Post on 05-Dec-2018
NUMBER 169 DECEMBER 2015-Version 2
Second Version issued December 3, 2015Newsletter for the
Association of Applied Geochemists
continued on page 5
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Gold Homogeneity in Certified Reference Materials; A Comparison of Five ManufacturersN. W. Brand, Geochemical Services Pty Ltd., Suite 10, 5 Colin Street, West Perth, 6005, Australia, nwbrand@gspty.com.au
INTRODUCTION CertifiedReferenceMaterials(CRMs)insertedintoanalyticalbatchesarearequirementbytheinternationalcodesgoverningthemineralindustry(JORC2012;NI43-101;SAMREC)andreportingtothestandardslaidoutinthesecodesisamandatorycomplianceforpubliclylistedcompaniesontheAustralian,NewZealandandCanadianStockExchanges.ACRMisasamplewheretheconcentra-tionsofoneormoreanalyteshavebeenquantifiedbyvalidmethodologiesandcertifiedwithvaliddocumentation.Thesecertifiedvaluesaretheconsensusinter-laboratorymeanforananalytewheretypicallyeachlaboratoryanaly-sesmultiplesubsamplesoftheCRM. Forgold(Au)CRMs,oneofthekeypropertiesisthehomogeneityoftheCRMsample(i.e.testingfornuggeteffects).QuantifyingthishomogeneitybytheRelativeStandardDeviation(RSD)iscriticalforassessmentoflaboratoryresultsandthefollowupofqualitycontrol(QC)failures. Thereisvastliteraturediscussingthenuggeteffectingoldmineralisingsystemsandprotocolsinreducingthesamplingerror(e.g.,Stanley&Smee2007),butverylittleinformationhasbeenpublishedonthehomogeneityofgoldCRMs.BytheirverynatureCRMsareassumedtobehomogeneousandanyvariationisattributedtolabora-toryerror(i.e.thevarianceattributedtothesamplingerrorislessthantheanalyticalerror);sohowhomogenousarecommercialgoldCRMs? ThehomogeneityofagoldCRMsamplereflectsthecapabilityandcompetencyofamanufacturertoeliminateanynuggeteffectsandprovideahomogeneousproductthat,whenanalysed,willprovidearepeatableresultwithinthestatisticallimitsprovidedontheCRMcertificate.Al-thoughallmanufacturesrefertothehomogeneityoftheirCRMs,onlyonemanufacturer(OREAS),measuresthehomogeneityoftheCRMsandprovidesthisinformationasroutinewiththeirgoldCRMCertificateofAnalysis.Rock-labsundertakeahomogeneityandsegregationtest,butdonotprovidetheactualhomogeneityresults. ThisindependentstudyevaluatesthehomogeneityofgoldCRMsfromcommercialCRMmanufacturersatfourchosengoldgrades(0.5ppmAu,1ppmAu,3ppmAuand9ppmAu).Thesegradesaretypicalinminingandexplo-rationscenariosandreliableQCdataatthesegradesiscritical.Thisstudyprovidesabenchmarkforfurtherevalu-
ationsofpotentially“nuggetty”CRMproductsincluding,butnotrestrictedto,platinumgroupelements(PGEs),rareearthelements(REE),andAu.
CRM MANUFACTURERS AND THEIR PREPARATION FourauriferousCRMSfromeachoffivemanufactur-erswereassessed(i.e.20CRMsintotal).TheCRMsweresourcedfromfivemanufacturers,aslistedbelowalphabeti-cally.AsummarydescriptionofthepreparationprocessisalsoprovidedandtakenfromtheirCRMcertificates:
•AfricanMineralStandards(AMIS):http://www.amis.co.za/.Thematerialwascrushed,dry-milledandair-classifiedto<54microns.Wetsieveparticlesizeanalysisofrandomsamplesconfirmedthematerialwas98.5%<54microns.Itwasthenblendedinabi-conicalmixer,systematicallydividedandthensealedinto1kgLabora-toryPacks.
•CDNResourceLaboratoriesLtd(CDN):http://www.cdnlabs.com/.Materialwasdried,crushed,pulverizedandthenpassedthrougha270meshscreen.The+270meshmaterialwasdiscarded.The-270mesh(53microns)ma-terialwasmixedfor5daysinadouble-coneblender.
