Courses and Workshops

Courses and workshops are provided both prior to the IGES and immediately following the main Symposium sessions.  Each will follow a set theme and include course notes.  We have concentrated on assembling teams of presenters, to give you as broad a view of the subject as possible.  The courses will be less formal than the main Symposium sessions and questions and discussion are encouraged. Some will follow a course format; others will contain course work but involve the attendees to varying extents in a workshop environment.  There might be minor changes to the teams, but the basic course themes will be as below.

If you want more information on the course presenters, please click on the name of the course to download a pdf flyer (about 90k) with full details.

Bookings can be made on the registration form

Courses preceding the main Symposium sessions (Saturday and Sunday): -

1.1 Mineral exploration using groundwater geochemistry
17^th September 2005
Presenters: Patrice de Caritat, David Gray, Michelle Carey and ‘Bear’ McPhail
Course registration A$253

This short course will have only the necessary formal theoretical lectures and will focus on a number of mineral exploration case studies.  With each case study, relevant theory will be reviewed and applied to solve real exploration issues. The presenters will draw from their experience and may call on invited guests for other studies.

Contents:

• Introduction: Review of fundamental principles

• Methods: How to collect groundwater

• Au exploration in the Yilgarn and Gawler cratons: pH, redox, salinity

• Au exploration at St Ives: Hydrogeology, salinity

• Pb-Zn exploration in the Curnamona Province: Oxidation, isotopes, adsorption

• Ni exploration at Harmony: Oxidation, water-rock interaction

• Others as time permits

1.2 Interpreting Geochemical Data
17-18^th September 2005
Presenters: Mark Arundell, Simon Gatehouse, Paul Agnew, Dave Lawie and Mike Whitbread
Course registration A$495 (Max 20 participants)

Multi-element geochemistry is now common practice in mineral exploration. Masses of data are generated but commonly not fully utilised by project geoscientists.  Anomaly definition has tended to focus on the highest numbers in selected target elements.  However, in many circumstances, the highest numbers may not be the most significant in a particular geological context.  This course will focus on more informative techniques of interpreting and visualising geochemical data.  This style of targeting focuses on placing all of the geochemical data into a richer geological context and working with the natural multi-element geochemical associations which can be identified in most geochemical data sets.  The techniques will be demonstrated with surficial and drillhole data sourced from around the world.  This hands-on course will be directed at geologists and geochemists of all levels of experience involved in mineral exploration, academia or government research.

Contents:

• How to look at data, basic data analysis, leveling of historic data

• Drainage, soil, rock, lag, and drill samples.  Interpretation of data for each are illustrated with case histories.

• Local scale variation, advanced data analysis, zonation

• Signature-based interpretation, factor analysis, additive indices, multi-element data visualisation

• Robust variants of principal component analysis, discriminant analysis, regression.

• Interpreting partial leach data

• Lithogeochemistry for rocktype identification and quantifying metasomatic effects. 

1.3 Regolith Mapping CANCELLED
17-18^th September 2005
Presenters: Mike Craig, Ravi Anand, Bob Gozzard and Tom Cudahy
Course registration A$396

Regolith materials, regolith geology, landscapes and regolith mapping will be demonstrated with lectures and practical exercises using regional-, district- and local-scale regolith investigations.  Presenters will draw from available case histories and their experience.  Remotely sensed imagery, geophysical and topographic data will be used to map the broad and specific distribution of the regolith.  Gathering, collating, storing, retrieving and working with regolith data in a modern digital GIS environment requires organisation. This is an important learning component throughout the workshop. Exercises will strengthen, test and extend the regolith knowledge of the participants.

Contents:

• Philosophies of regolith geology and regolith  mapping;

• Significant issues linking regolith and exploration environment

• Mechanics of map-making - strengths and weaknesses, GIS, multi-data sets, and analysis with GIS

• Mapping styles and presentation -  2D and 3D

• Why the rules for regolith mapping are not the same as they are for traditional geology maps

• What regolith maps can and cannot tell you

• Getting the exploration advantage from a regolith map

• ‘Hands-on’ regolith mapping exercise.

1.4 Application of Geochemistry to Mine Closure CANCELLED
18^th September 2005
Presenters: Rob Bowell, John Chapman, Dick Glanzman, Ron Watkins and Jeff Parshley
Course registration A$253  

This course will address geochemical aspects of mine closure.  The presenters will use examples from their own experience and of others to discuss waste rock, tailings, remnants of heap leach processes, pits, pit lakes and ways in which water quality can be improved by natural processes.

Contents:

• Mine closure issues

• Mine waste geochemistry

• Application to surface facilities

• Application to pits and pit lakes

• Application to underground facilities

• Water treatment

• Others as time permits

Courses following the main Symposium sessions (Saturday only):

2.1 Partial Leaches in Exploration and Environmental Geochemistry
24th September 2005
Presenters: Gwendy Hall, Brenda Caughlin, Barry Smee, Iain Dalrymple, Rob Bowell, Russell Birrell, Neil Rutherford, Andrew Rate and Stew Hamilton
Course registration A$253

Contents:

• Analytical protocols for partial leaches - managing data at the detection limit.

• Weak leach geochemistry, the early years: What did we learn and when did we learn it?

• Selective leaching - a tool for identifying an element’s provenance and destiny (much on sequential leaching – strengths and pitfalls).

• Deep cover, deep weathering and the character of geochemical signals: A case study from Osborne, Cloncurry district, NW Queensland.

• An examination of the chemistry of hydroxylamine and acetate leaches and the implications for the interpretation of partial leach surveys.

• Simulating environmental weathering: use of partial leaching to evaluate mine waste geochemistry.

• Interesting applications of partial extractions.

• The ‘dos’ and ‘don'ts’ of soil sampling for selective leach and complementary techniques

• Understanding controls on selective extraction of metal ions in highly weathered soils - examples using bulk cyanide leach.

2.2 Managing your data – Every bit counts CANCELLED
Date: 24th September 2005
Presenters: Craig Morley, Rob Freeth, Andrew Dent, Bill Withers and Richard Carver
Course Registration A$253

Poor information can break a company and good information can make a company rich.  So why is information management still an issue?  At this one-day workshop, participants will work with the experts to identify geochemical data management issues and critical success factors.  Participants will come away with a ‘best practice’ geochemical data management template, an understanding of how this could be integrated into their business and a look into the future of data management.

Workshop outcomes:

• An understanding of the consequences of getting geochemical data management right and the pitfalls of getting it wrong.

• A list of the three most important geochemical data management issues for the next 5 years.

• A ‘best practice’ strategy for dealing with these issues.

• A list of strategic and critical factors that are needed to ensure best practice.