Stewart R. Wallace — 1919–2009 - Society of Economic Geologists

SEG NEWS
26 SEG NEWSLETTER No 78 JULY 2009
SEG Co-Sponsored Short Course
Ore Deposit Models and Exploration
Kunming, Yunnan, China November 1–5, 2008
Zhaoshan Chang (SEG 2004), Steven D. Scott (SEG 1974 F), and Jiajun Liu
A well-attended and enthusiastically
received short course on ore deposit models
and exploration strategies was held
November 1–5, 2008, in Kunming, Yunnan
Province, China. The organizing committee
was directed by Steve Scott, an honorary
professor of the China University of
Geosciences, Beijing (CUGB).
The purpose of the course, which is be -
coming an annual event, was to introduce
Chinese practicing exploration geologists
and students to modern concepts in mineral
exploration, based on tested ore deposits
models. There is a voracious appetite for
this knowledge among the tens of thousands
of present and future explorationists
in China. The instructors of the Kunming
course, all SEG members or fellows, included
Zhaoshan Chang and David Cooke from
CODES, University of Tasmania, Australia;
Richard Goldfarb and David Leach from
the USGS in Denver, USA; Chusi Li from
Indiana University, USA; Xuanxue Mo
from CUGB; Steve Scott from the University
of Toronto, Canada; and Noel White and
Kaihui Yang from Asia Now Resources,
Toronto, Canada. Joan Scott organized the
laboratory sessions and dealt with logistics.
The short course covered a wide range
of topics, including VMS deposits (Steve
Scott and Kaihui Yang), sedex and MVT
deposits (David Leach, Dave Cooke), iron
ores (Noel White), porphyry and epithermal
deposits (Dave Cooke), skarn
deposits (Zhaoshan Chang), orogenic gold
and Carlin-like gold deposits (Rich Gold -
farb), magmatic Ni-Cu deposits (Chusi Li),
ore deposits of western China (Xuanxue
Mo), the importance and application of
ore deposit models to exploration (Noel
White), and implications of the course for
exploration in China (Kaihui Yang). The
short course featured a lab component
with about 500 representative samples as
well as maps-sections from typical deposits
worldwide, displayed for the course participants
to inspect. A draft of a manual,
“Ore Deposit Models in Mineral Explora -
tion,” originally prepared by Noel White
for industry in 1998 and updated by the
instructors of this short course, was distributed
to all attendees. The final version
of the manual is expected to be published
this year. The book will have English and
Chinese on facing pages and can be
translated into other languages as the
need arises. It will fill a pressing need for
a modern ore deposits textbook written in
Chinese and represents an important
deliverable by CUGB’s Project 111.
The Kunming short course attracted
more than 300 participants from 16 China
provinces and from overseas, including
professors and students from Chinese and
Australian universities, professionals from
domestic and international exploration
companies and government surveys, and
researchers from various institutes. The
organizers were planning for ~150 participants
and thus extensive advertising outside
southwestern China was limited.
Nevertheless, the course accommodated
the more than 300 attendees that showed
up, which demonstrates the strong interest
in China for such a presentation. The
enthusiastic participants were attentive to
the lectures, and the three display rooms
were always filled with people during lab
sessions. Participants often surrounded
the instructors, who answered questions
and discussed exploration or research
issues. The lectures were mostly delivered
in English, with Chinese summaries-translations,
and to the surprise of the instructors,
many questions asked during the
final panel discussions were also in English.
About 50 students and professionals
signed up for SEG membership during the
Instructors, hosts, and participants gather for a group photo in Kunming, Yunnan, China.
Questions about registration for the short
course, “Ore Deposit Models and Explora -
tion Workshop,” to be held in Beijing on
November 4–8, 2009, should be directed in
Chinese or in English to Dr. Dong Guochen
of CUGB: e-mail, guochdong@263.net.
course. A survey at the end of the course
showed that the majority of the participants
were excited about learning modern
ideas, meeting world experts, and seeing
samples from world-class ore deposits;
a few complained that the course went
too fast, although it lasted five exhausting
days, and the venue was not particularly
comfortable, as tables had to be removed
from the lecture hall to accommodate all
the participants.
This short course began in 2005 as a
three-day effort organized by Steve Scott
and Kaihui Yang to precede the SGA biennial
meeting in Beijing. It was subsequently
organized in Beijing at CUGB in
2007 and expanded to cover more topics,
attracting about 300 participants. The
Kunming course in 2008 was expanded
again from three to five days, adding
modules on skarns, epithermal deposits,
and iron ores. Its popularity continues to
grow; so far three more universities outside
of Beijing have expressed a strong
interest to host the course in future years.
Co-sponsors for this latest short course
included the SEG, Yunnan Geological Sur -
vey, CUGB, China Ministry of Education
Project 111, SGA, Yunnan Bureau of
Geology and Mineral Resources, Yunnan
Bureau of Nonferrous Geology, Mineral
Resources Institute of the China Metallur -
gical Geology Bureau, Asia Now Resources
Corporation, and the Kunming University
of Science and Technology.
The course will be offered in Beijing at
CUGB on November 4–8, 2009, as a cosponsored
effort by SEG, SGA, CUGB,
Project 111, and Asia Now Resources. More
than 300 registrants are again expected. 1