•GeostatsPtyLtd(GST):http://www.geostats.com.au/.AllCRMsaredriedinanovenforaminimumof12hoursat110°C.Thedrymaterialisthenpulverisedtofinerthan75microns(nominalmeanof45microns)usinganairclassifier.Thematerialisthenhomogenisedandstoredinasealed,stablecontainerreadyforfinalpackaging.
•OreResearchandExplorationPtyLtd(ORE):http://www.ore.com.au/.Materialsarejawcrushedtominus3mm,driedtoconstantmassat105°C,barrenmaterialsaremilledto>98%minus75micronsandgoldbearingmaterialmilledto100%minus20-30microns,blendinginappropriateproportionstoachievethedesiredgrade,packaginginto60gand100gunitsinlaminatedfoilpouchesand1kgunitsinplasticjars.
•Rocklabs(RLB):http://rocklabs.com/.Pulverizedfeld-sparminerals,basaltrockandbarrenironpyriteswereblendedwithfinelydividedgoldcontainingmineralsthathavebeenscreenedtoensurethereisnonuggettygold.(NOTEnosizinginformationprovided).
SeealsoTable1forasummary.
EXPLORE NUMBER 169 PAGE 3
Notes from the Editor
TABLE OF CONTENTSGoldHomogeneityinCertifiedMaterials:AComparison
ofFiveManufacturers.......................................................... 1
NotesfromtheEditor............................................................... 3
President’sMessage.................................................................. 4
GeochemicalNuggets............................................................... 17
JoinUsforExploration17....................................................... 17
Minutesofthe2015AAGAnnualGeneralMeeting............ 18
RecentlyPublishedinElements.............................................. 19
EricL.HoffmanMemorialScholarship................................. 19
AAG’sStudentSupportProgramRessurectedin2015......... 20
TreatiseofGeochemistry.......................................................... 20
Student-IndustryMineralExploration
Workshop............................................................................... 21
AAGNewMembers................................................................. 21
CalendarofEvents.................................................................... 23
ADVERTISERSActivationLaboratoriesLtd..................................................... 24
AGATLaboratories.................................................................. 22
ALS ........................................................................................... 4
BureauVeritasMinerals........................................................... 6
OREResearchandExploration.............................................. 2
SciApps,Inc............................................................................... 7
NewsletterNo.169 DECEMBER2015
Editor:BethMcClenaghan(beth.mcclenaghan@canada.ca)
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Information for Contributors Manuscripts should be double-spaced and submitted in digitalformatusingMicrosoft®WORD.DoNOTembedfiguresortablesinthetextdocument.Eachphotoand/orfigure(colourorblackandwhite)shouldbesubmittedasseparatehighresolutiontiff,jpegorPDF(2400resolutionorbetter)file.Eachtableshouldbesubmit-tedasseparatedigitalfileinMicrosoft®EXCELformat.Allsci-entific/technicalarticleswillbereviewed.Allcontributionsmaybeeditedforclarityorbrevity. Formats for headings, abbreviations, scientificnotations, refer-encesandfiguresmustfollowtheGuidetoAuthorsforGeochem-istry:Exploration,Environment,Analysis(GEEA)thatarepostedon the GEEA website at: http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/template.cfm?name=geea_instructions_for_authors Inadditiontothetechnicalarticle,authorsareaskedtosubmitaseparate250wordabstractthatsummarizesthecontentoftheirarticle.ThisabstractwillbepublishedinthejournalELEMENTS onthe‘AAGNews’page.
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TheDecember2015issueofEXPLOREfeaturesatechnicalarticleaboutgoldhomogeneityincertifiedreferencematerialsbyNigelBrand.EXPLOREthanksallcontributorstothisfourthissueof2015:SteveAmor,AlArsenault,DennisArne,NigelBrand,BobGarrett,PimvanGeffen,MattLeybourne,PaulMorris,JamilSader,andDaveSmith.Inthislastissueof2015,EXPLOREgratefullyacknowledgesourthreecorporatesponsorsfortheyear,ALSMinerals,AGATLaboratories,andREFLEXGeo-chemistry,aswellasouradvertizersfortheircontinuingfinancialsupportofEXPLORE.PimvanGeffen,ourBusi-nessManager,isthankedformanagingthefinancialaspectsofpublishingEXPLOREincludingcorporatesponsorsandadvertizers.PimandIwishallAAGmembersandotherreadersofEXPLOREasuccessful2016.
