hoja Geo -lógica 4769-I El Pluma, Provincia de SantaCruz: Buenos Aires, Instituto de Geología yRecursos Minerales, Servicio GeológicoMinero Argentino, Boletín 319, 89 p.

Fernández, R.R., Blesa, A., Moreira, P.,Echeveste, H., Myketiuk, K., Andrada dePalomera, P., and Tessone, M., 2008, Losdepósitos de oro y plata vinculados almagmatismo jurásico de la Patagonia:Revista de la Asociación GeológicaArgentina, v. 63, no. 4, p. 665–681.

López, R.G., 2006. Estudio geológico-metalo-genético del área oriental del curso mediodel Río Pinturas, sector noroeste del Macizodel Deseado, provincia de Santa Cruz,

Argentina: Unpublished doctoral thesis,Argentina, Universidad de la Plata,Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo226 p.

Pankhurst, R. J., Riley, T. R., Fanning, C. M.and Kelley, S. P., 1999. Episodic silicic vol-canism in Patagonia and the Antarcticpeninsula: Chronology of magmatismassociated with the breakup of Gondwana:Journal of Petrology, v. 41, p. 605–765. 1


Author affiliations: D. Shatwell, formerchief geologist, Andean Resources Ltd;J.A. Clifford, consulting geologist; D.Echavarría, senior geologist, Cerro Negro;G. Irusta, former project manager, CerroNegro; D. Lopez, former senior geologist,Cerro Negro.

PAID ADVERTISEMENT

The Canada Mining Innovation Council is a network of high level industry, academia and government leaders interested inenhancing the competitiveness of a responsible Canadian mining industry thorough excellence in research, innovation, educationand commercialization.

Exploration Program DirectorReporting to the Executive Director, the Exploration Program Director will be responsible to deliver the outcomes required by theimplementation of the Exploration Innovation Consortium within the Canada Mining Innovation Council.

An attractive compensation package will be offered to the successful candidate.

Please send your resume by May 13, 2011, to the following e-mail address: [email protected] thank all the applicants, but only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

Canada Mining Innovation CouncilConseil canadien de l’innovation minière

Key Responsibilities• The Exploration Program Director is the proponent of the

Exploration Innovation Consortium and its representativeamong stakeholders such as Universities and ResearchCenters; NSERC and other funding agencies; GeologicalSurveys; and service Companies.

• Establish R&D projects that meet the needs of industry asrepresented by the Technical Committee and ensuringtimely projects outputs and on budget.

• Liaise with the Technical Committee to establish techni-cal project priorities (i.e., which needs/topics should beaddressed in which order).

• Establish collaborative relationships with all stakeholders,including public lectures to promote CMIC and theExploration Innovation Consortium.

• Facilitate the technical proposal review process by theTechnical Committee, Advisory Committee and ProjectLeaders.

• Assist in other CMIC activities and initiatives, as required.

Requirements• Must possess M.Sc. in geological sciences; Ph.D. is an

asset. • Eligible for professional registration in Canada (P.Eng.,

P.Geo.).• Proven record of delivery of programs/projects; prefer-

ably including collaborative projects.• Demonstrated knowledge and experience with mining

industry highly desirable.• Demonstrated ability to manage contracts and budgets.• Diversified experience with academia, government and/or

R&D preferred.• Must have commitment to successful mineral exploration

in Canada.• Excellent organizational and time management skills.• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.• Ability to deliver public lectures preferred.• French language an asset.

Job Posting

The reason for embracing geometallurgy, as cited by asenior manager at a major mining company, is “no sur-prises”! This goal neatly encapsulates what geometallurgyis all about—understanding the deposit and the variablesthat exist in that deposit and using the information tomake best decisions on project exploitation.

It is not uncommon to hear of mining projects that havenot lived up to their feasibility requirements or their havinghit significant production problems due to metallurgy.

Many problems can befall a mining operation, but cer-tainly ore variability that creates problems in either com-minution (grinding circuit throughput) or in metallurgicalperformance is a common cause of production expecta-tions not being met. Sometimes, such problems occur in aparticular geologic zone(s) of a deposit. There are, how-ever, cases in which the overall metallurgical approach toexploiting a deposit is fundamentally wrong. Typically,these problems are worked around by either adjustment inthe mine plan, blending of ore type, or blending of prod-uct (concentrate). However, this type of response is lessthan economically optimal and shareholder value iseroded by these maneuvers.

A geometallurgical approach, or methodology, aims toquantify all significant ore variability and to develop plansto deal with it. Four key benefits from a geometallurgicalapproach are in the areas of project strategy, project metal-lurgical plant design, project financial forecasting, andmine production optimization strategies.

Strategic analysis of a greenfields project can be aidedgreatly by an early understanding of metallurgical responseand the variability that exists in a deposit. Geometallurgicalmethodology can guide this type of assessment even at ascoping level stage of project development.

The design of the concentrator for the mining operationshould consider the range of ores expected to be fed to thatmill in order to best optimize the design of that mill. This isparticularly important for the comminution circuit, inwhich design must consider the harder ore component ofthe deposit in the equipment sizing (without simply oversiz-ing this capital-intensive part of the plant).

A geometallurgical investigation attempts to establishmathematical models that forecast metallurgical outputwhen a variable feed is fed to the “black-box concentrator.”These models can then feed into project cash flow analysesand economic optimization and/or strategic planning forthe project cash flow.

A mine plan, for an operating mine, can be manipu-lated to optimize concentrator production and hence mineeconomics, using geometallurgical information about themetallurgical deportment of various subdomains and min-ing areas within the mine.

In summary, geometallurgy goes directly to a “no sur-prises” approach for new project development. Further thanthat, it enables us to economically optimize a project byconsidering variables in advance of dealing with them. 1

24 S E G N E W S L E T T E R No 85 • APRIL 2011SE

G N

EWS

WHY DO GEOMETALLURGICAL STUDIES?

NO SURPRISES!

SEG Presence at MDSG

SEG Regional VP-Europe Maria Boni (SEG 1991 F) models the SEGball cap while manning the SEG booth at the 34th annual meetingof the Mineral Deposits Study Group, London, UK, held January 5.Craig Hart, SEG Distinguished Lecturer for 2010, gave a presenta-tion at the meeting.

PAID ADVERTISEMENT

JOSEPH R. ANZMANExploration Geophysicist

• consulting• interpretation• project management• geophysical surveys• domestic & foreign

P.O. Box 370526Denver, Colorado 80237 Office: [email protected] Cell: 303-519-0658

APRIL 2011 • No 85 S E G N E W S L E T T E R 25SEG

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Geometallurgy looks for the drivers ofmetallurgical response that lie in thegeology and mineralogy of the deposit.After some of the key drivers for metal-lurgy are identified, the next step is tobuild mathematical models that cap-ture metallurgical response as a func-tion of defined, independent, geologicor mineralogical parameters. These arecalled metallurgical or geometallurgi-cal models.

To identify the variability that existsin a deposit, a usual approach is toconsider the geologic model, by whicha range of geologic subdomains aredefined. It is also useful to relate thisdeposit model to that of the deposittype class of geologic models (such asporphyry copper model type). Thisenables us to check that we have cap-tured all possible geologic subdomainsin our deposit and can appropriatelysample them for our investigation.

Thus, geologic models form animportant starting point for a geomet-allurgical investigation. They providethe investigator with a theoretical defi-nition of geologic subdomains, a basisfor understanding and defining miner-alogical differences, and a guide tosuggested sampling strategy in order tocapture the full variability in thedeposit. The porphyry copper depositmodel (USGS Scientific InvestigationsReport 2010-5070-B, David A. John etal.) is the prototypical geologicmodel—it is well known and serves asa valuable guide to the geometallurgi-cal investigator. Some other geologicmodels, unfortunately, do not capturethe metallurgical variability of adeposit as well as this model.

Chilean miners, in particular, haveembraced geometallurgy for their workon porphyry copper deposits and haveapplied it both to new projects andexisting operations for economic andstrategic project optimization. Conse -quently, much is known about the keydrivers for metallurgy for thesedeposits. Some of the key parametersthat drive metallurgical response in

them include copper mineralogy (hypo -gene, supergene, oxide), abundance ofpyrite, the presence of problematic non -sulfide gangue such as clay mineralsand sericite, and the presence of delete-rious elements (often the main concernbeing the presence of arsenic). Theseparameters are well defined by the por-phyry copper model, reflecting geologicvariability with alteration, oxidation-weathering, and type of mineralization.

VMS-type deposits, on the otherhand, are much more metallurgicallycomplex and are less well definedthrough their geologic model descrip-tions. Some of the key metallurgicaldriver parameters for these depositsinclude texture and grain size, pres-ence of complex microtexture such asrimming and “sphalerite disease,”abundance of pyrite or marcasite orpyrrhotite, mineral association, pres-ence of surface tarnishing or surfaceactivation (a chemical aspect of the oremineralogy), nonsulfide gangue miner-als such as clays, talc, and sericite, andpresence of deleterious elements. Someof these components are captured inthe geologic models but others are not.In that case, the geometallurgicalinvestigator must consider not only thegeologic subdomains of the deposit butalso must be sure to sample broadlyenough to ensure that all relevantmineralogical variability is captured inthe study.

An interesting early metallurgicalpaper that describes mineralogicalclassification for VMS-type depositsand their metallurgical response is“Selection of reagent scheme to treatmassive sulphide ores,” by S.M.Bulatovic and D.M. Wyslouzil, inComplex Sulphides, TMS, 1985. Theauthors subclassify the domains bydegree of oxidation, grain size, pyriteand/or pyrrhotite content, surface tar-nishing, surface activation, and prob-lematic nonsulfide gangue. Theauthors foretold geometallurgy!

As the use of geometallurgy advancesand more studies are published, it is

possible to see the evolution of geomet-allurgical models as an adjunct to thecurrent geologic models. These modelscan be rooted in the geologic modelsbut further define domains in terms ofthe parameters that drive metallurgicalresponse from those type of deposits. 1

GEOMETALLURGY FORUMABOUT GEOLOGIC MODELS AND METALLURGICAL RESPONSE

Steve Williams (SEG 2010)

Feedback on the Geomet Forum is welcome and can be addressed to [email protected].

GeometallurgyWorkshop

A one-day geometallurgy workshopwill be held June 7, 2011, as part ofthe “geomin2011” conference, atthe Hotel de Desierto Enjoy inAntofagasta, Chile. The workshopis titled, “Workshop in Geometal -lurgy: The Moment of Truth,” andwill feature invited speakers ongeometallurgy from around theworld, case studies, and panel discussions.

For more information go to<www.geomin.cl>

STEVE WILLIAMS

26 S E G N E W S L E T T E R No 85 • APRIL 2011SE

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The SEG was pleasedwith its booth activities atthe ProExplo meeting,held February 6–8 inLima, Peru. RepresentingSEG in this photo are(from left) Steve Enders(2011 SEG President) andBrian Hoal (ExecutiveDirector), standing nextto Brescia Rojas of GoldFields. Jeff Hedenquist(2010 SEG President) looksover a Newsletter whileJohn Chulick (SEG 1998)examines potential pur-chases. Volunteer boothduty by Brescia Rojasand Denise de la Torre,Gold Fields coworkers,was invaluable to Brian.

Brian Hoal (second from left) andGold Fields volunteer Denise de laTorre pose with SEG members atthe booth.

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APRIL 2011 • No 85 S E G N E W S L E T T E R 27STU

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The SEG invites student chapters as wellas other student groups to make videorecordings of the technical aspects oftheir SEG-supported field trips. Copiesof complete recordings will be archivedat SEG headquarters and edited clips(<10 minutes), after approval, will beembedded on the SEG website (viaYouTube). Student chapters with fieldtrip plans that include a recording ofthe field trip will be given extra markstoward funding preference. An annualmonetary award will go to the chapterthat produces the best video clip forthat year.

The videos, created and edited bychapter students, must focus on thegeology of a world-class deposit or onone that is significant in some way. Thevideo record should include field views(including open pits and underground),

close-ups of rocks (lithologic units andtypical alteration and mineralization),interviews with mine geologists, etc., ina systematic fashion, such that otherscan learn about the deposit. A pdf orppt file with maps and sections, asappropriate, must also be provided,and this will be made available next tothe video link.

The first video in this series, to serveas a model for future student videos,was made in 2010 by the SEG student

chapter at the Centre for Ore DepositsResearch (CODES), University ofTasmania, during a field trip toThailand and Laos. Students from ETHZurich, Freiburg University, and theInstituto Geológico y Minero de Españaalso participated. One of the mines vis-ited, the Cu-Au deposit at Sepon, Laos,was the topic of the video. To view thevideo, go to <http://www.segweb.org/students/>. 1

SEG STUDENT CHAPTER NEWS

Student Chapter Field Trip Video Series:New Online at YouTube

Please contact SEG to submit an edited video for consideration: [email protected].

General guidelines for making videos can be downloaded from the Oral HistoryVideo page, http://www.segweb.org/about/videos.aspx. The use of a tripod andexternal microphone is strongly recommended, as is practice in filming andediting before going in the field. Have fun!

� LASALLE INSTITUT POLYTECNIQUE SEG STUDENT CHAPTER �

Michel Cuney — SEG 2010 Thayer Lindsley LecturerIn December, the Lasalle Francestudent chapter welcomed Dr.Michel Cuney, SEG 2010 ThayerLindsley Lecturer. Michel gavetwo talks, one on uranium mine-ralization processes and anotheron unconformity-related U depo-sits. More than 100 geology stu-dents attended the lecture andexpressed enthusiasm over thetalks.

Olivier Pourret (SEG 2010 F) 1

Posing in front of the LaSalle, from leftto right: Dr. Jessica Bonhoure (associ-ate professor geochemistry and a for-mer Ph.D. student of Michel Cuney),Dr. Michel Cuney, Erwan Yven (pastpresident of the student chapter),Fabien Rabayrol (past secretary of thestudent chapter), Dr. Olivier Pourret(associate professor of geochemistryand new academic advisor of the stu-dent chapter), and François Denivelle(student chapter president).

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The Leicester SEG student chapter hasgrown considerably this year, nowboasting more than 100 members. Agoal for this academic year has been tobring together high-profile industry rep-resentatives with interested students.The latter then have opportunities tonetwork with knowledgeable membersof the industry who can provide insightsabout their work.

