Geochemistry in Perth, Western Australia

The Association of Exploration Geochemists’ International Geochemical Exploration Symposium (IGES) is the world’s premiere forum for exchange of ideas on a broad range of issues related to the use of geochemistry in the mineral resources industry, and is an increasingly attractive forum for those working in the environmental chemistry field. For a variety of reasons, Perth - the capital of Western Australia - is a natural choice to host the 2005 IGES meeting. Western Australia hosts a range of world class mineral deposits including: shear-hosted Archaean lode gold deposits and lateritic and sulphide nickel deposits of the Eastern Goldfields; diatreme-hosted diamond mines of the Kimberley region; Archaean volcanic-hosted massive sulfide deposits; Proterozoic iron formations of the Hamersley Basin; Proterozoic MVT-type Pb-Zn deposits of the Canning basin; Sn-Ta pegmatites of the Southwest and the Pilbara; and Tertiary and Recent bauxite and mineral sand deposits in the coastal basins near Perth.

Geochemistry has been a fundamental science in the discovery of many of these mineral deposits and continues to be a core activity in most current exploration programs. The extensive and thick regolith cover found in many parts of Western Australia has presented unique challenges to exploration geochemistry, and many new geochemical techniques (eg. lag and calcrete chemistry, partial extraction and selective leach chemistry) have been either developed or tested here.

With such an endowment, minerals and petroleum are unsurprisingly the biggest revenue earner for the State of Western Australia, accounting for 70% of export income - the Kalgoorlie area of Western Australia alone produced minerals worth almost $AUS 4 billion in 2000, accounting for about 70% of the State’s gold production and 60% of its nickel output. On a world scale, Western Australia contributed 10% of the world’s gold production, 11% of its nickel, some 35% of tantalite, 14% of iron ore and almost one-third of the world’s zirconium and rutile. Despite a global downturn in mineral exploration activity, Western Australia has maintained a high profile, with approximately 10% of the world exploration expenditure in 2000. More than 300 companies are currently exploring over almost 200,000 square kilometres of the state held under exploration licence in 2000, and more than 150 exploration companies are either based in Perth or maintain regional offices. The city has one of the most vibrant exploration communities in the world and possess a well developed infrastructure including consultancies, analytical laboratories, geophysics, financiers and metallurgists. As well servicing the State’s needs, Perth’s location has made it an ideal base for exploration in Southeast Asia and into Africa.

The theme of the 2005 IGES meeting in Perth - ‘From Tropics to Tundra’ - reflects the diverse environments in which exploration geochemistry is applied, many of which are found in Western Australia. This - coupled with the ‘laid-back’ lifestyle and natural attractions of Perth and Western Australia - makes a Perth-based IGES appealing to both a national and international audience.