Beth McClenaghanEditor
PAGE 4 NUMBER 169 EXPLORE
President's Message
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2016-2017,ablyassistedbySteveCookfromTeckResourc-esLimitedasVicePresident.Thepasttwoyearshave,asweallknow,beenverydifficultwithamajorandsustainedslow-downinthemineralexplorationindustry.Despitethat,theAssociationcontinuesunabatedwithanumberofsignificantmilestones.SinceBobEppingerpennedhisfinalPresidentialmessage(December2013EXPLORE),theAssociationhasheldtwosuccessfulIAGSconferences(Rotorua,2013andTucson2015),implementedanumberofsocialmediaavenuesofmemberexpression(LinkedIn,Facebook),andsuccessfullytransitionedtoanewEditor-in-Chief(KurtKyser)forourjournalGEEA.Ihopethatyouareallworkingdiligentlytoproducelargequantitiesofhigh-qualitypaperstoinundateKurtwith,ashehasalotoftimeonhishands.AsIhavestatedbefore,butitbearsrepeating,GwendyHalldidanoutstandingjobasourEditor-in-ChiefpriortoKurttakingover.Thankfully,shecontinuestomanagethearduoustaskofmaintainingandgrowingtheAssociationinvestmentsandoverallfinancesastheAAGTreasurer.DanLayton-Matthewsisthe2015-2017AAGDistinguishedLecturerand,withfinancialsupportfromtheAssociationfortravel,isavailabletopresentatalkataninstitutionnearyou.PleasegetintouchwithDantoorganizealecturetour(dlayton@queensu.ca). IwouldliketoexpressmythanksandgratitudetoallmembersofCouncilfortheireffortsoverthelasttwoyears,andtoallAAGmemberswhocontinuetosupport
theAssociation.IwouldparticularlyliketothankmyVice-President,RyanNobleforhishelp,aswellasGwendyHall(Treasurer),DaveSmith(Secretary),BethMcClenaghan(EXPLOREeditor),PimvanGeffen(EXPLOREBusinessManager),PatricedeCaritatandDennisArne(Elementscoordinators),KurtKyser(GEEAEditor),2014-2015Councillors(AlejandroArauz,DennisArne,StephenCook,MeltLintern,PaulMorris,PeterSimpsonandBobEp-pinger),andthe2015-2016Councillors(DaveCohen,RayLett,TomMolyneux,JuanCarlosOrdóñezCalderón,PeterRogers,andPeterWinterburn).AlsodeservingofgratitudeareGemmaBonham-CarterandBrunoLemierefortheireffortsmaintainingandmanagingtheAssociationWebsite.IalsothankalltheRegionalCouncillors,andAAGCom-mitteemembersforalloftheirwork. Finally,anotherchangeoverthelasttwoyearswasthepassingofthereinsofmanagingourAssociationfromBettyArsenaulttoherhusbandAlArsenault;bothhavebeenindispensible,andithasmadethingseasierthattheycoinci-dentallyhavethelastname. Sadly,wehavealsolostsomeofthegreatsinourfieldoverthelastcoupleofyearsincludingEionCameron,BillCoker,andEricHoffman;allofthemaregreatlymissed. Toclose,Iwishtheincomingpresidentandvice-pres-identanoutstandingandsuccessfultwoyears.IhopethattheindustryisontheupswingthatwilltranslatetoastellarIAGSin2017or2018.
Matt LeybourneAAG President
EXPLORE NUMBER 169 PAGE 5
Gold Homogeneity in Certified Reference Materials… continued from page 1
CRMS SELECTED ToallowacomparisonbetweenCRMmanufacturesfour(4)auriferousgraderangeswerechosencentredaround0.5ppm;1ppm;3ppmand9ppm(seeTable2).TheselectionofCRMsfromthesegraderangesweredeterminedbytheavailabilityofmaterialsfromthemanu-facturers,andpreferencegiventoCRMsthataresiliceousinnatureandmanufacturedwithinthelastsixyears(tominimiseanyvariationduetochangeinthemanufacturingprocessand/orpossibleoxidationofsulphides).Tothisend,lowsulphursampleswerechosenwhereavailable.