The growth in membership isreflected in the popularity of fortnightlytalks, which are open to all and areadvertised internally and also throughGeo-Mineralisation. The chapter invitesindustry and academic representativesto the university on alternate Mondaysto give presentations, allowing atten-dees to catch up on the latest researchin economic geology.

With eight student members havingindependently gained work experiencein the exploration industry over thesummer, the chapter’s first gatheringgave these students a chance to sharetheir experiences, from near-deathadventures in the Solomon Islands tograssroots gold exploration in Scotland.The group hosted Chris MacKenzie (SEG2001; Leicester SEG chapter’s sponsor,and COO of Helio Resource Corpora -tion), who talked about his current projects in Tanzania and Namibia.Following this were visits by David Cliff(SEG 2002; CEO, Empire Mining Cor -poration), Chris Carlon (SEG 1989 F; for-mer head of geosciences and strategy forAnglo American), and Mike Mogge ridge(Magpie Drilling). Laurence Robb (SEG1985 F) brought the term to a close witha lecture in December. Robb, author ofIntroduction to Ore-Forming Processes andtechnical director of Savannah Gold Ltd,discussed the Snowball Earth periods of

the Paleo- and Neo -proterozoic in relationto crustal developmentand Central African Fe-Mn and Cu-Co mineral-ization. Students gainedinsight into a develop-ing research project. 1

� UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER SEG STUDENT CHAPTER �

Leicester student chapter com-mittee members pose with ChrisMackenzie and Laurence Robb(back row, third from left andthird from right, respectively).

Laurence Robb (front row, second from right) gave talks to a filled lecture hall.

Leicester SEG studentchapter members gather

after a talk by Chris Carlon(back row, center).

PAID ADVERTISEMENTPAID ADVERTISEMENT

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Metro State College Denver

President, Lufkin Consultants & Golden Publishers

[email protected](303) 975-6364 www.johnlufkin.com

AFRICARegional Vice President Africa:

Paul A. Nex (SEG 2005 F)Umbono Financial Services


Contribution fromJudith A. Kinnaird (SEG 2002 F)

School of GeosciencesUniversity of the Witwatersrand, South Africa


At the end of 2010, 17 of the 53 Africancountries produced and exported oil,with Libya and Nigeria holding theworld’s 8th and 10th largest oilreserves, respectively. Africa continuesto attract investors and explorers in theminerals industry in spite of occasionalnegative statements and actions bypoliticians. In South Africa, the youthleader of the main political party hascalled for nationalization, a conceptthat is rejected by the Mining Minister,and in the Democratic Republic of theCongo (DRC), the seizing of assets ofFirst Quantum by the government hascaused concerns. However, in spite ofsuch comments and actions, the major-ity of countries in sub-Saharan Africaare becoming more investment-friendlyand competitive. Botswana, with a veryfavorable tax and regulatory regime formining companies, and as one of theleading producers of diamonds byvalue in a joint-venture between deBeers and the country’s government,came 7th in the Fraser Institute’s latestrankings. Namibia remains a popularexploration destination, best known forits huge uranium resources, but alsounder investigation for gold, man-ganese, copper, and other commodities.South Africa, for decades the world’sleading producer of gold, has fallen to4th behind China, Australia, and theUnited States as mines become deeperand more expensive to operate, espe-cially with rising electricity costs, uncer-tainty over long-term supply, concernson mine safety and acid mine drainageand recent claims for damages byworkers for lung-related problems frommining.

However, a recent cabinet-approved20-year energy plan sees renewableand nuclear energy accounting for two-thirds of new power stations to be builtover the next 20 years as it seeks to cutits reliance on coal. The plan aims toencourage investment in the power sec-tor, help build reserve capacity to avoida repeat of a 2008 power crisis, andprovide adequate energy for mineexpansion. A distinct improvement inSouth Africa will be an internet-basedGIS system for mineral rights applica-tions, which will allow viewing ofissued rights and of where applicationsare being considered. Although coun-tries like the DRC present much morerisk, it has significant resources of cop-per and cobalt, and mining companiescontinue to invest. Similarly, in spite ofthe problems in Zimbabwe, severalcompanies are working on the GreatDyke and exploration continues on thecraton. As political unrest in Egypt,Tunisia, and Libya hits the headlines,Côte d’Ivoire may be heading for civilwar as Laurent Gbago, the incumbentpresident who lost the country’s presi-dential election last November, refusesto step down and allow AlassaneOuattara to take control. It is, therefore,of concern that “blood diamonds” maybecome an issue again.

Although the Kimberley process,launched in 2003 to prevent diamondsfrom funding civil wars, placed a banon Côte d’Ivoire diamonds in 2005, it isalleged that millions of dollars in dia-monds are smuggled from the north ofthe country. The Kimberley process,however, should make it more difficultto sell diamonds on the internationalmarket.

Global mining stocks were affectedin the wake of Japan’s nuclear crisis fol-lowing the earthquake and tsunami,especially for companies involved in

uranium mining and exploration.Japan consumes just over 10% of theworld’s uranium, but analysts said thebigger concern would be whether thisincident dampens enthusiasm for newnuclear power projects in other coun-tries as concern over nuclear power isnow higher than it had been for severalyears. Any long-term reduction indemand and commodity-price will neg-atively impact Namibia (4th biggestworld U producer), Niger (6th), SouthAfrica (11th) and Malawi (15th) andaffect exploration for Karoo sandstone-hosted deposits in several southernAfrican countries. Japan is also a majorconsumer of diamonds, and a reduceddemand as Japan invests billions inrebuilding will also affect sub-SaharanAfrica.

However, it is not all bad news as itis predicted that the consumption ofvanadium, which is used to improvethe strength properties of structuralsteel sections, may rise in territories vul-nerable to seismic events following therecent catastrophe in Japan, becauseSouth Africa is a major producer of themetal.

Rare earth elements (REE) have beenin the news in recent months, followingChina’s announcement that it plans torestrict exports, keeping more for itsown use. Bayan Obo has producedmore than 90% of the world’s supply inrecent years, and the metals are vital inmagnets and for use in technologies,from iPhones to smart bombs. REE de -mand has tripled in the past decade toan estimated 136,000 tons in 2010 andanalysts are now predicting a futureshortfall in these key metals. AlthoughREE are not particularly “rare,” sinceseveral of these elements are more abun-dant in the earth’s crust than lead, theperceived shortfall or lack of a securesupply has led to substantial explorationactivity. Carbon atites are often enrichedin REE and as half of the world’s knowncarbonatites occur in Africa, muchexploration is underway in Zambia,Mozambique, Tanzania, Namibia,Burundi, Malawi, andSouth Africa.

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Notice: Views expressed in the Exploration Reviews do not necessarily reflect those of the Society of EconomicGeologists, Inc., and columnists are solely responsible for ascertaining that information in this section is correct.

EXPLORATION REVIEWS

To read additional exploration reviews for individual countries, please go to the online SEG Newsletter supplement.

ALASKARegional Correspondent:

Curtis J. Freeman (SEG 1996)Avalon Development Corp.

P.O. Box 80268Fairbanks, AK 99708

Tel.: 907-457-5159, Fax: 907-455-8069E-mail: [email protected]

website: www.avalonalaska.com

The Fraser Institute recently released its“Survey of Mining Companies, 2010/2011,”an annual survey of explorationand mining companies that gauges thepros and cons of working in variouscountries around the world. The surveyresults came from over 3,000 miningcompanies working in 79 jurisdictionsand representing cumulative explo-ration expenditures of more than $2.4billion in 2010. Buried in its 100 pagesof facts and figures is a bit of honeyand a bit of vinegar for Alaska. Okay,maybe a bit more vinegar than honey.Let’s do honey first: starting with thePolicy/Mineral Potential index with noland use policies in place and assumingindustry “best practices,” Alaska scoredfirst (that’s right, Dorothy, first) with ascore of 93 out of a possible 100! To myrecollection, that’s the first time Alaskahas ever scored at the top spot in anyFraser Institute survey! Nice, but notreal since, alas, there are land-use poli-cies in place. So how did Alaska rankfor Mineral Potential with current landuse policies in place? A respectable 9thplace, behind perennial mining power-houses like Chile, Quebec, and Nevada.Not bad company ,for sure. Now for theacetic acid: in its Policy Potential Index,a measure of all things related to regu-latory policy, Alaska scored a not sorespectable 21st behind severalCanadian and Australian jurisdictionsand, in the United States, behind threewestern states. But a close look at thedetails that went into that score shouldsound alarm bells in our fair state. Forexample, in regard to uncertainty inthe enforcement of existing regulations,Alaska scored well down the list,behind Colombia, in fact! Ouch! In thecategory relating to uncertainty aboutenforcement of environmental regula-tions, Alaska was even farther downthe list, behind such environmentallysound places like the DemocraticRepublic of the Congo and China.Concerning regulatory duplication andinconsistencies, we scored well below

Madagascar. For the love of Mike,Madagascar?! But wait, there’s more:regarding uncertainties about landsbeing withdrawn for wilderness, parks,etc., over 60% of respondents said thisfear was a strong to mild deterrent toinvestment in Alaska and another 5%said they simply will not invest inAlaska because of this concern. Asexpected and deserved, Alaska scoredlow in the infrastructure-related ques-tions because, quite frankly, we have solittle of it. And to underscore thefamous Will Rogers quote “there arelies, damn lies and statistics,” under thecategory of “Security (includes physicalsecurity due to the threat of attack byterrorists, criminals, guerrilla groups,etc.)” something less than 5% ofrespondents said this category was amild deterrent to investment. Hello?Bears, maybe…snow-storms in July,perhaps…a placer miner carrying asidearm…sure, but guerrilla groups?Perhaps these folks need to be told thatguerrillas are big, often hairy folks whocarry guns, and gorillas are big, oftenhairy folks who don’t.

Detailed Alaska mineral explorationhighlights can be found at <www.aval-onalaska.com/news.htm>.

AUSTRALASIARegional Correspondent:

Russell Meares (SEG 1996)Malachite Resources Limited

P. O. Box 5218West Chatswood, NSW 1515

Tel. +612 9411 6033E-mail: [email protected]

Website: www.malachite.com.au

With contributions fromRoger Thomson (SEG 1983) –

Western AustraliaTony Christie (SEG 1992) – New ZealandVladimir Lisitsin (SEG 2009) – Victoria

Geoff Green (SEG 2000) – TasmaniaBianca Pietrass-Wong – NSWSteve Russell (SEG 2009) – NTPeta Abbot – South AustraliaPhil Ferenczi – Queensland

SUMMARYSince the last SEG Newsletter, the Aus -tralasian region has been besieged byextreme acts of both nature and planetEarth that have devastated communi-ties and have also severely slowed thepace of mineral exploration and mining

activities. In January, record floods inQueensland inundated Toowoomba andBrisbane, tore up railway lines, and filled80% of the massive coal open pits inCentral Queens land. Then, in early Feb -ruary, tropical Cyclone Yasi (category5) hit North Queensland and severelydamaged the region between Cairnsand Townsville. These weather eventswere ascribed by some commentators tofurther evidence of “climate change”!

As severe as these events were, theirimpact on mankind was dwarfed bythe tragic earthquake which ripped theNew Zealand city of Christchurch apartin late February, leaving more than200 people dead, mainly owing to thecollapse of high-rise buildings. The cityhad previously been damaged by a 7.1magnitude quake in September of lastyear, but the impacts of the February2011 quake were far more severe—although it was only of 6.3 magnitude,the epicenter was only 10 km from thecity compared to 40 km for the previousearthquake.

Christchurch is built on a floodplain,and liquefaction caused by shaking ofthe ground released water from pores inthe sands and gravels in the floodplainsediments, leading to major collapse ofbuildings. New Zealand sits on theboundary of the Australian and Pacificplates, and hence is the location ofmuch volcanic and earthquake activity.Although the dominant plate boundaryfault in the South Island (the Alpinefault) strikes north-northeast, the twonearby faults which hosted the two recentearthquakes strike easterly and appear tobe part of a series of fault splays to theAlpine fault. Visit <www.geonet.org.nz>and <www.gns.cri.nz> for more information.

The Geological Society of Australiahas proposed the creation of the “Aus -tralian Geological Heritage Garden” onthe shores of Lake Burley Griffin in thenation’s capital city, Canberra. Thepublic park and gardens will containlarge rock specimens (10–15 t each!)from around the continent of Australia,commemorating the richness and diver-sity of Australia’s geology and mineralendowment, and representing iconicrock formations, mineral deposit,s andother landmark geological features. Visit<www.gsa.org.au> for more information.

See the online version of the SEGNewsletter for lots of exciting explorationnews from the Australasian region.

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EUROPERegional Correspondent:

Paul W. Kuhn (SEG 1983 F)Avrupa Minerals Ltd.

Porto, PortugalE-mail: [email protected]

Contributing Correspondents:Rumyana Todorova – Bulgaria,

Eastern EuropeOzcan Yigit (SEG 2002 F) – TurkeyPasi Eilu (SEG 2002 F) – Finland

As the climax of the investment forumand conference season was approach-ing with the start of the PDAC 2011international convention, we explo-rationists could only wonder, how goodcan it get…? Or so it seems from anumber of recent conventions that Ihave attended since last fall, includingmeetings in New Orleans, London,Vancouver, and still to come at thetime of writing, Toronto. The interest inthe exploration business has beenamazingly high, given the precariousfinancial situation of the world’seconomies. Yes, the economies of Chinaand India seem to be non-stop growing(burning!?), and the demand for allvarieties of resources does not appear towant to slow down. The prices formany “essential” commodities continueto rise, leading to many of the smilingfaces I saw in all those cities of NorthAmerica and Europe. Financial peopleare predicting more high prices for2011, more fund-raising for more pro-jects, more mergers and acquisitions,and on and on.

Today, the price for Brent Crude isover US$110. The disarray in the politi-cal situation of northern Africa and theMiddle East is fueling (pardon theexpression) the increasing oil prices,and in particular, threatening the via-bility of the economies of the already-weak southern European countries. Ifthe Euro Zone heads south, what willhit us next? A number of bubbles maybe forming in China, including housing(remember the housing bubble inNorth America?). The U.S. economy…,well, lots of new dollars out there topay off (???) debts. When will the othershoe drop?

