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

JULY 2009 No 78 SEG NEWSLETTER 7
PRESIDENTIAL PERSPECTIVE
Taking Advantage of Time
As the northern hemisphere warms with
the beginning of summer, there are
some signs of an improving economy.
Commodity prices have firmed and the
debate is now focused on whether this is
sustainable—or just a false start! When
SEG held customary meetings around a
typically chilly Prospectors and Develop -
ers Association Conference (PDAC) in
Toronto just a few months ago the mood
was resilient—recognition of challenges
but determination to move forward.
Young employees and students were on
most peoples’ minds since this is the
group that typically suffers during
downturns, with a negative impact that
lasts well beyond. We are fortunate as a
society to have 900 student members
spread around the globe. We have a
responsibility to help these students,
because if we can be sure of one thing,
it is that SEG, the industry, and academia
will need their youthful energy and
ideas, possibly in the relatively near
future, if the recovery is really approaching.
Now is the time to support students!
That takes me to my topic for this
Perspective – Time – both geological
time with its significance to economic
geology and exploration, and also our
individual and collective ability to use
time effectively.
Understanding time in millions and
billions of years is another one of those
attributes that defines geoscientists. In
economic geology, we debate the role
that major secular changes in the earth
and atmosphere play on the formation
of different types of ore deposits—for
example, komatiite-hosted nickel, iron
formation, various types of uranium
deposits, and different types of gold and
copper deposits. Conversely, the anomalous
nature of the deposits themselves
help to constrain the chemistry of the
atmosphere and oceans, the development
of organic processes, the evolution
of the crust, and the variation of major
earth processes through time. Deposits
and their temporal relationship to
regional geology define metallogenic
epochs and form the basis for broad
area selection.
Understanding both relative and
absolute temporal constraints allows
explorers to focus on key formations,
structures, magmatic suites, or tectonic
events. New geochronological methods
that allow us to more accurately constrain
metallogenic events are therefore
widely sought by both researchers and
explorationists. A new age often creates
excitement, particularly when it confounds
conventional thinking. The date
and its interpreted significance can
invigorate regional exploration and
demand mapping or remapping of
regional geological relationships. A new
date can also generate debate, which of
course can be stimulating or possibly
misleading, depending on the understanding
of temporal relations. Herein
lies the fascination with applied geo -
chronology: it offers the possibility of
confirming or refuting current interpretations
at least until a new and improved
technique produces a different age!
Absolute age is accepted as important
but even greater debate surrounds
the evolution and longevity of major
ore-forming systems. Systematic studies
on individual districts provide evidence
for short dramatic events, protracted
processes, episodic activity, and the
coincidental superposition of ores systems
over hundreds of millions of years.
As with new dates for individual
deposits, some of the interpretations of
longevity confound current models and
force us to reexamine accepted dogma.
My current job has taken me into the
world of hydrometallurgy—the technology
to extract metals from rocks or concentrates
using water, acid, and other
reagents under varying conditions.
From my (biased) perspective, this is an
attempt to reverse hydrothermal processes
at extremely rapid rates—for
example, in minutes or hours under
appropriate pressure and temperature
in an autoclave. Involvement with
chemists and engineers in this work has
changed my perspective. I have learnt
much, gained respect for practitioners
in another part of our business, and
realized how rapidly some processes can
occur under conditions somewhat similar
to those we invoke for ore formation.
Although I am not suggesting that
deposits formed in minutes or hours,
hydrometallurgy demonstrates that it is
possible to significantly accelerate some
of the processes that are relevant to ore
formation.
Few would deny the importance of
understanding timing in economic geology
from both scientific and practical
perspectives, but we frequently pay less
attention to understanding the importance
of timing in other aspects of our
work. Over the last few years of frenetic
activity, did we take enough time to
plan, complete
work, and perhaps
most importantly,
think?
In exploration,
it is my perspective
that some of
our work in the
last five years has
JOHN F. H. THOMPSON
SEG President
2009
been substandard. At the very least,
information has not been recorded adequately
in spite of the availability of
numerous digital tools and databases.
Now is the time to catch up, review past
work, complete quality mapping and
core logging, record the data properly,
and prioritize targets for future drilling
when funds become available. For
researchers, this is also a good time to
consider new research areas that will
provide projects for a new crop of talented
graduate students, many of whom
will have industry experience and be
highly motivated. Attracting industry
funding will be an issue, but now is the
time to build new relationships with the
companies that are poised to prosper in
the future and are willing to look
beyond their current difficulties.
The downturn offers an opportunity
to rebalance our efforts in industry, in
research, and in SEG. We can take some
time to pay attention to details while
also devoting time to develop new
ideas. We need to be in circulation by
getting out and talking to colleagues,
potential partners, and students. To succeed
at this, we should also take the
time to communicate properly, listening
and considering before offering our preferred
solution. I have been confronted
by numerous communication issues in
recent years—my own and others. So
now is the time to sort this out!
As stated above, many of us believe
that SEG must give even more attention
to students. This includes student chapters,
field trips, research grants, and
conferences. It also includes efforts to
get more SEG visitors to the chapters
and universities. By my calculation,
well over 50 lectures were given in universities
by visiting SEG lecturers in
2008, both formally and informally.
We have to maintain this fantastic
effort in these difficult times by giving
local lectures and taking advantage of
trips to visit chapters and groups of
interested students whenever possible.
Let’s take the time now to secure the
future of SEG. 1