ManufacturerMaterial grain size
Homogeneity testedLab list
providedStatistical metrics
ISO accreditation
Major and trace element data
AMIS < 54 umStated but details
not providedYes
SD, Between-lab SD, Within-Lab SD,
Combined Standard Uncertainty
YesMajors - certified; Traces - indicative
CDN < 53 um No Yes Between-lab SD NoMajors only -
indicative
Geostats < 75 um No NoSD, 95% Confidence
IntervalYes
Majors & Traces - indicative
OREAS < 30 μmYes (INAA
subsample method)Yes
SD, 95% Confidence limits, Tolerance limits
YesMajors & Traces -
indicative
RocklabsNot
specified
Yes (specific sampling/testing
regime incl segregation test)
YesBetween-lab SD, 95%
Confidence limitsNo
Majors only - indicative
Note: All manufacturers use multiple laboratory round robin for the certification process of gold by fire assay.
Table 1: Summary of attributes of the various manufacturer’s CRM as provided on their certificates.
•Fourx60gsachetsofeachofthefourCRMsfromOREASandreceivedinfoilpouches;
•One2.5kgplasticjarforeachCRMwereorderedandreceivedfromRocklabs.
ThematerialsasreceivedareshowninPhoto1.
Manufacturer CRMCertified Au (ppm)
Assay Method
Brief Material descriptionS
(%)SiO2
(%)Year of release
# labs
AMIS0352 0.45 Andesitic-dacite tuffaceous agglomerate 0.56 62.13 2012 23AMIS0310 1.03 Basalt, volcanics & granite 1.58 69.38 2012 17AMIS0360 2.94 BIF, mafic volcanics and sediments 6.46 48.05 2014 24AMIS0267 9.05 Qtz-carbonate-adularia 0.75 83.27 2012 19
CND-GS-P5C 0.571 Granitic 0.2 60.7 2014 15CND-GS-1M 1.07 Granitic 0.1 65.6 2013 15CND-GS-3L 3.18 Granitic 0.1 66.8 2013 15CND-GS-8C 8.59 Sourced from Cortez Hills Mine 0.6 56.6 2013 13
G909-6 0.57 Composite Gold Ores low sulphide nr nr 2009 132G313-1 1 Composite Mine Ore 0.035 64.56 2014 157G914-6 3.21 High Grade low sulphide ore 0.06 63.69 2015 179G914-7 9.81 High Grade low sulphide ore 0.04 60.87 2015 178
OREAS 201 0.514 Basaltic 0.39 53.69 2012 20OREAS 204 1.043 Basaltic 0.794 52.64 2012 20OREAS 17c 3.04 Basaltic 1.59 49.1 2009 18OREAS 62c 8.79 Andesitic volcanics 0.53 60.9 2009 16
SE68 0.599 2.3 54.76 2012 53SG66 1.086 2.6 54.52 2012 53SJ80 2.656 3 56.26 2013 54SN75 8.671 3.3 56.17 2013 54
nr = not reported
AMISFire
assay
CDN30 g Fire
assay
Feldspar, basalt & iron pyrites with minor fine gold minerals
Geostats50 g Fire
assay
OREAS30-50 g
Fire assay
Rocklabs30 g Fire
assay
Table 2: Summary of CRMs chosen for this study.
MATERIAL RECEIVED Amountscorrespondingtotheminimummanufacturersorderwerepurchased.Tothisend:•Twox100gsachetsofeachofthefourCRMwerepur-chasedfromAMISandreceivedinvacuumsealedfoilpouches;
•Fourx100gsachetsofeachofthefourCRMsfromCDNandreceivedinpaperbagsandsealedinplastic;
•Fourx100gsachetsofeachofthefourCRMsfromGeo-statsandreceivedinplasticbags;
ROCKLABS OREAS AMIS GEOSTATS CDN
Plate 1
Photo 1. CRM’s “as received” from the five manufacturers.