As I prepare to head out to Toronto,I am optimistic for my little companyin the world of raising money for wor-thy projects. We explore for metals andgenerate prospects in known regionswith good potential in politically stableplaces. We are working on a continentthat is becoming more aware of its

resource shortcomings and its resourcepotentials. But, the picture is not asrosy as the dramatic attendance levelsat the aforementioned conferenceswould lead us to believe. There isrenewed recession lurking out there,and it may take only a simple flash-point to break down the cautious (readfragile) worldwide economic “recovery”from 2008. I will be looking closelyaround PDAC, with its predicted atten-dance of over 25,000 people, to see howthe pulse of the exploration communityfares. Further jubilation, or increasedconcern for the lengthening commodi-ties’ boom? Another previously unher-alded metal with record prices andinterest from the junior exploration sec-tor, or a battening of the hatches toweather a coming storm? It will be aninteresting convention, to say the least.

I was unable to produce a detailedsynopsis of European exploration activ-ity for the last quarter, as time gotaway from me. Even through thesnowy winter of 2010–2011, explo-ration reporting in Europe continues tobe high, as seen in the accompanyingexploration notes found on the SEGwebsite. Following the close to 150junior, mid-size, and senior companiesworking in/about Europe makes forinteresting and exciting reading. Here’sto the next discovery!!

NORTHERN EURASIA

Regional Correspondent:Alexander Yakubchuk (SEG 1999 F)

Orsu Metals Corp, London, [email protected]

Detailed information can be found at

http://gold.prime-tass.ru

RUSSIA AND CENTRAL ASIA–GENERALRosnedra was able to spend only 79%of its 2010 budget on renewal of min-eral and energy resources, totallingalmost US$800M for oil and minerals.

For minerals, this expenditure was only65%. Rosnedra also reports on so calledcreation in-ground value through earlystage exploration, which is expected todecrease in 2011 by a further 30% incomparison with 2010, or 50% in com-parison with 2009.

On the corporate front, PolyusZoloto cancelled its RTO of KazakhGoldGroup. However, Polyus continuesnegotiations with the Kazakh officialsand the Assaubayev family (previousmajority shareholders of KazakhGold).Alrosa previously announced its pre-liminary plans to undertake IPO.However, owing to better market condi-tions, the company is now talkingabout IPO in 2013.

Polymetal announced its plans todiscover at least two world-class depositswith resource of 200 t Au eq by Q32012. The company expects to spendUS$60M on exploration in 2012. Poly -metal’s exploration budget was US$18Min 2008, US$30M in 2009, and is pro-jected to have been US$40–45M in 2010.The company produced 605 koz Au eqin 2009 and is now planning to doubleits production by 2012. This is to beachieved mostly via development ofrefractory gold deposits of Maiskoye inChukotka and Albazino in Khabarovsk,both in the Russian Far East.

In general, Former Soviet Union(FSU) has many undeveloped depositswith refractory gold, like those ofPolymetal, which may help to increasethe gold production profile of the FSU.For instance, Navoi Mining andMetallurgical Combine in Uzbekistanhas just completed construction of theBIOX plant capable to treat the refrac-tory ores of the Kokpatas deposit in theKyzylkum district. Once in full produc-tion, it will be able to produce 0.66 Mozof gold per annum. These events defi-nitely indicate a new steady trend inthe FSU.

Severstal continued its internationalacquisition activity via full consolida-tion of Crew Gold, operating inGuinea, from Endeavour Financial forUS$215M. In 2010, Severstal expects toproduce 640 koz Au (after consolida-tion). Severstal also acquired 19.67% inSacre-Coeur Minerals, with a projectin Guyana. The ultimate goal is toundertake an IPO with estimated valu-ation of the company at US$4 billion.As part of preparation for IPO, Severstalregistered Nord Gold NV as a potentialholding company for itsgold assets.

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CONTIGUOUSUNITED STATES

Regional Correspondent:Roger C. Steininger (SEG 1978)

COO & Director, Acquisitions & ExplorationNuLegacy Gold Corp.

4790 Caughlin Parkway #765Reno, NV 89519-0907

Tel. 775-742-6333E-mail: [email protected]

Southeastern U.S. Correspondent:Dennis J. LaPoint (SEG 1983 F)

Appalachian Resources LLC

After attending PDAC, I have con-cluded that our industry has become areality show, but which one: Let’s Makea Deal, The Price is Right, Who Wantsto Be a Millionaire, or Deal or No Deal?With some 30,000 in attendance andthe gold price at record levels (as ismost every other metal) the meetingwas more than upbeat. The only thingmissing during the week was the sun,which is why I appreciate the WesternU.S.

Good news continues to issue forthfrom the Long Canyon gold deposit(Elko County, Nevada). Drilling to thenortheast continues to expand the areaof known mineralization, as does step-out drilling along the western marginof the deposit. But the really good newsis that Newmont has offered $2.3 BIL-LION to buy Fronteer. In case you missedit, that is BILLION, with a B. Newmontwill acquire, in addition to the Pequopproperties, the Sandman and North -umberland gold deposits, and will spinout the rest of the holdings into PilotGold, a new public company. Newmontstated that the Long Canyon depositcould contain 3 to 4 times the currentlydefined 2.2 Moz of gold.

The annual Nevada Section of AIPGexploration roundup meeting was heldin December. As one might expect, giventhe price of gold, the several companiesthat presented outlined extremely ag -gressive 2011 exploration plans. Themost striking news is the planning for a “super pit” at Barrick-Newmont’sTurquoise Ridge (Humboldt County,Nevada). There could be a 30-yearmine producing 800,000 oz of gold peryear from a resource base of at least 20Moz of gold.

How about a “twofer”? Rare Elementcontinues to develop the Bear Lodge

(Wyoming) Rare Earth deposit, and onthe same property is the Sundancegold project. Drilling results from the2010 program indicate expansion ofthe three known gold deposits and theRare Earth deposit.

Continuing the business model thatmany “Juniors” have developed, basedon drill until a major buys the depositand if that doesn’t work become a goldproducer, Coral Gold is now started aneconomic analyses of the Robertsonproperty (Lander County). Wonderfulwhat $1,400 gold will do.

Nevada is billing itself as “The SaudiArabia of Geothermal Energy,” but withno camels. There are 18 power plantsin operation that produce 2,181,460megawatt hours of electric, and a totalof 245 drilling permits in place forexpansions and developments. If oneoverruns the drilling budget on theseprojects, does that put them in hotwater?

The Nevada Bureau of Mines andGeology has released Special Publica -tion MI-2009 (available on their web-site) which is a 180-page report sum-marizing metal, non-metal, oil and gas,and geothermal activity in Nevada.

Members of the Geological Society ofNevada have been inundated by help-wanted emails, everything from drillsitters to senior management. Is this asign of a top in the market?

SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATESThe Carolinas are in the middle of theregion’s biggest gold rush since the firstAmerican gold rush in 1820s and thesecond one in the 1990s, when SouthCarolina had four gold mines in pro-duction. At the Haile gold mine, Ro -marco Minerals Inc. (TSX:R) released apositive feasibility study reported in aFebruary 9, 2011 news release. Thestudy has capital costs of $275M; anaverage cash cost (after by-productcredit) of $347/oz for the first five years,a reserve grade of 2.06 g/t, and provenand probable reserves of 2.0 M con-tained ounces of gold.

This success has encouraged a num-ber of junior companies to venture intothe region. Near the Haile mine, Strong -bow Exploration Inc (CA;SBW) hasacquired over 1,600 acres along a 2.5-km strike length of the Haile-Brewergold trend that are mainly covered by

younger Coastal Plain sediments. OnJanuary 10, 2011, Firebird ResourcesInc (FIX) announced an agreementwith Pageland Minerals Ltd (a privatecorporation) to acquire three projectswith positive historic drill results on theHaile-Brewer trend: the Buzzard, Jeffer -son, and Belk projects.

In North Carolina, Erin VenturesInc. (TSX Venture:EV) announced onFebruary 28, 2011, the completion of atechnical report on the Deep River goldproject in Moore County, North Carolina.An inferred gold resource of 708,000 ozat a grade of 0.012 opt and 59 Mt ofore material was calculated based on12 holes drilled by Erin into this goldporphyry system. The system is open inall directions, including depth. Revolu -tion Resources Corp. (TSX:RV) contin-ues to expand its land package in whatthey call the Champion Hills trend,North Carolina. This includes the oldKeystone-Jones and Lofton mines thatwere drilled by Noranda and others inthe late 1980s.

Recently, they acquired two gold-richmassive sulfide deposits, Silver Hill andSilver Valley as well as additional landin North Carolina. Romarco purchasedthe Sawyer mine in Randolph County,NC, where historic and recent drillingoutlined a small gold resource. Strong -bow announced they acquired the his-toric Parker mine in North Carolina inthe Gold Hill district. Pageland Min -erals continues to be active in Northand South Carolina, developing otherprojects where they acquire key tractsand then package the project. Othercompanies are active in adjacent states,but have not announced projects.

The gold deposits include typical epi-thermal gold systems and gold por-phyries, syngenetic massive sulfidedeposits, intrusive hosted deposits, andorogenic quartz-carbonate vein systems.All deposits are of late Precambrian(volcanic and intrusive related) andPaleozoic age (orogenic). 1

32 S E G N E W S L E T T E R No 85 • APRIL 2011EX

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SOCIETY OF ECONOMIC GEOLOGISTSJANUARY 1, 2011 – DECEMBER 31, 2011 (or until December 31st of the year listed)

OFFICERS

M. Stephen Enders, President7811 Shaffer ParkwayLittleton, CO 80127-3732, USA

Brian G. Hoal, Executive Director

Harold J. Noyes, Treasurer7811 Shaffer ParkwayLittleton, CO 80127-3732, USA

Lluís Fontboté, President-Elect

Jeffrey W. Hedenquist, Past President

Douglas J. Kirwin, Vice President for Regional Affairs (2009 – 2011)

Anthony C. Harris, Vice President for Student Affairs (2011 – 2013)

SEG FOUNDATIONDonald J. Birak, President

SEG PUBLICATIONS BOARDStuart F. Simmons, Chair

Society of Geology Applied to Mineral Deposits

Fernando Tornos, PresidentJan Pas̆ava, Executive Secretary

COUNCILORS

2011Lucy H. ChapmanJeff L. DoebrichStephen J. Piercey

2012Miguel CardozoJens GutzmerAlexander S. Yakubchuk

2013Judith A. KinnairdT. Campbell McCuaigMoira T. Smith

PUBLICATIONS BOARD

2011Richard J. GoldfarbDavid L. Kelley

2012Murray W. HitzmanStuart F. Simmons, Chair

2013Antonio Arribas R. Paul G. Spry

Brian G. Hoal, ex officioLawrence E. Meinert,

Economic Geology Editor

REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENTS

2011Paul A. Nex – AfricaMaria Boni – EuropeFrancisco I. de Azevedo – Latin AmericaNikolay A. Goryachev – North Eurasia

2012Weidong Sun – AsiaJeffrey L. Mauk – Australasia

2013Erme Enriquez – Mexico, Central

America, and the Caribbean

COMMITTEES

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEEM. Stephen Enders, ChairLluís FontbotéJeffrey W. HedenquistDouglas J. KirwinHarold J. NoyesStuart F. SimmonsBrian G. Hoal, ex officio

AUDIT COMMITTEEDonald J. Baker, ChairM. Stephen EndersBarton J. Suchomel

BUDGET COMMITTEEHarold J. Noyes, ChairStuart F. SimmonsBarton J. SuchomelBrian G. Hoal, ex officio

COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEESDavid R. Cooke, ChairMichel CuneyRuben A. Padilla GarzaKaren D. KelleyNicholas M. StevenYasushi Watanabe

DISTINGUISHED LECTURER COMMITTEECornel E. J. de Ronde, 2012 ChairRobert J. Bodnar, 2011Stephen F. Cox, 2013Alvaro P. Crósta, 2013R. Charlie Davies, 2012Michel Jebrak, 2012

FELLOWSHIP ADMISSIONS COMMITTEEFrancesco M.C. Pirajno, 2011 ChairTawn D. Albinson, 2013Peter A. Drobeck, 2012Vanessa Lickfold, 2013Yasushi Watanabe, 2013Jamie J. Wilkinson, 2013

INVESTMENT COMMITTEEGeorge R. Ireland, ChairDonald J. BakerChristopher E. HeraldRichard J. HallBarton J. SuchomelHarold J. Noyes, ex officioBrian G. Hoal, ex officio

LINDGREN AWARD COMMITTEELawrence D. Meinert, 2012 ChairThomas Bissig, 2013Lluís Fontboté, 2012J. Bruce Gemmell, 2013Thomas Monecke, 2013Graham Pearson, 2013

NOMINATING COMMITTEEJeffrey W. Hedenquist, ChairLucy H. ChapmanFrancisco I. de Azevedo, Jr.Craig A. FeebreyDuncan E. LargeJeremy P. RichardsJohn F. H. Thompson

STUDENT AFFAIRS COMMITTEEAnthony C. Harris, 2011-2013 ChairRegina M. Baumgartner, 2011Benny C. Chisonga, 2013Michael S. Fulp, 2011Carlos A. Jimenez Torres, 2013David R. Lentz, 2012

PROGRAM COMMITTEE

STEERING COMMITTEEJeffrey W. Hedenquist, 2011 ChairAnthony C. Harris, 2011-2013, ex officioDouglas J. Kirwin, 2009-2011, ex officioBrian G. Hoal, ex officio

PROGRAM COORDINATORSWilliam X. Chávez, Jr., Field Trips 2011Richard J. Goldfarb, Workshops 2011Mark D. Hannington,GAC-MAC-SEG-SGA 2011Harold J. Noyes, GSA 2011

SOCIETY TRAVELING LECTURERS COMMITTEEDouglas J. Kirwin, ex officio, 2009-2011 ChairChristine A. Horrigan, Secretary

International Exchange Lecturer Sub-CommitteeKaren D. Kelley, 2011 CoordinatorGraham M. Brown, 2013Carmen M. Holmgren Donosa, 2013Ozcan Yigit, 2013

