SEG 45 Final_qx4 - Society of Economic Geologists

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8 SEG NEWSLETTER No 63 • OCTOBER 2005 ... from 7 Presidential Perspective (Continued) and geochemical techniques, the intricacies of ore reserve estimation, 3-D computer modeling skills, strategic exploration design, mineral economics, and increasingly the social and humanistic skills required of geologists to secure social license for their company’s operations. As Bennis and O’Toole (2005) state, business is “a human activity in which judgments are made with messy, incomplete, and incoherent data.” Applied economic geology involves such “messy” data both in the science, but also in our inevitable interactions with people as part of the exploration and mining business. Given the existing divergence in our field between the academic and the applied, what is to be done? The first step is to recognize the problem. Bennis and O’Toole (2005) wrote that “The distinction between a profession and an academic discipline in crucial.” In the early 20 th century, economic geology was taught at both universities and at schools of mines—the latter largely trade schools for the mining industry. Schools of mines have essentially disappeared from the academic world or metamorphosed into institutes of technology. We cannot go backward to the trade school paradigm, but it may be worth trying, as Bennis and O’Toole (2005) suggest, “to strike a new balance between scientific rigor and practical relevance.” Accomplishing this task will not be easy and it will require commitment from both the academic and industrial communities. For many schools, practical relevance will not be an option. Most academic administrations will not have the patience to undertake the re-organization of what is a very small and generally unprofitable (academic institutions are businesses too!) part of their organization. Industry needs to identify the few schools that have an orientation that will allow practical research and teaching to flourish. Critically, industry will have to provide significant financial support to ensure that school administrations nurture and follow such a path. Without such support there will be no incentive for schools to reward academics for applied research and for teaching students the practicalities of mineral exploration and production. If the funding from “pure” research bodies such as NSF exceeds the money available from industry for “applied” research, universities will obviously follow the larger pot of funding. There is urgency to this task. Very few schools worldwide retain the ability to undertake the sort of applied research and education required by industry. However, the mining industry does not employ large numbers of people. Probably five schools worldwide could IMDEX/Cascabel – Fifteen years of geological consulting in Mexico . . . PAID ADVERTISEMENT provide the industry with the critical personnel needed. Schools themselves will not undertake this selection process. Without significant financial incentives from industry, all schools will choose the scientific route as a practical business decision. Only a significant and stable source of industrial funding will encourage some schools to look to a professional education in economic geology as a worthy goal and a sound business decision. Economic geology is both a profession and a scientific discipline. Individuals in both spheres are critical to our continued success at producing the commodities that the world needs in ways that are socially acceptable. However, we are at a crossroads where the world’s educational infrastructure is about to totally embrace the scientific, rather than applied, paradigm for economic geology. Industry needs to step up to the plate to ensure that education can deliver both science and professional training. With this step, industry can ensure that it gets the best and brightest to move mining confidently into the 21 st century. REFERENCES Bennis, W.G. and O’Toole, J., 2005, How business schools lost their way: Harvard Business Review, v. 83 (5), p. 96–104. 1 Especialistas en ExploraciÓn Minera • Full range of professional and geotechnical services • Accounting, tax, and paralegal services • Experienced Mexican personnel • Familiarity with all aspects of new permitting requirements • Bilingual contact personnel...who also understand geology • Confidential, competitive and cost effective • Rapid response to your personnel, permitting, and logistics needs Cia. Minera Cascabel S.A. de C.V. Ave. Trece, No. 100 • Col. Bugambilias Hermosillo, Sonora C.P. 83140 MEXICO Phone +52 (662) 215-7477 • Fax +52 (662) 215-8622 • Extensive in-house computerized databases and hard copy files on mineral properties throughout the country for customized research. • Proven track record of project generation for clients URL: www.imdex.com E-mail: info@imdex.com .....and we are ready for the next wave !!!! IMDEX Inc. P.O. Box 65538 • Tucson, AZ 85728 USA Phone (520) 797-1618 • Fax (520) 797-3955
OCTOBER 2005 • No 63 SEG NEWSLETTER 9 ... from 5 Exploring for Deposits Under Deep Cover Using Geochemistry (Continued) sulfide blanket up to 120 m thick that mainly underlies, but also overlaps, largely oxidized Au mineralization. Subsequent to supergene alteration, the deposit was covered by up to 240 m of Eocene Carlin Formation comprised of piedmont gravel, finer clastic sediments, waterlain tuff, and a basal conglomerate and regolith that contains mineralized (oxidized) clasts. The most probable mechanism for generating geochemical anomalies through 240 m of postmineral cover is by the movement of fluids or gases up faults in this cover. Dohrenwend and Moring (1991) carried out photo-geological interpretations of recent faulting in this region, and noted that faults could be identified by a number of criteria, the most relevant to the Mike area being “prominent alignments of linear drainageways, ridges and swales, active springs or spring deposits, and linear discontinuities of structure, rock type, and vegetation.” This faulting, which they assign to early to middle Pleistocene time (0.13 to 1.5 Ma), with a mean orientation of 028°, resulted in dissection of the surface. The topography of the Mike area (Fig. 1b) shows deeply incised dry stream beds with orientations close to 028°, which were interpreted by Cameron and Doherty (2001) to represent faults that cut the Carlin Formation. Interpreted fault A is marked by a stream and floodplain. Faults B and C are marked by steepsided valleys, which were dry during our visits. The east slope of the valley marking fault B is precipitous, which may indicate a fault scarp. Climate is semiarid, with sparse sagebrush vegetation. A soil sampling line was chosen that was normal to the strike of the interpreted faults cutting the Carlin Formation. Soils were collected from sites at 30 m intervals; at each site, sub-samples were taken from a depth of 40 to 50 cm from five holes dug within a radius of 1.5 to 3.0 m. The five sub-samples were mixed to form a composite sample. Composite samples reduce sampling error, permitting less distinct anomalies to be identified. The soils were found to be immature with a weak B-horizon below 15 to 30 cm and a low organic content, except in alluvial soils around the stream that marks Channel A. Analyses of the soils after aqua regia extraction are shown in Figure 2. There are strong anomalies for Au and Cu on the steep west-facing (scarp) slope of the dry valley along fault B. There are no recognizable anomalies for these elements where the sampling line crosses fault A. A number of other elements show anomalies along the sampling line, the most prominent being Zn and Cd Aqua Regia, ppm Cu Aqua Regia, ppm Au Aqua Regia, ppb 2.0 1.6 1.2 0.8 0.4 0.0 60 40 20 0 16 12 8 4 0 Cadmium Copper Gold Fault'A' Cd. Cadmium shows a distinct anomaly along the scarp slope of fault B and a weaker anomaly where the line crosses fault A. During the period of 1999 to 2001, when our work on Mike was being carried out, to page 10 ... Fault 'B' 0 500 1000 1500 m FIGURE 2. Plots of Au, Cu, and Cd by aqua regia extraction in soils from the line shown in Figure 1. Zero on the horizontal scale is at the northwest limit of the line. The strongest anomalies are found in the eastern (scarp) slope of the valley formed by fault B. This valley is the surface expression of the Nebulous fracture zone that dips west to the basement to form the bounding structure for secondary mineralization in the West Mike (Norby and Orobona, 2002)
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