alive and well - Geological Society of Australia

Newsfrom the Specialist GroupsSpecialist Group inEconomic Geology (SGEG)The Specialist Group in Economic Geology (SGEG) is the largest SpecialistGroup of the GSA, with in excess of 500 members. However, in recentyears, the SGEG has been relatively inactive compared to other, smallerGSA Specialist Groups. Perhaps this is because the SGEG to some degree‘competes’ with international societies such as the Society of EconomicGeologists (SEG) and the Society for Geology Applied to Mineral Deposits(SGA), both of which are active in Australia. There is also the AustralasianInstitute of Geoscientists (AIG), which is arguably the peakrepresentative body for Australian geoscientists in the minerals industry.Nevertheless, the SGEG’s continued large membership base suggests thatthere is a role for the group in the GSA. It is clearly beneficial forthe Society to have a voice relevant to the minerals industry, whichemploys so many of our current and potential members in the broadergeoscientific community.The SGEG annually awards the AB Edwards Medal for the best paper inthe field of economic geology published in AJES of the previous year.Selection criteria include scientific impact and international relevance,discussion of novel concepts or ideas and the overall quality of the presentationin text and figures. The winning paper for Volume 57 (2010) isby RR Anand and CRM Butt ‘A guide for mineral exploration throughthe regolith in the Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia’. The award for thebest paper in Volume 58 (2011) went to RC Morris and M Kneeshaw fortheir article ‘A critical review of genesis modelling for the HamersleyBIF-hosted iron ores of Western Australia’. Both awards were presentedduring the GSA Awards Ceremony at the 34th IGC in Brisbane in thefirst week of August and citations for both papers are provided in thecolumn ‘From the AJES Hon Editor’s desk’ in this issue of TAG.After almost a decade of tireless service as Chair of the SGEG, FrankBierlein stepped down from the role prior to the 34th IGC. Althoughscheduling issues prevented a general meeting of the SGEG during theconference, a handover of Executive duties was agreed between Frankand me. This will see the Executive Committee of the SGEG based atCSIRO in Perth for at least the next two years. I welcome input from allmembers of the SGEG on its future direction. With the help of RobHough, other colleagues at CSIRO, and the vibrant economic geologyresearch and minerals industry community in Western Australia, I’mconfident that we can reinvigorate the SGEG and once againdemonstrate the relevance of the GSA to the important field of economicgeology.CHRIS YEATSIncoming ChairSpecialist Group in Economic Geology (SGEG)chris.yeats@csiro.auSpecialist Group in Tectonics and Structural Geology (SGTSG) 2012post-conference field trip participants. Left to right — Antoinette Stryk,Nicole Cox, Laura Fox, Nasim Karazizaden, Ivan Zibra, David Moore, VinceMorand, Thomas Bell, Wolfgang Preiss, Brenton Crawford, Fabio Vergara,David Durney and Ross Cayley. Powers Lookout is a spectacular spot onUpper Devonian/Lower Carboniferous fluvial rocks that straddle the tectonicboundary between the Melbourne and Tabberabbera Zones in centralVictoria. Image courtesy Ross Cayley.22 |TAG September 2012