Thayer Lindsley Visiting Lecturer Sub-CommitteeAlan J. Wilson, 2011 CoordinatorEdward M. (Max) Baker, 2011H. Catherine Skinner, 2013Pär A. Weihed, 2011

SEG FOUNDATION OFFICERS AND TRUSTEES FOR 2011

SEG CANADA FOUNDATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2011

Gerald G. Carlson, SEGCF PresidentNeil D. AdsheadAlex J. DavidsonJames M. FranklinEdward J. ReeveJohn F.H. Thompson

Jeffrey W. Hedenquist, SEG 2010 President, ex officio (serving on the board until March 2011)

Harold J. Noyes, SEG Treasurer, ex officio

Brian G. Hoal, SEG Executive Director, ex officio

Donald J. Birak, 2011 PresidentA. Geoff Loudon, 2011Barton J. Suchomel, 2011

Past President

R. Patrick Highsmith, 2012George R. Ireland, 2012Borden R. Putnam III, 2012

David W. Broughton, 2013 Secretary

Sergei A. Diakov, 2013Joanne C. Freeze, 2013

Rob L. Krcmarov, 2014Mary L. Little, 2014Peter K.M. Megaw, 2014

Vice President

William X. Chávez, Jr., 2015Diane S. Nicolson, 2015Andrew T. Swarthout, 2015

Harold J. Noyes, Treasurer, ex officio

Brian G. Hoal, SEG Executive Director, ex officio

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The Society WelcomesThe Following

NEW1FELLOWS:Brown, Matthew C., Cloncurry, Australia;Goossens, Marc A., Den Ham, Nether -lands; Johnson, David A., Tucson, Arizona;Juliani, Caetano, Sao Paulo, Brazil;Kovalenker, Vladimir, Moscow, Russia;Legg, Justin M., Christchurch, NewZealand; Mello, Rodrigo B., Belo Hori -zonte, Brazil; Naumov, Evgeniy, Novosi -birsk, Russia; Osborne, Grant A., Perth,Australia; Sicoli Seoane, Jose Carlos,Niteroi, Brazil; Siddorn, James P., Toronto,Canada; Soechting, Walter O., Esquel,Argentina; Suarez Llerena Jaime, Lima,Peru; Taranik, James V., Reno, Nevada;Togtokhbayar, Otgonbayar, Ulaanbaatar,Mongolia; Wenrich, Karen J., Golden,Colorado; Winter, Lawrence S., St. John’s,Canada; Zhou, Taofa, Hefei, China.


NEW1MEMBERS:Kazuhiro Adachi, Marubeni LP Holding,Santiago, Chile; Anthony R. Adkins,Nucla, CO; Mark John S. Africa, Phu BiaMining Limited,Quezon City, Philippines;Peter D. Anning, Horizonte MineralsPLC, Buckfastleigh, United Kingdom;

Marthe Archambault, Surrey, Canada;Daniel R. Ashmore, First QuantumMinerals, Birmingham, United Kingdom;Andre J. Audet, Cadillac Mining Cor -poration, Coutenay, Canada; Mario J.Avendano-Maltrain, BHP Billiton, Anto -fagasta, Chile; Brigitte M. Baker, ManexResource Group, Vancouver, Canada;Denis Baldwin, Newmont Mining Corp.,Battle Mountain, NV; Weber F J Barros,Civil Servant’s Chapter of CUT, Sudoeste,Brazil; Cory E. Beaver, Evolving Gold,Longmont, CO; Sandra G. Birtel, TUBergakademie Freiberg, Freiberg, Germany;John D. Blanchflower, Minorex Consult -ing Ltd., Aldergrove, Canada; SukhanjanBose, Stemcor India Private Ltd., Kolkata,India; Geoffrey B. Boswell, Selenga Min -ing Corporation, Paranaque, Philippines;Stephanie J. Bream, Ivanhoe Mines,Vancouver, Canada; Ryan P. Bresnahan,Victoria Gold Corp., Reno, NV; Gregory J.Bromley, Mindax Limited, West Perth,Australia; Jon E. Brummer, ClimaxMolybdenum Company, Leadville, CO;Geoffrey K. Burtner, Newmont MiningCorp., Denver, CO; Martin J. Candy, RioTinto Iron Ore, Mount Hawthorn, Aus -tralia; Roman F. Celis, Jr., Guyana Gold -fields Inc., Malolos City, Philippines;Michael H. Christie, First QuantumMinerals Ltd., Perth, Australia; WilliamT. Cohan, W. T. Cohan & Associates, Inc.,Grand Junction, CO; David J. Copeland,Hunter Dickinson Inc., Vancouver,

Canada; Graham T. Crook, Oyu TolgoiLLC, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; Geoff E.Day, Endeavour Mining Corporation, FallRiver, Canada; Gerald Deinzer, Companiade Minas Buenaventura SAA, Lima, Peru;Rebecca C. Doyle, First Quantum MineralsLtd., Carrickboy, Ireland; Aliser Erdogan,Tuprag Metal Mad. San Tic AS, Ankara,Turkey; Zachary E. Flood, Sun Valley, ID;Agnes Gal, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; Carlos A. Garcia-Ramirez, Universidad Industrial deSantander, Floridablanca, Colombia;Christopher L. Gordon, Dragon MiningSweden AB, Storuman, Sweden; Adam D.Gorecki, Redhawk Resources, Cedarburg,WI; Matthew A. Graham-Ellison, BarrickCowal, Copacabana, Australia; WarnerGruenwald, Geoquest Consulting Ltd.,Vernon, Canada; Stella B. Guimaraes,CPRM-Geological Survey of Brazil, Barsilia,Brazil; William L. Gunter, Barrick GoldN.A., Park City, UT; Erin M. Haney,Barrick Gold, Elko, NV; Lyle Hansen,MAG Silver Corp., Vancouver, Canada;Simone S. Hartmann, Gold Fields SouthAfrica, Westonaria, South Africa; MauriceY. Houle, Teck Resources Ltd., Vancouver,Canada; Raymond A. Hrkac, GGLResources Corp., Coquitlam, Canada;Donald P. Huntly, Hannans Reward Ltd.,Shelley, Australia; Corey M. Jago, Mineralsand Metals Group, Rosebery, Australia;Gari P. Jarmany, James Cook University,Annandale, Australia; William W.

SEG MEMBERSHIP NEWS

CANDIDATES FOR 1 FELLOWSHIP

Address Comments ToChair, SEG Admissions Committee

SOCIETY OF ECONOMIC GEOLOGISTS • 7811 Shaffer Parkway • Littleton, CO 80127-3732 • USA

Heather, Kevin B. Antares Minerals Inc., La Serena, Chile:Douglas J. Kirwin, Jeffrey W. Hedenquist;

Hudak, George J. University of Minnesota, Natural ResourcesResearch Institute, Duluth, Minnesota: Ron Morton, StevenA. Hauck;

MacKenzie, Christopher J. Helio Resource Corp., Sheffield,United Kingdom: Gawen R.T. Jenkin, Richard J. Herrington;

McCormick, Kelli A. South Dakota Geological Survey, RapidCity, South Dakota: Colin J. Paterson, Alvis L. Lisenbee;

Maher, David J. Bronco Creek Exploration, Inc., Tucson,Arizona: C. Eric Seedorff, Mark D. Barton;

Masurenko, Christian ECTerra (AUS) PTY Ltd., Twistringen,Germany: Duncan Large, Richard Herrington;

Parris, Keith R. Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold, JakartaSelatan, Indonesia: Clyde A. Leys, J. Richard Kyle;

Reynolds, Neal A. CSA Global Pty. Ltd., Perth, Australia:Douglas J. Kirwin, Jeffrey W. Hedenquist;

Silva, Maria da Gloria University of Bahia and GeologicalSurvey of Brazil-CPRM, Salvador, Brazil: Richard J.Goldfarb, Alvaro Penteado Crosta;

Sweeney, Russell J. Rio Tinto Exploration, London, UnitedKingdom: Brian G. Hoal, Michael Harris;

Szentesy, Cecilia Rosia Montana Gold Corp., Rosia Montana,Romania: Forenc Molnar, Calin Gabriel Tamas;

Udubasa, Sorin S. University of Bucharest, Faculty of Geologyand Geophysics, Bucharest, Romania: Calin GabrielTamas, Forenc Molnar.

To All SEG Fellows:Pursuant to the Society’s Bylaws, names of the following candidates, who have been recommended for Fellowship by theAdmissions Committee, are submitted for your consideration. Each applicant’s name and current position are followed by thenames of their SEG sponsors. If you have any comments, favorable or unfavorable, on any candidate, you should send them, inwriting prior to June 5th. If no objections are received by that date, these candidates will be presented to Council for approval.

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Johnston, Pebble Limited Partnership,Anchorage, AK; Sarah A. Jones, Consoli -dated Minerals Ltd, West Perth, Australia;Michiteru Kai, Marubeni Corporation,Yachiyo, Japan; Sebastian Kneer, U308Limited, Beaconsfield, Australia; Raja -gopal Krishnamurthi, Indian Institute ofTechnology Roorkee, Roorkee, India;Darcy W. Krohman, Lion One MetalsLimited, North Vancouver, Canada;Stefan Kruse, Terrane Geoscience Inc.,Richibucto, Canada; Osman Kurtulus,Stratex Madencilik Sanayi ve Ticaret Ltd.,Ankara, Turkey; Jade Star Lackey,Pomona College, Claremont, CA; Brien A.Laird, Teck Exploraciones Mineras Chile,Las Condes, Chile; Robert A. Lane,Plateau Minerals Corp., Prince George,Canada; Stephen A. Lane, MindaxLimited, West Perth, Australia; Andrea R.Langerud, Teck Resources Ltd., Vancouver,Canada; Aiden J. Lavelle, Stratex Inter -national, Castlebar, Ireland; SebastienLavoie, Freeport McMoRan ExplorationCorp., Phoenix, AZ, Hai V. Le, OlympusPacific Minerals Inc., Danang, Viet Nam;Konstantin V. Lobanov, Orsu MetalsCorporation, Moscow, Russia; W. MichaelLucko, Wesdome Gold Mines, Blind River,Canada; Phillip A. Lundy, TransformMinerals Ltd., Coalgate, New Zealand;Jeffrey S. Lynott, Foth InfrastructureEnvironment, LLC, Rhinelander, WI; KyleA. MacLintock, Claude Resources Inc.,Regina, Canada; Michael L. Madcharo,Colog, Lincoln, NE; Jerry W. Mansfield,Bureau of Land Management, Fillmore,UT; Glenn R. Martin, De Grey MiningLtd., Yokine, Australia; Godfrey J. Mason-Apps, Goldcorp Canada Ltd., Toronto,Canada; Catherine G. Matus, AnglogoldAshanti Australia, Perth, Australia; ScottA. D. McBride, Richfield Ventures Corp.,Victoria, Canada; Kelli A. McCormick,South Dakota Geological Survey, RapidCity, SD; Donald A. McDonald, AngloGold Ashanti Australia, Rockingham,Australia; Brad SM McKinley, QuadraFNX Mining, Sudbury, Canada; Ian S.Merkel, Freeport McMoRan Inc., Evergreen,CO; Jayson B. Meyers, Curtin University,WASM, Maylands, Australia; Phillip L.Micale, Bluestone Mines Tasmania JV,Zeehan, Australia; Emily A. Miller, NorthVancouver, Canada; Hannah K. Mills,Firestone Ventures Inc., Prince George,Canada; Claudia Monreal, Core MiningStudies, Vina Del Mar, Chile; Gwyneth L.Murtagh, Aurum Exploration Services,Kells, Ireland; Katsuhiro Nomura, NikkoExploration & Development Co., Ltd.,Inashiki-gun, Japan; Jaime Osorio,Fladgate Exploration Consulting Corp.,Vancouver, Canada; David W. Pals, IowaGeological and Water Survey Bureau,Iowa City, IA; Choong W. Park, SamtanCo., Ltd., Seoul, Korea; Keith R. Parris,

Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold,Jakarta Selatan, Indonesia; Andrew G.Paterson, Alas Iron Limited, West Perth,Australia; Paul S. Poloka, Nautilus Min -erals, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea;James A. Richmond, Ruby Creek Re -sources, San Bruno, CA; Thomas Rogers,African Mining Consultants Ltd, Kitwe,Copperbelt, Zambia; Jose A. SanchezPuerta, Exploradora Minera S.A.S.,Manizales, Caldas, Colombia; DennisSanchez-Mora, Corporacion MineraDominicana, San Jose, Costa Rica; LamineSanogo, Uranium Logging & Consulting-AO, Niamey, Niger; Amit Sen, IndianInstitute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee,India; Mark C. Shutty, Golden Predator,Portland, ME; Sihol E. Sitorus, PT SigmaMineral Exploration, Jakarta, Indonesia;Philip J. Southam, Samex Mining Corp.,Abbotsford, Canada; Anne C. Souza,University of Brasilia, Brasilia, Brazil;Vincent Steinmetz, Rio Tinto Iron Ore,Belmont, Australia; Lisa Stillings, U.S.Geological Survey, Reno, NV; James P.Stratford, First Quantum Minerals, Ndola,Zambia; Romulo C. Subong, MarikinaCity, Philippines; Monika Sumara, Dis -covery Harbour Resources, West Vancouver,Canada; Gregg A. Swayze, U S GeologicalSurvey, Denver, CO; James Thom, St.Elias Mines, Vancouver, Canada; GeorgeE. Till, Bariq Mining Ltd., Stroud, UnitedKingdom; Guillermo Turner Saad, CAEMining, Brisbane, Australia; ChristopherP. van Wijk, First Quantum Minerals,Ndola, Zambia; Michael C. Villar, PhuBia Mining Ltd., Marikina, Philippines;Lynne E. Volpi, Kestrel Mine Services,Spring Creek, NV; Albert F. Waibel,Consulting Geologist, Hillsboro, OR; JessieC. Wama, Nautilus Minerals Niugini,Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea; RobinJ. Whiteaker, Hunter Dickinson Inc.,Kamloops, Canada; Peter J. Woolley,IMX Resources, Subiaco, Australia.


NEW1STUDENT MEMBERS:Alexandra J. Albarracin, UniversidadNacional de Colombia, Soacha, Colombia;Alexander S. Allen, McGill University,Halstead, United Kingdom; YenniferAlvarez-Gutierrez, Universidad Nacionalde Colombia, Bello, Colombia; DanielAlvira, Universidad Nactional de Colom -bia Medellin Campus, Medellin, Colombia;Henrique R.B. Amaral, Universidade deSao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil; LaetitiaAmisse, Universite du Quebec a Chicoutimi,Chicoutimi, Canada; Gustavo AnascoLeyton, Universidad Catolica del Norte,Antofagasta, Chile; Eva Anastasova, Univ.of Mining & Geology ‘St. Ivan Rilski’, Sofia,

Bulgaria; Kelvin F. Anderson, CamborneSchool of Mines, Penryn, United Kingdom;Melissa O. Anderson, University of NewBrunswick, Fredericton, Canada; Maria C.Arroyave, Universidad Nacional deColombia, Medellin, Colombia; CharlotteA. C. Athurion, Universite du Quebec -INRS, Quebec, Canada; Laura N. Barbosa-Mejia, Universidad Nacional de Colombia,Medellin, Colombia; Laura C. Barrantes,Universidad Nacional de Colombia,Bogota, Colombia; Glaucia S. Barreto,Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo,Brazil; Mohd Basril I. Basori, Universityof Tasmania - CODES, Hobart, Australia;Gabriel V. Berni, ETH Zurich, Zurich,Switzerland; April A. Bertrand, Lauren -tian University, Chelmsford, Canada; WeiBo, Gangzhou, Institute of Geochemistry,Guangzhou, China; Jessica Bogossian,University of Brasilia, Brasilia, Brazil;Daniela L. Borges, Universidade de SaoPaulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Rachel Bou -langer, University of Regina, Regina,Canada; Irina C. Brinza, University ofBucharest, Constanta, Romania; Bonnie N.Broman, University of Alaska, Fairbanks,AK; Christopher I. Browne, University ofNew England, Armidale, Australia; Wil -liam Brownscombe, Imperial College,London, United Kingdom; Bogdan I.Buioc, University of Bucharest, Mioveni,Romania; Luisa F. Buritica Alvarez, Uni -versidad Nacional de Colombia, Medellin,Colombia; Yachun Cai, Institute of Geologyand Geophysics, Beijing, China; PatriciaL. Capistrant, Colorado School of Mines,Golden, CO; Jose L. Carrasco, UniversidadCatolica del Norte, Antofagasta, Chile;Dhaniel A. Carvalho, Universidade deSao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Lucas V.Cassini, Universidade de Sao Paulo, SaoPaulo, Brazil; Monica Castaneda, Uni -versidad Na cional de Colombia, Bello,Colombia; Juan P. Castaneda-Venegas,Universidad Nacional de Colombia,Bogota, Colombia; Diana Catano-Salas,Universidad Na cional de Colombia, Bello,Colombia; Maria Carolina A. Catunda,Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo,Brazil; Matthew R. Chaffee, University ofMinnesota, Duluth, MN; Ana PaulaChiquini, Uni versidade de Sao Paulo, SaoPaulo, Brazil; Diana Ciobanete, Universityof Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania; DebraColarossi, University of the Witwatersrand,Honey dew, South Africa; Luz M. Colorado-Escobar, Universidad Nacional de Colom -bia, Medellin, Colombia; Jessie C. Cooke,University of New England, Parkes, Aus -tralia; Alba C. Cordero, UniversidadNacional de Colombia Medellin Campus,Medellin, Colombia; Karen J. CorreaBasilotta, Universidad de Concepcion,Concepcion, Chile; Claudia XimenaCorrea, Universi dadNacional de Colombia, to page 36 . . .

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Bogota, Colombia; Lys M. Cunha,University of Brasilia, Brasilia, Brazil;Balazs Czegledi, University of Miskolc,Hajduszoboszlo, Hungary; MalenaD’Elia, Universidade de Sao Paulo, SaoPaulo, Brazil; Mareike Decker, Martin-Luther University, Halle Wittenberg,Halle, Germany; Jianghong Deng,University of Science and Tech nology ofChina, Hefei, China; Gregory M. Dering,University of Nevada - Reno, Sparks, NV;Giuliana A. Diaz-Mendoza, UniversidadNacional de Colombia, Medellin,Colombia; Martin D. Dobrev, Universityof Mining & Geology ‘St. Ivan Rilski’,Sofia, Bulgaria; Sebastian N. Dobrin,University of Bucharest, Galati, Romania;Lorenzo A. Dominguez Calleros,Universidad Autonoma de Chihuahua,Chihuahua, Mexico; Jose J. Dominguez,Universidad Nacional de Colombia,Cajica, Colombia; Yordanka Donkova,University of Mining and Geology ‘St.Ivan Rilski’, Plovdiv, Bulgaria; Camilo E.Dorado Montalvo, Universidad Nacionalde Colombia, Bogota, Colombia; Irena S.Dragancheva, Sofia University ‘St.Kliment Ohridski’, Sofia, Bulgaria;Michele M. Drinnan, University ofWaikato, Hamilton, New Zealand; LiuanDuan, University of Science and Tech -nology of China, Hefei, China; Tiberiu C.Dumitru, University of Bucharest, Braila,Romania; Maria I. Echavarria, Universi -dad Nacional de Colombia, Medellin,Colombia; Carlos M. Echeverri-Misas,Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo,Brazil; Golpira Elmi Assadzadeh, Univer -sity of Windsor, Windsor, Canada; Vlad V.Ene, University of Bucharest, Bucharest,Romania; Anne Engler, TU BergakademieFeiberg, Freiberg, Germany; Alison M.Fairmaid, The University of Melbourne,Melbourne, Australia; Evan M. Finnes,University of Minnesota, Colombia Heights,MN; Anselme H. Fosso Noubiap, Univer -sity of Yaounde, Yaounde, Cameroon;Jonathan A. Franco Hempenius, Univer -sidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogota,Colombia; Manuel S. Fuentealba, Uni -versidad Catolica del Norte, Antofagasta,Chile; Travis L. Fultz, Missouri StateUniversity, Springfield, MO; Jillian AiraS. Gabo, Kyushu University, Fukuoka,Japan; Nona E. Gagnidze, Institute ofGeology, Tbilisi, Georgia; Cristiano P.Galeazzi, Universidade de Sao Paulo, SaoPaulo, Brazil; Adolfo A. Gallardo Guer -rero, Universidad Catolica del Norte,Antofagasta, Chile; Jianfeng Gao, Uni -versity of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China;Kattherine Garcia, Universidad Nacionalde Colombia, Medellin, Colombia; StefanoGialli, University of Geneva, Geneva,

Switzerland; Emmanouil Giampouras,University of Athens, Athens, Greece;Dafina S. Gimisheva, Sofia University ‘St.Kliment Ohridski’, Sofia, Bulgaria; Kathe -rine A. Giraldo-Africano, UniversidadNacional de Colombia, Medellin, Colom -bia; Sarah Maeve Glynn, University ofthe Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, SouthAfrica; Amed Gomez, University of Texas,El Paso, TX; Santiago N. Gonzalez, Uni -versidad Nacional de la Plata, La Plata,Argentina; Francois Goulet, Universite duQuebec Montreal, Montreal, Canada;Sebastian Grignola, Universidad Nacionalde Tucuman, San Miguel de Tucuman,Argentina; Juan S. Guiral-Vega, Universi -dad Nacional de Colombia, Medellin,Colombia; Jiangtao Guo, GeochemistryInstitution of Guangzhou, Guangzhou,China; Maria A. Gutierrez Echeverry,Universidad Nacional de Colombia,Medellin, Colombia; Lorraine K. Hamil -ton, University of Auckland, Auckland,New Zealand; Jinsheng Han, GuangzhouInstitute of Geochemistry, Guangzhou,China; Emma G. Hansen, OklahomaState, Stillwater, OK; Yongsheng He, Uni -versity of Science and Technology of China,Hefei, China; Pierre Hemon, University ofGeneva, Gaillard, France; ElisabethHenjes-Kunst, Montanuniversitaet Leoben,Leoben, Austria; Meghan L. Hewton,Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada;Johannes Holzapfel, University ofTubingen, Mossingen, Germany; John J.Hoyt, Iowa State University, Boone, IA;Chunjie Hu, Guangzhou Institute of Geo -chemistry, Guangzhou, China; GuohuiHu, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry,Guangzhou, China; Rong Hu, Universityof Science and Technology of China, Hefei,China; Wenting Huang, GuangzhouInstitute of Geochemistry, Guangzhou,China; Hannah Hughes, CamborneSchool of Mines, St. Agnes, United King -dom; Andreea A. Hulpoi, University ofBucharest, Bucharest, Romania; Vasilis G.Iliopoulos, Sr., Agia Paraskevi, Greece;Georgi I. Ivanov, University of Mining andGeology ‘St. Ivan Rilski’, Sofia, Bulgaria;Adinan Jarouche, Universidade de SaoPaulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Ying Jiang,Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry,Guangzhou, China; Johanna Jimenez,Universidad Nacional de Colombia,Medellin, Colombia; Yana K. Kancheva,Sofia University ‘St. Kliment Ohridski’,Sofia, Bulgaria; Kristina T. Kanovska,Sofia University ‘St. Kliment Ohridski’,Velingrad, Pazarjik, Bulgaria; MagdalenaI. Karakusheva, University of Mining andGeology ‘St. Ivan Rilski’, Bozhurishte,Bulgaria; Sandra K. Kisch, University ofAlberta, Sherwood Park, Canada; Ivan D.

Krumov, Sofia University ‘St. KlimentOhridski’, Sofia, Bulgaria; Bruno Lagler,Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sap Bernardodo Campo, Brazil; Xiadong Lai, Universityof Science and Technology of China,China; Xianghua Lan, University ofScience and Technology of China, China;Simon Large, ETH Zurich, Untereng -stringen, Switzerland; Jose A. Lazcano,Universidad Catolica del Norte, Antofa -gasta, Chile; Vlad A. Lazar, University ofBucharest, Bucharest, Romania; Aline S.Lemos, University of Brasilia, Brasilia,Brazil; Alexey Li, Queen’s University,Kingston, Canada; Mengjiang Li, Guang -zhou Institute of Geochemistry, Guangzhou,China; Nan Li, China University ofGeosciences, Beijing, China; ShuangqingLi, University of Science and Technologyof China, Hefei, China; Valeria Li, Queen’sUniversity, Kingston, Canada; XiaochunLi, Institute of Geology and Geophysics,Beijing, China; Zhenwen Lin, GuangzhouInstitute of Geochemistry, Guangzhou,China; Chunfa Liu, Guangzhou Instituteof Geochemistry, Guangzhou, China; JunLiu, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry,Guangzhou, China; Lixiang Liu, Univer -sity of Science and Technology of China,Hefei, China; Xingcheng Liu, GuangzhouInstitute of Geochemistry, Guangzhou,China; Xiandong Luo, University ofScience and Technology of China, Hefei,China; Yong Luo, Guangzhou Institute ofGeochemistry, Guangzhou, China; CharlesMakoundi, University of Tasmania, Ho -bart, Australia; Shidong Mao, GuangzhouInstitute of Geochemistry, Guangzhou,China; Maria Marina, University ofMining and Geology ‘St. Ivan Rilski’,Plovdiv, Bulgaria; Teodora Marinova,University of Mining and Geology ‘St.Ivan Rilski’, Kozioduy, Bulgaria; Arjen E.Mascini, Utrecht University, Bilthoven,Netherlands; Gordon G. McFadden,Laurentian University, Bala, Canada;Conor P. McKinley, Memorial Universityof Newfoundland, St. John’s, Canada;Jacqueline N. Medeiros, Universidade deSao Paulo, Osasco, Brazil; Fabio C. Men -donca, University of Brasilia, Brasilia,Brazil; Patricia A. Meza, UniversidadCatolica del Norte, Antofagasta, Chile;George Mihaylov, University of Miningand Geology ‘St. Ivan Rilski’, Sofia,Bulgaria; Lyubomir Mihaylov, Universityof Mining and Geology ‘St. Ivan Rilski’,Sofia, Bulgaria; Marina A. Mincheva,Sofia University ‘St. Kliment Ohridski’,Sofia, Bulgaria; Stephanie D. Mont -gomery, University of California Riverside,San Bernadino, CA; Johanna Montoya,Universidad Nacional de Colombia,Medellin, Colombia; Luis A. Morales,

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Universidad Catolica del Norte, Antofa -gasta, Chile; Claude L. Morissette, Uni -versity of Nevada, Reno, NV; Jesica M.Murray, Biology and Geology Institute,Northwest Argentina (BIGEO), Salta,Argentina; Felix Nannini, Universidadede Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Zahari V.Nanov, Sofia University, Sofia, Bulgaria;Alans W. Navea, Universidad Catolicadel Norte, Antofagasta, Chile; Kamelia P.Nedkova, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences,Sofia, Bulgaria; Michael L. Nguyen,Juniata College, Telford, PA; SantiagoNoriega, Universidad Nacional deColombia, Medellina, Colombia; Sean P.O’Hare, Laurentian University, Sudbury,Canada; Byron D. Ohryn, University ofManitoba, Winnipeg, Canada; Diego M.Oliveira, Universidade de Sao Paulo, SaoPaulo, Brazil; Natasha M. Oviatt, Uni -versity of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada;Aleksandra M. Ovsyannikova, MoscowState University, Moscow, Russia;Emmanouil Paktsevanogolou, Universityof Athens, Athens, Greece; AndreiPanaiotu, University of Bucharest,Bucharest, Romania; Anna A. Pavlova,Russian State Geological ProspectingUniversity, Moscow, Russia; MiroslavaPavlova, Sofia University ‘St. KlimentOhridski’, Pernik, Bulgaria; Alejandro A.Peralta Ramirez, Universidad Catolicadel Norte, Antofagasta, Chile; Adrian A.Perez, Universidad Nacional de Colom -bia, Bogota, Colombia; Paula J. Perilla,Universidad Nacional de Colombia,Bogota, Colombia; Stefan S. Petrov, SofiaUniversity ‘St. Kliment Ohridski’, Skravena,Bulgaria; Carlos I. Pinto-Ortiz, Universi -dad Catolica del Norte, Antofagasta, Chile;Maria Placinta, University of Bucharest,Bucharest, Romania; Razvan G. Popa,University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Ro -mania; Thomas A. Post, Camborne Schoolof Mines, Rossett, United Kingdom; LuciaR. Profeta, University of Bucharest,Bucharest, Romania; Yajing Qin, Guang -zhou Institute of Geochemistry, Guangzhou,China; Gabriel Elias P. Queirogoa, Uni -versity of Brasilia, Brasilia, Brazil; Bog -dana I. Radu, University of Bucharest,Craiova, Romania; Abdorrahman Rajabi,Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran;Guangli Ren, Guangzhou Institute ofGeochemistry, Guangzhou, China; HerveRezeau, University of Geneva, Geneva,Switzerland; Lindsay A. Richan, LaurentianUniversity, Sudbury, Canada; Jonathan J.Rincon Gamero, Universidad Nacionalde Colombia, Medellin, Colombia; MonicaRivera, Universidad Nacional de Colombia,Bello, Colombia; Bibiana P. RodriguezRamos, Universidad Nacional de Colom -bia, Bogota; Ximena A. Rodriguez, Uni -versidad Nacional de Colombia, Medellin,Colombia; Cindy J. Rodriguez-Castillo,Universidad Nacional de Colombia,

Medellin, Colombia; Anthony M. Roma -noski, Texas Tech University, Lubbock,TX; Aleksandra Romanova, Institute ofGeochemistry, Siberian Branch of RussianAcademy of Sciences, Izkutsk, Russia;Jonathan C. Root, University of Utah,Salt Lake City, Utah; Mateus G. Rossi,Universidad de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil;Dawn C.S. Ruth, University of Buffalo,Buffalo, NY; Dimitar G. Sachkov, Uni -versity of Mining and Geology ‘St. IvanRilski’, Dryanovo, Gabrovo, Bulgaria;Christopher V. Sagapoa, Kyushu Univer -sity, Fukuoka, Japan; Jorge I. SalomonChida, Universidad Nacional Autonomade Mexico, Mexico, Mexico; GuilhermeA. Santos, University de Sao Paulo, SaoPaulo, Brazil; Ana Carolina Sartorato,Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo,Brazil; Warren T. Schaub, University ofUtah, Salt Lake City, UT; Mariel T.Schottenfeld, University of Arizona,Tucson, AZ; Blake J. Schreiner, Universityof Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada;Stamatina D. Seferli, University of Athens,Vyronas, Greece; Ali M. Shearman, Uni -versity of Utah, Park City, UT; WandersonR. Silva, University of Brasilia, Brasilia,Brazil; David C. Smith, Colorado Schoolof Mines, Lakewood, CO; Jennifer W.Smith, University of Leicester, CononBridge, Scotland; Dario E. Solano Rojas,Universidad Nacional Autonoma deMexico, Cuernavaca, Mexico; Jose LuisSotelo, Universidad Nacional de Colom -bia, Zipaquira, Colombia; Lyvia F.A.Sousa, Universidade de Sao Paulo, SaoPaulo, Brazil; Aline M. Souza, Universi -dade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil; DiegoF. Souza, Universidade de Sao Paulo, SaoPaulo, Brazil; Stefan D. Staevski, Univer -sity of Mining and Geology ‘St. Ivan Rilsky’,Smoyan, Bulgaria; Milen Stavrev, SofiaUniversity ‘St. Kliment Ohridski’, Sofia,Bulgaria; Amy L. Stephen, Univer sity ofLeicester, Leicester, United Kingdom; AlanaL. Stern, Arizona State University, Tempe,AZ; Fabio Stern, University of Ottawa,Ottawa, Canada; Stela S. Stoyanova,Sofia University ‘St. Kliment Ohridski’,Gorna Malina, Bulgaria; Henrique P. Tan -ganelli, Universidade de Sao Paulo, SaoPaulo, Brazil; Eric J. Thiessen, Universityof Alberta, Edmonton, Canada; AlejandraTobon, Universidad Nacional de Colombia,Medellin, Colom bia; Daniela I. Todorova,Sofia University ‘St. Kliment Ohridski’,Sofia, Bulgaria; Martin G. Tolev, Universityof Mining and Geology ‘St. Ivan Rilski’,Sofia, Bulgaria; Vilichka G. Tomova, SofiaUniversity ‘St. Kliment Ohridski’, Sofia,Bulgaria; Veron ica G. Trevisan, Universi -dade Estadual de Campinas UNICAMP,Campinas, Brazil; Elton A. Trindade, Uni -versidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil;Eugen P. Tudor, University of Bucharest,Dragasani, Romania; Ezgi Unal, Middle

East Tech nical University (METU), Ankara,Turkey; Daniel J. Usma, Universidad Na -cional de Colombia, Medellin, Colombia;Mira M. Valkama, University of Turku,Turku, Finland; Christelle van der Merwe,Uni versity of Johannesburg, Johannesburg,South Africa; Irena Vasileva, Universityof Mining and Geology ‘St. Ivan Rilski’,Sofia, Bulgaria; Simona V. Velinova, SofiaUniversity ‘St. Kliment Ohridski’, Sofia,Bulgaria; Alejandra V. Verdugo, Universi -dad Catolica del Norte, Antofa gasta, Chile;Mariya M. Volkova, Moscow State Univer -sity, Moscow, Russia; Fenlian Wang, Gang -zhou Institute of Geochem istry, Guangzhou,China; Li Wang, Gang zhou Institute ofGeochemistry, Guangzhou, China; YongbinWang, Institute of Geology and Geophysics,Beijing, China; Zhilin Wang, GangzhouInstitute of Geochemistry, Guangzhou,China; Chen Wei, The University of HongKong, Hong Kong, China; Anne Westhues,Memorial University of Newfoundland, St.John’s, Canada; Louise M. Wright, Univer -sity of Leicester, Beds, United Kingdom;Chuanjun Wu, Gangzhou Institute ofGeochemistry, Guangzhou, China; IrisWunderlich, TU Bergakademie Freiberg,Flauen, Germany; Huan Xia, GangzhouInstitute of Geochemistry, Guangzhou,China; Hongjing Xie, Gangzhou Instituteof Geochemistry, Guangzhou, China;Changming Xing, Gangzhou Institute ofGeochemistry, Guangzhou, China; WubinYang, Gangzhou Institute of Geochemistry,Guangzhou, China; Yan Yang, GangzhouInstitute of Geochemistry, Guangzhou,China; Yizeng Yang, University of Scienceand Technology of China, Hefei, China;Kameliya Yankova, University of Miningand Geology ‘St. Ivan Rilski’, Haskovo,Bulgaria; Alejandra Yepes Metaute, Uni -versidad Nacional de Colombia, Medellin,Colombia; Jin Yi, Gangzhou Institute ofGeochemistry, Guangzhou, China; ZhengYi, Gangzhou Institute of Geochemistry,Guangzhou, China; Suwei Yue, GangzhouInstitute of Geochemistry, Guangzhou,China; Angel ica M. Zapata-Montoya, Uni -versidad Nacional de Colombia, Medellin,Colom bia; Juan P. Zapata-Villada, Univer -sidad Nacional de Colombia, Bello, Colom -bia; Gangyang Zhang, Sr., University ofWestern Australia, Perth, Australia; LejunZhang, Hefei University of Technology,Hefei, China; Yu Zhang, Institute ofGeology and Geophysics, Beijing, China;Renjie Zhou, University of Toronto, Toronto,Canada; Yanyan Zhou, Gang zhou Instituteof Geochemistry, Guangzhou, China; Zhen -ju Zhou, Gangzhou Institute of Geochem -istry, Guangzhou, China; Jiangjian Zhu,Gangzhou Institute of Geo chemistry, Guang -zhou, China; Mingtian Zhu, GangzhouInstitute of Geochemistry, Guangzhou,China; Zhimin Zhu, Gang zhou Instituteof Geochemistry, Guangzhou, China. 1

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Call for Nominations for 2012 SEG Traveling Lecturers

International Exchange LecturerThayer Lindsley Visiting LecturerRegional Vice-President Lecturer

International Exchange lecturers speak at sites selected forgreatest in volvement of industry, academic, and governmentgeologists. Thayer Lindsley lecturers visit colleges and univer-sities. Regional Vice-President lecturers mainly present withinone or more of the SEG global regions. Travel support is pro-vided by SEG for those who are chosen.

To be selected, nominees must (1) have widely recognizedexpertise in a field of economic geology; (2) have knowncompetence as a public speaker; and (3) be able to representSEG as an enthusiastic and effective ambassador.

Nominations can be made to the Chair of the relevant selec-tion sub-committees or to Christine Horrigan at SEGHeadquarters at [email protected].

International Exchange Lecturer sub-committee: Karen D. Kelley, Coordinator

Thayer Lindsley Visiting Lecturer sub-committee: Alan J. Wilson, Coordinator

Regional Vice-President Lecturer sub-committee: Douglas J. Kirwin, VP for Regional Affairs, Chair

Call for Nominations Lindgren Award for 2011

The Lindgren Award is offered annually to a geologistwhose published research represents an outstanding con-tribution to economic geology. The contribution shall bemeasured by consideration of one to three papers pub-lished by age 35. The recipient must be less than 37 yearsof age on January 1 of the year in which the award ispresented. The award shall not be restricted as to thecandidate’s nationality, place of employment, or mem-bership in the Society.

The deadline for submitting nominations is August 31, 2011.

Send all nominations to SEG, Attn: Lindgren Award Committee7811 Shaffer Parkway, Littleton, CO 80127-3732 U.S.A.Tel: +1.720.981.7882, ext. 210, Fax: +1.720.981.7874E-mail: [email protected] (preferred method)

Call for Nominations for Penrose and SEGSilver Medals and Marsden Award for 2011Nominations for the Society’s Penrose Gold and SilverMedals and the Marsden Award are due by September1, 2011, for review by the SEG Council.

The SEG awards and nomination form may be obtainedfrom the SEG website at <http://www.segweb.org/about/awards.aspx>. If you do not have access to our website,you may request a copy of the nomination form fromSEG Head quarters. Tel: +1.720.981.7882 / Fax:+1.720.981.7874; e-mail: [email protected].

Send all nominations to SEG, Attn: Awards Committee7811 Shaffer Parkway, Littleton, CO 80127-3732 U.S.A.E-mail: [email protected] (preferred method)

Call for Nominations SEG Distinguished Lecturer for 2012

Now is the time to support your Society and reward a col-league by nominating him or her for the highly respectedand widely recognized SEG Distinguished Lecturer Award.The 2012 nominee will be selected on the basis of his/herpreeminence in economic geology in some phase of sci-entific research or application of the science to mineralsexploration and/or development. Please include the fol-lowing information with your nomination: name ofnominee, nominee’s e-mail address, reason for nomina-tion, brief bio of nominee, and confirmation that nomi-nee is willing to be proposed.

The deadline for submitting nominations is August 31, 2011.

Send all nominations to SEG, Attn: Distinguished Lecturer Committee7811 Shaffer Parkway, Littleton, CO 80127-3732 U.S.A.Tel: +1.720.981.7882 / Fax: +1.720.981.7874E-mail: [email protected] (preferred method)

AnnouncementsSSEEGG & Deadlines

SEG member logo products now available!First introduced at the SEG 2010 Conference in Keystone, ColoradoUSA (October 2-5), SEG ball caps and winter beanies became aninstant hit with attendees. To order your own SEG ball cap and/orbeanie, please go online to the SEG Bookstore at <http://www.segweb.org/store/> or download the publication order form at <http://www.segweb.org/forms/PubsOrderForm.pdf> and fax in your ordertoday (Fax:+1.720.981.7874).

SEG logo ball caps Member price: (US) $16

SEG logo winter beanies Member price: (US) $12

Classic Guidebook Available Now on CD

Guidebook 16, Active GeothermalSystems and Gold-Mercury Deposits inthe Sonoma-Clear Lake Volcanic

Fields, California (1993), edited byJames J. Rytuba, is available at the SEG

online bookstore.

<www.segweb.org/store>Retail Price: $30.00 Member Price: $24.00

Active Geothermal Systems and Gold-Mercury Deposits in the Sonoma-Clear Lake Volcanic Fields, California

Editor:James J. Rytuba

SEG Field Trip Guidebook Series, vol. 16Original print date: 1993by the Society of Economic Geologists, Inc

ISBN 978-1-934969-33-5ISSN 1547-3107© 2011, Society of Economic Geologists, Inc.

www.segweb.org

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IAN GENDALL (SEG 1995) has beenappointed vice president of explorationfor Ryan Gold.

KARIN OLSON HOAL (SEG 1998 F) hasbeen appointed principal geometallur-gist for JK Tech Pty Ltd, maintainingher role as research professor atColorado School of Mines.

DANIEL R. MARINOV (SEG 2001 F) hasaccepted a position with CarderoGroup, based in Vancouver and work-ing in Latin America, mainly Peru.Effective immediately, his work e-mailis [email protected].

JOAQUIN MERINO-MARQUEZ (SEG 2001 F)has been appointed vice president ofexploration for Primero Mining.

PAUL FRANKS (SEG 1966 SF) died inAugust 2010.

ROBERT L. GAYLEN (SEG 2000) diedDecember 29, 2010.

ROBERT B. LUDDEN (SEG 1964 SF) diedJune 28, 2010.

GEORGE C. RILEY (SEG 1970 SF) diedSeptember 2, 2010, in Ottawa, Ontario.

ROBERTO G. VALERA, SR. (SEG 2000 F)died March 3, 2010.

CHARLES G. VAN NESS, III (SEG 1975SF) died May 6, 2009.

ARNOLD L. MCALLISTER (SEG 1972 SF)died November 16, 2010, in Fredericton,New Brunswick. Arnie graduated with aPh.D. in geology from McGill University.Following this, he worked for Interna -tional Nickel. He then joined the Uni -versity of New Brunswick as a facultymember, holding positions on the boardof governors and the university senate.Arnie was recognized for his leadershipin the development of the volcanicmassive sulfide deposit model and was amajor contributor to the UNB programthat led to development of the BrunswickMining and Smelting lead-zinc ore-body. Arnie was especially active involunteer service for the CanadianInstitute of Mining, Metallurgy andPetroleum, serving two terms as chair-man of the geology division.

HERMAN “TED”SCHASSBERGER (SEG1960 SF) died August22, 2010, at the ageof 85. Born in NewYork City, Ted wasraised in Germanyuntil he was 10,when he returnedwith his family tothe United States. Ted served in the U.S.Army and subsequently graduatedfrom Colorado School of Mines in 1950with a degree in geological engineer-ing. After working briefly for the U.S.Geological Survey, he began a careerwith Climax Mining and its successor,Amax. At the time of his death, Tedand his wife were retired and living inBend, Oregon.

personal notes & news C A R E E R - R E L A T E D

C H A N G E SD E A T H S

ART ETTLINGER (SEG 1985, 2007) diedFebruary 27 in Vancouver, BritishColumbia, from cancer, and is sur-vived by his wife, Joanna, and a son,Blaze. Born in New York City in 1957,Art funded his early education by serving hot dogs and beer at YankeeStadium and, consequently, he devel-oped a life-long obsession with theNew York Yankees.

Art completed degrees in geologicaland mining engineering at MichiganTechnological University in 1979 and1981, respectively. After working as amining engineer, an experience thatincluded designing an open-pit gilsonitemine with Chevron’s mineral division,Art returned to his studies. At Wash -ington State University, with LarryMeinert serving as his advisor, he com-pleted a Ph.D. degree in geology in1990. Art’s dissertation was entitled, “Ageological analysis of gold skarns andprecious metal-enriched iron and copperskarns in British Columbia, Canada.”

This research led him to exploregold skarn deposits in Siberia, a regionlong closed to visits by western scien-tists. In 1989, Art became the first U.S.geologist to study the poorly knownSiberian gold deposits. He continuedhis work on gold, notably the EskayCreek deposit, as a postdoctoral fellowwith the Mineral Deposits Research

Unit at the University of BritishColumbia. Then, after returning toindustry, Art worked for several miningcompanies in Idaho and Nevada,including Orvana and Santa FeMinerals.

Between 1996 and 2002, he was amining analyst based in Vancouverand Calgary, quickly establishing him-self as an expert in diamond explo-ration. After leaving the investmentindustry in 2002, Art returned toVancouver permanently, becoming afounder, president, and key technicalperson for several explorers in NorthAmerica.

Although an energetic worker, Artexpressed a longing for a slowerlifestyle, influenced as he was by thelong winters in Upper Michigan, hislove for baseball, and the aspiration todrive a Zamboni at a hockey game.

Art Ettlinger and his son, Blaze.

D E A T H S

SEG 2010 Keystone Guidebooks

Available Now on CD

Guidebook 40: Gold and Base MetalDeposits in the Mexican Altiplano,States of Zacatecas and San Luis Potosí,Central Mexico (Erme Enriquez, Ed.)

Guidebook 41: Tops and Bottoms ofPorphyry Copper Deposits: The Binghamand Southwest Tintic Districts, Utah(Ken Krahulec and Kim Schroeder, Eds.)

Guidebook 42: Northern Sierra MadreOccidental Gold-Silver Mines, Mexico(Guillermo Gastelum, Ed.)

<www.segweb.org/store>

Retail Price: $30.00 • Member Price: $24.00


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We are delighted to invite researchers and industry representatives to this inaugural five- day forum in 2011.

The meeting will promote discussion and innovation in mineral systems research for people committed to understanding the physical and chemical processes of minerals systems at multiple scales and the formation of giant ore systems, evolution of earth systems and help distil fresh ideas into practical exploration solutions.

The meeting honours Professor Mike Solomon (1928-2009).

The inaugural SOLOMON meetingYallingup, Western Australia, 8-13 May 2011

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rontiers inineral ystems

Speakers are by invitation through the session chairs. Posters will be a very important aspect of the program.

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND REGISTRATION: www.csiro.au/Solomon-meeting

As places are limited those wishing to attend should send a short, 100- word abstract highlighting their area of interest and why they would like to attend.

PAID ADVERTISEMENT PAID ADVERTISEMENT

Petrographic Consultants International, Inc.Petrographic Consultants International, Inc.Paula Hansley & Terry Cookro, GeologistsPaula Hansley & Terry Cookro, Geologists

[email protected] 720-890-2628 [email protected]

Transmitted & ore petrography, X-ray, SEMTransmitted & ore petrography, X-ray, SEM

APRIL 2011 • No 85 S E G N E W S L E T T E R 41A

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PAID ADVERTISEMENT

PAID ADVERTISEMENT

Copper Deposits of Central AsiaThe Society of Economic Geologists in co-operationwith the Centre for Russian and Central EurasianMineral Studies (CERCAMS) will host a Cu porphyryworkshop in Central Asia, on 20–27 October 2011.

The event will include the following:

– Pre-workshop field trip to Paleozoic Cu porphyryor Cu VMS deposits in Kazakhstan, 20–23October.

– Porphyry workshop in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, 24–25October, covering prominent Central Asian andinternational case studies.

– Post-workshop field trip, 26–27 October, to thenew 12 Moz Au eq Taldybulak Au-Cu-Mo por-phyry deposit in Kyrgyzstan

The workshop is co-sponsored by Gold Fields Limitedand Orsu Metals Corporation

Please visit the CERCAMS website athttp://www.NHM.ac.uk/mineralogy/cercams/index.htm

for details.

CERCAMS

PAID ADVERTISEMENT

PAID ADVERTISEMENT

PAUL W. KUHN President

[email protected] www.avrupaminerals.com

Direct: +351-253274070 Portugal mobile: +351-925972240 Fax: +351-253615041 U.S. mobile: +1-509-990-6786

SEG Special Publication 15

The Challenge of Finding New Mineral Resources:

Global Metallogeny, InnovativeExploration, and New Resources

R.J. Goldfarb, E.E. Marsh, and T. Monecke, Eds.

Two-volume set (retail, $100; member, $80)Individual volumes (retail, $60; member, $48)

<www.segweb.org/store>

42 S E G N E W S L E T T E R No 85 • APRIL 2011A

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8 → 10 june 2011 Antofagasta, Chile

seminar themes

• Mineralogy applied to mining

and metallurgical processes

• Mining geology

• Production geology

• Hydrogeology

• Geotechnics

• Geology-mine-plant integration

and management

• Geometallurgy

• Geology for non-metallic mining

• Geostatistics

• Mining explorations

Abstracts Due 31 January 2011

Send your 300-word abstract in English to [email protected]

Organised by:

2nd International Seminar onGeology for the Mining Industry

www.geomin.cl

enquiries

Daniela Merino

geomin 2011 coordinatorTelephone: (56 2) 652 1577

[email protected]


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3rd European SEGStudent Chapter's

Conference

SEG Student Chapter LaSalle Franceto host from 22 to 26 august 2011:

Contact:Mail:SEG Student Chapter LaSalle France19 rue Pierre Waguet 60000 Beauvais FRANCEEmail: [email protected]

Academic advisor : Olivier [email protected]

www.seglf.blogspot.com

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• Research & Prospect Generation• Property Evaluation• Technical Reports• Project Management


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Exhibits and Conference InformationOrganizations interested in exhibiting at the meeting should reserve space prior to April 15, 2011 by contacting

Exhibits Chair, André Desrochers, University of Ottawa ([email protected])

Registration will open on March 1, 2011. Details are posted on the Ottawa 2011 website.

Spring is an exciting and busy time in the National Capital Region. Book your travel plans soon!

Contact us:Simon Hanmer (Chair)Geological Survey of CanadaTel: (613) 992-4704Email: [email protected]

André Lalonde (Co-Chair)University of OttawaTel: (613) 562-5985Email: [email protected]

Ottawa will host the 2011 joint annual meeting of the Geological Association of Canada, the Mineral-ogical Association of Canada, the Society of Economic Geologists, and the Society for Geology Applied to Mineral Deposits. Committed to explor-ing both the scientific and societal aspects of Earth Sciences, Ottawa 2011 will revolve aroung Navigat-ing Past & Future Change featuring 40 symposia, special and general sessions, short courses, and field trips.

Please join us May 25–27th, on the downtown University of Ottawa Campus, to discover the unique blend of culture, history, and natural beauty of Canada’s capital and to experience our eclectic mix of scientific and social programs!

SymposiaEarth climate: past, present, future

Andrew Miall

Precambrian metallogeny: a Canadian Archean and Proterozoic perspective

Benoît Dubé, Patrick Mercier-Langevin, Sally Pehrsson, Harold Gibson, Michel Houlé, George Hudak, Bob Linnen,

Réal Daigneault, Phil Thurston, Sylvain Lacroix, Jack Parker

The Ottawa-Bonnechere graben and other large intracratonic fault systems: origin in supercontinent

breakup, faulting and reactivation, magmatic evolution and sedimentary systems

George Dix, Wouter Bleeker

Special Sessions


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SENIOR EXPLORATION MANAGEMENT COURSE

September 12–15, 2011, 8:30 am–5 pmSEG Conference Center, Littleton, Colorado

Organizer: Society of Economic Geologists (SEG)Presenter: Western Mining Services (WMS)

SCOPE This four-day training course concerns the principles and practices of effective exploration management. The curricu-lum covers the spectrum of mineral exploration business issues that typically confront senior exploration managers.Participants will leave with a better understanding of

• Mineral exploration at the strategic scale – the roles of greenfields and brownfields exploration indevelopment and implementation of corporate operating and growth strategies;

• Designing and managing exploration programs and portfolios; • The importance of group structure, program design, process discipline and effective people manage-

ment in achieving exploration group objectives; • Opportunity generation including the exploration search space concept, targeting science and the appli-

cation of targeting models; and• How to conduct new opportunity due diligence, build and negotiate land and minerals access transac-

tions, and manage non-technical risks to achieve enhanced project economics and maintain the nec-essary licenses to operate exploration projects in varied risk environments.

The course format utilizes both lecture and workshop and stresses interactive thinking and problem solving.Participants will work in teams to design solutions to exploration management challenges and will present their resultsto the larger group. The course will be limited to 30 participants.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND? This course is ideal for regional and country exploration managers and for senior project managers who are on trackto move into positions of senior responsibility. It is also appropriate for geoscientists and commercial managers whohave senior exploration management roles in their futures and for government and academic professionals who inter-act extensively with the mineral exploration industry.

REGISTRATION & COURSE FEERegister at http://www.segweb.org/activities/ • SEG Member: US$3,200 • Non-member: US$3,500

CANCELLATION POLICIESFull payment must accompany the registration form. Written cancellations must be received by August 1, 2011, toreceive a refund, less 25% processing fee. After August 15, 2011, all fees are forfeited.


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FACULTY Jon Hronsky (BAppSci, PhD, MAusIMM, FSEG) Jon has more than 25 years of experience in the mineral exploration industry, primarily focused on project generation,technical innovation and exploration strategy development. Jon has particular expertise in gold and nickel sulfidedeposits, but has worked across a diverse range of commodities. His work led to the discovery of the West Musgravenickel sulfide province in Western Australia. Jon joined Western Mining Services in 2007 and has subsequently con-sulted to a wide range of major and junior mining companies. Before joining WMS Jon was Manager-Strategy &Generative Services for BHP Billiton Mineral Exploration, and prior to that, he was Global Geoscience Leader for WMCResources Ltd. Jon was SEG Distinguished Lecturer in 2009.

Bart Suchomel (BA, M.Sc., RPG, FAusIMM, FSEG) Bart has over 25 years of experience in mineral exploration, including 14 years in corporate senior management roles.He has extensive experience in exploration strategy development and business planning. Bart is a principal/partner ofWestern Mining Services and in this role he has provided assistance to numerous mining and exploration companiesin the areas of exploration strategy, planning, portfolio management and new project development. Prior to co-found-ing WMS, Bart was General Manager - Exploration for WMC Resources Ltd., responsible for WMC’s global explorationprograms including near-mine brownfields exploration. Bart is a past President of the SEG Foundation and serves onthe SEG Audit and Investment Committees.

Jeff Welborn (BA, JD) Jeff has over 35 years of experience in the mineral exploration industry – 25 years as a mineral lawyer, 8 years incorporate senior management roles in WMC Resources Ltd, and 6 years as a principal/partner of WMS. Jeff’s experi-ence covers the range of com-mercial, legal and risk manage-ment matters that comprise thenon-technical side of the mineralexploration and mining. Hisfocus is commercial, legal, andbusiness risk management at thesenior management level. Jeffworks with mining and explo-ration companies on non-techni-cal due diligence and risk man-agement aspects of newexploration opportunities andjurisdictions. He also assistsWMS clients with matters thatinvolve commercial strategy,planning, deal analysis and nego-tiation and minerals/land access.

COURSE CURRICULUM

“WMS and the Centre for Exploration Targeting, University of Western Australia (CET) joinedtogether to present this Course in February 2010. Participant reviews were so positive that CET and WMS have decided to make the Course an annual event.” Prof. Cam McCuaig, CET Director.

DAY 1• Mineral Exploration Principles,

Philosophies and PortfolioManagement

• Mineral Exploration Strategyand Business Planning

• Mineral Exploration Tactics• Introduction of main exercise –

Exploration Challenge

DAY 2• Commercial

Management inMineral Exploration

• Mineral ExplorationTargeting Science andOpportunityGeneration

• Group exercises

DAY 3• People and Teams• Ranking and

Valuation of MineralExplorationOpportunities

• Group exercises

DAY 4• Exploration Challenge

– Team Presentations• Group discussion and

awards• Wrap-up


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SEG at GSA 2011Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA • October 9–12, 2011

SEG Pre-meeting Course: Cu-Ni-PGE Short CourseCourse Dates: October 7-8, 2011 • Time: 8:30 am–5:00 pm daily

Course DescriptionThis 2-day short course will focus on ourcurrent understanding of the genesis ofand exploration for several types of mag-matic Ni-Cu-PGE deposits.Topics willinclude the following: (1) fundamentalcontrols on the generation of magmaticsulfide deposits, (2) komatiite-hosted Nideposits, (3) Ni-Cu-(PGE) depositshosted in small mafic-ultramafic intru-sions, and (4) PGE deposits in large lay-ered intrusions. The short course will behelpful not only to those who are inter-ested in the geology and exploration ofworld-class magmatic sulfide deposits butalso to those who may utilize sulfide-bearing magmatic systems as aids in thestudy of secular variations of mafic-ultra-mafic magmatism in both continentaland oceanic settings. A new SEG volumeof Reviews in Economic Geology (2011),entitled, Magmatic Ni-Cu-PGE Deposits:Geology, Geochemistry and Exploration,which includes chapters authored bymore than 20 of the world’s experts, willbe used as the textbook.

Instructors:Chusi Li and Edward M RipleyDepartment of Geological SciencesIndiana University, USA

Sarah-Jane BarnesSciences de la TerreUniversite du Quebec a Chicoutimi,Canada

C Michael Lesher Department of Earth SciencesLaurentian University, Canada

Session T.166: Geoscientists Without Borders®: A model for the development programs that apply geoscience to humanitarian needs.Organized by: YES Network, American Geological Institute, and the Society of Exploration Geophysicists Foundation

**Session is co-sponsored by the Society of Economic Geologists

For more information about these sessions and other YES Network activities at the GSA 2011 meeting, visit : http://www.networkyes.org/index.php/meetings/gsa_2011/or contact SEG YES representative Sophie Hancock at [email protected]

Submit your abstract to the YES Network’s topical sessions at the

Geological Society of America 2011 Annual Meeting 9-12 October 2011 | Minneapolis, MN

Abstract deadline: 26 July 2011

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

Session T.151: Engaging Early-Career Geoscientists and Geoscience Students in Outreach Activities

Session T.171: Developing the Global Geoscientist through International Geoscience Networks and Research Projects

SEGwww.segweb.org

Early Registration deadline: Sept. 1, 2011 (Online registration will be available May 31, 2011)

Registration Fees:Early Registration: Members (US$ 395), Non-Members (US$ 495),Member Students (US$ 195), Non-Member Students (US$ 245)Late Registration: Members (US$ 495), Non-Members (US$ 595),Member Students (US$ 245), Non-Member Students ($295)Maximum number of registrants: 100


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SEG at GSA 2011 Abstract deadline is 26 July 2011

SEG co-sponsored sessions

T112. Geology and Mineral Deposits of the Midcontinent RiftSociety of Economic Geologists; UMD-Precambrian Research Center; Institute on Lake SuperiorGeology; GSA Geophysics DivisionJames D. Miller, Suzanne Nicholson, R. Michael Easton, Joshua Feinberg

This session highlights the renewed interest in the tectonomagmatic evolution and metallogenesis of the Midcontinent Riftgenerated by recent geochronologic, geochemical, and geophysical studies and new discoveries of Cu-Ni-PGE depositsassociated with the 1.1 Ga Midcontinent Rift. Economic Geology; Petrology, Igneous Rocks; Precambrian Geology

T113. Tectonics and MetallogenySociety of Economic Geologists; GSA Structural Geology and Tectonics Division; GSA GeophysicsDivisionDavid Schneider, John Jamieson

This session draws attention to the links between tectonics and metallogeny from primary genesis (magmatism, meta-morphism), controlling the distribution of metals to the role of subsequent geological processes (deformation) on ore-bodies that we exploit today. Economic Geology; Tectonics; Geochemistry

T166. Geoscientists Without Borders®: A Model for the Development Programs That Apply Geoscience to Humanitarian NeedsGSA Engineering Geology Division; YES Network; American Geological Institute; Society ofEconomic Geologists; Society of Exploration Geophysicists FoundationLeila M. Gonzales, Sophie J. Hancock, William Barkhouse

This session will highlight the Geoscientists Without Borders® program and its associated projects, including the logistics of establishing projects and the impact the program and projects have made. The session will be broadcast viaWeb-cast. Geoscience Education; Public Policy; Geoscience Information/Communication

T199. A Healthy Society, Geosciences, and Natural ResourcesGSA Geology and Health Division; Society of Economic GeologistsCatherine Skinner, Eric Cheney

Resources figure markedly in the future of a rapidly increasing global population expanding their lifestyles. Complexhealth and economic considerations created by such an expansion require cross-disciplinary exchange in order to bene-fit future cooperation. Geology and Health; Economic Geology; Environmental Geoscience

Other sessions of interest to economic geologists

T78. Mine Reclamation Researches versus Practices in Emerging World Economy (Posters)GSA Engineering Geology DivisionZhaohui Li, Minglu Li

T121. Uranium Ore Deposits: From Genesis to Mine Tailings and Mining WastesRuizhong Hu, Chen Zhu, Mostafa Fayek

T205. Combat Geology: Safeguarding Geologists in the FieldU.S. Geological Survey; Association of American State GeologistsM. Lee Allison, Kathleen M. Johnson

T208. Developing Resource Policies Informed by Geoscience: Applications from the Classroom to the CapitolGSA Geology and Society Division; GSA Geology and Public Policy Committee; National Associationof Geoscience Teachers; GSA Geophysics Division; GSA Geoscience Education DivisionMichael A. Phillips, David W. Szymanski

Detailed information at <http://geosociety.org/meetings/2011/sessions/topical.asp>


SOCIETY OF ECONOMIC GEOLOGISTS

2011

May 8–13. Solomon Symposium: Frontiers inMineral Systems — Yallingup, Western Australia.See p. 40 for details.

H May 14–25. CODES SEG Student ChapterField Trip — “Geology & Ore Deposits of theYangtze Polymetallic District, China.” Website:<http://www.geol.utas.edu.au/studentchapter/Fieldtrips_X.htm>

May 25–27. Ottawa 2011 GAC-MAC-SEG-SGA– Navigating Past & Future Change, Ottawa,Canada. Website: <http://www.gacmacottawa2011.ca/>. See p. 45.

Jun. 8–10. Geomin 2011, Antofagasta, Chile.Details at <http://www.geomin.cl/2011/>. See p. 42.

H Jun 9–19. XXX Curso Latinoamericano deMetalogenia UNESCO-SEG-SGA — Bogotá,Colombia. Website: <http://www.unige.ch/sci-ences/terre/mineral/seminars/bogota11/bogota11.html> (See inside back cover).

Jun. 21–23. XVI Colombian Mining Con -gress. The Faculty of Mines of the UniversidadNacional de Colombia, Sede Medellín, and theColombian Association of Geoengineering, MineEconomics and Petroleum Experts -AGEMPET-announces the XVI Colombian Mining Congressto be held in 2011 as the start of the 125thAnniversary Celebration of the Faculty of Minesin 2012. Information at <http://www.congreso-colombianodemineria.com/>. See p. 42.

Aug. 14–19. Goldschmidt 2011 — Prague, CzechRepublic. Website: <http://goldschmidt2011.org/>.

H Aug. 22–26. 3rd European SEG StudentChapter’s Conference — Lasalle, France. Seep. 43 for details.

Sept. 3–5. Gold of the North Pacific Rim – IIInternational Geology & Mining Forum,Magadan, Russia. Website: <http://gold-pacific.ru>.See p. 44 for details.

Sept. 7–9. Biennial Fermor Conference ofthe Geological Society of London — “OreDeposits in an Evolving Earth”, London, UK.Website: <http://www.fermor2011.org.uk/>.

H Sept. 12–15. SEG-WMS Senior ExplorationManagement Course — SEG Course Center,Littleton, Colorado, USA. See p. 46–47 forcourse details.

H Sept. 18–21. U2011 – Uranium Symposium &Trade Show — Casper, Wyoming, USA. SEGsponsored short course, “Geology of Roll-FrontUranium Deposits”. Website: <http://www.u2011.org>. See back cover for course details.Sept. 26–29. 11th Biennial SGA Meeting, Anto -fagasta, Chile. Website: <https://www.e-sga.org/>.See p. 44 for details.

H Oct. 3–4. Bolivian Geological Society Con -gress — La Paz, BoliviaOct. 9–12. SEG at GSA 2011 Annual Meeting— Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. Website: <http://www.geosociety.org/>. See p. 48–49.

H Oct. 20–27. Porphyry Copper in Central Asia— SEG and CERCAMS. Two field trips and aworkshop. Website: www.NHM.ac.uk/mineralogy/cercams/index.htm. See p. 41.

2012

H Jul. 15–20. The Geochemistry of MineralDeposits Gordon Research at ProctorAcademy, Andover, New Hampshire, USA.Chair: John Muntean (University of Nevada,Reno, email: [email protected]); Co-chair: JonHronsky (Western Mining Services, email: [email protected]); Vice chair: RobertMoritz (University of Geneva, email: [email protected]).

OTHER EVENTS2011

May 21–25. CIM Conference and Exhibition2011: Mines Without Borders — Montreal,Quebec. Website: <http://www.cim.org/montreal2011/>.

H Jun. 7. Workshop in Geometallurgy: TheMoment of Truth — Part of geomin2011.Information: www.geomin.cl

Jun. 28–Jul. 7. IUGG-IAVCEI Conference —Melbourne, Australia. Symposia on VolcanicSystems and Mineral Deposits. Convenors: SteveBeresford, Pierre Simon Ross, Cornel de Ronde,Bruce Gemmell, Mark Hannington. Website:<www.iugg2011.com/>.

H Aug. 1–5. 10th International Congress forApplied Mineralogy (ICAM) — Trondheim,Norway. Website: http://www.edmgr.com/icam2011/

H Aug. 9–11. ECROFI XXI Conference —University of Leoben, Austria. Fluid and MeltInclusions Research in Earth Sciences. Website:<http://ecrofixxi.unileoben.ac.at>

Aug. 21–23. Sulfur in Magmas and Melts andIts Importance for Natural and TechnicalProcesses — MSA Short Course, Goslar, Ger -many. Contact: Harald Behrens, University ofHannover, Email: [email protected], or Jim Webster, American Mu -seum of Natural History, Email: [email protected] at <http://msasulfurinmelts.org/>.

H Aug. 29–Sept.2. 14th Latin American Geo -logical Congress — Medellín, Colombia.Website: <http://www.14clg.com/site/index.php?lang=es>

Star (H) indicates new entry. Send entries to the SEG Office, attn. SEG Production Director: 7811 Shaffer Parkway, Littleton, CO 80127 USA Tel. +1.720.981.7882 / Fax +1.720.981.7874.

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Society of Economic Geologists, Inc.Society of Economic Geologists Foundation, Inc.

7811 Shaffer Parkway · Littleton, CO 80127-3732, USATel. +720.981.7882 · Fax +720.981.7874

E-mail: [email protected] · Website: www.segweb.org

EXECUTIVE Tel. Extension E-mail Address

Brian G. Hoal .....................209 ............ [email protected] Horrigan ............210............. [email protected]

ACCOUNTING Tel. Extension E-mail Address

Anna Thoms.......................203 ............ [email protected]

MEMBERSHIP Tel. Extension E-mail Address

Sydney Crawford...............212............. [email protected] Graphics & Support:

Lauren Anand ....................206 ............ [email protected]

PUBLICATIONS Tel. Extension E-mail Address

Publications Editing:Alice Bouley.......................202 ............ [email protected]

Editorial Assistant:Lori Robertson ...................206 ............ [email protected]

Graphic Design:Vivian Smallwood..............207............. [email protected]

Newsletter Production:Christine Horrigan ............210............. [email protected]

Publication Sales:Frances Kotzé....................214............. [email protected]

Journal Subscriptions:Shirley King .......................208 ............ [email protected]

STUDENT PROGRAMS Tel. Extension E-mail Address

Vicky Sternicki .................204 ............ [email protected]

Contact SEG

7811 SHAFFER PARKWAY LITTLETON, CO 80127-3732 • USA

SEGNEWSLETTER

U2011 Short CourseGEOLOGY OF ROLL-FRONT URANIUM DEPOSITS

Exploration to ISR DevelopmentThe short course will be a practical introduction to the nature of roll front uranium deposits. Discussions will begin with gen-eral chemical and radiogenic nature of uranium and the geological processes which are required to form roll frontdeposits. Exploration for roll-front deposits will be covered from grass-roots stages to final delineation of mineralization fordevelopment. The focus will be on Wyoming and Texas type roll front deposits, with emphasis on ISR amenability charac-teristics. The course will finish with a brief discussion of ISR mining of roll front deposits and geological aspects influencingthat mode of production.

Date: Sunday September 18, 2011Venue: U2011 Uranium Symposium, Casper Events Center, Casper, WyomingRegister at: www.U2011.org/One day workshop: 8 classroom hours total

Participants will be provided a workbook of illustrations and related items for reference during the short course. The samecontent will be provided on a CD. Participants do not need to bring computers or any special items.

Early Registration (Deadline: July 31, 2011) Late Registration:Members (US$ 350) Members (US$ 450)Non-Members (US$ 400) Non-Members (US$ 500)SEG Students (US$ 200) SEG Students (US$ 250)Non-member Students (US$ 250) Non-member Students (US$ 300)

PRESENTERSChairman: Cal VanHolland: ExplorationManager, Ur-Energy USA, Casper, Wyoming

35 years experience in roll-front uranium explo-ration and ISR production in Wyoming and Texas

Dr. Samuel Romberger: Colorado School Mines,Golden Colorado, Professor Emeritus of Aqueousgeochemistry, Economic Geology

Steve Hatten: Director of Engineering andOperations, Ur-Energy USA, Casper, Wyoming

Brian Peterson: Operations Manager, CenturyGeophysical Corp., Tulsa, Oklahoma

SHORT COURSE SUMMARYROLL FRONT FORMATION - Uranium aqueous geochemistry, radiogenics,redox; Roll front uranium provinces; Roll front formation processes;Geometry and nomenclature of roll fronts; DisequilibriumROLL FRONT EXPLORATION - Exploration geochemistry, geophysics; Drill -ing and coring; Borehole geophysics; gamma, PFN, USAT; Geophysicallog interpretationROLL FRONT RESOURCE MAPPING AND ESTIMATION - Resource cate-gories, definitions, regulatory implications; Economic criteria; cutoffs;Roll-front mapping; Resource estimationISR MINE DEVELOPMENT-OVERVIEW - Phases of development; Develop -ment considerations, criteria; ISR facility-overview-plant & wellfield;Wellfield design basics

SEGwww.segweb.org

2011 - seg newsletter cerro negro

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