SAMPLE PREPARATION AND ANALYSIS Priortodispatchingthematerialsforanalysis,eachCRMwassubsampledtwentytimesinacleanroom.A10galiquotofeachCRMwasplacedintoaZiploc®plasticbagusingadisposableplasticspatulatoavoidanycrosscon-tamination.ThisprocedurewasrepeatedforeachCRMsothatthesamplesweresequencedinlotsof20,witheachlotcorrespondingtooneCRM. Forthehomogeneitytestwork,InstrumentalNeutronActivationAnalysis(INAA)wasused.INAAisahighlypreciseanduniqueassaymethodthatfocusesontheele-mentsnucleusirrespectiveofthesamplematrixorchemicalformoftheelement.Eachsampleissubjectedtoafluxofneutronstoproduceradioactivenuclides.Thesenuclidesdecayemittinggammaraysthatarecharacteristicforeachnuclide.Whencomparedwithaknownstandard,thein-tensityoftheemittedgammarayscanbequantifiedintoanelementconcentration(Lieser2001). The400x10gsubsamplesweredispatchedtoActiva-tionLaboratoriesLimited(Actlabs)inAncaster,Canada(www.actlabs.com)forINAA;Actlabswereinformedofthepurposeoftheanalysisandrequestedtoweighout1g
continued on page 6
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Gold Homogeneity in Certified Reference Materials… continued from page 5
ofmaterialfromeachsample.Tominimiseanyeffectsofbetweenbatchbias,Actlabswererequestednottosplitanyofthe20sampleCRMlotsandallpossiblesourcesofmea-surementerror(e.g.,weighing,counting,detectorgeometry,fluxmonitorerrors,etc.)bekepttoaminimum.MinimisingthesourcesoferrorandensuringnosamplelotsweresplitprovidesconfidencethattheresultsareatruereflectionofCRMsamplingerrorsandhenceCRMhomogeneity,andthattheanalyticalprecisionerrorsareminorincompari-sontosamplingerrors.Bysubjectingallthesamplestotheidenticalnon-destructiveanalyticaltechniqueprovidedbyonelaboratorythatrequirednosamplepreparation,reagentsordigestion,anylaboratoryerrorisconstantforallsamplesandconsideredminimal.ThusvarianceinthespreadofanalyticalresultsfromeachoftheCRMswillrepresentthedegreeofhomogeneity.
RESULTS TheresultsofthisexercisearepresentedinAppendix1,whichisavailablefordownloadfromtheEXPLOREpageoftheAAGwebsite(www.appliedgeochemists.org).ThecertificatesoftheCRMsusedinthisstudyaredownload-ablefromtheAAGwebsite(www.appliedgeochemists.org)andtheGeochemicalServiceswebsite(http://www.gspty.com.au/).
Precision/homogeneity TheCertifiedValue(CV),RelativeStandardDevia-tion(RSDacrossthe20x1gINAAvaluesofeachCRM),
SamplingConstant(whichistheminimumrequiredsamplemasstoachievea1%RSD),meanINAAsamplemassanalysed(g),twoRelativeStandardDeviationsattypicalfireassaychargeweightsof30g(30g2RSD)and50g(50g2RSD)foreachCRMbymanufacturerispresentedinTable3.AmeanRSDforeachmanufacturerisalsopre-sentedasanindicationofoverallperformance.
Table 3. RSD Comparisons for the various CRM manufacturers (based on 20 x 1 gm INAA determinations per CRM).
Manufacturer CRMCertified
Value (ppm)
Mean INAA subsample
(g)
1 g RSD INAA
Mean RSDSampling
Constant (g)
30g 2RSD 50g 2RSDAMIS AMIS0352 0.450 1.05 4.48% 21.0 1.67% 1.30%
AMIS0310 1.03 1.06 12.80% 172.7 4.80% 3.72%AMIS0360 2.94 1.06 3.60% 13.7 1.35% 1.05%AMIS0267 9.05 1.05 27.46% 794.8 10.29% 7.97%
CDN CDN-GS-P5C 0.571 1.06 10.27% 111.8 3.86% 2.99%CDN-GS-1M 1.07 1.05 15.85% 263.4 5.93% 4.59%CDN-GS-3L 3.18 1.05 11.53% 140.0 4.32% 3.35%CDN-GS-8C 8.59 1.05 1.16% 1.4 0.43% 0.34%
Geostats G909-6 0.570 1.06 2.93% 9.1 1.10% 0.85%G313-1 1.00 1.04 6.14% 39.4 2.29% 1.78%G914-6 3.21 1.06 2.15% 4.9 0.81% 0.63%G914-7 9.81 1.05 1.15% 1.4 0.43% 0.33%
OREAS OREAS 201 0.514 1.06 1.87% 3.7 0.70% 0.54%OREAS 204 1.04 1.05 1.77% 3.3 0.66% 0.51%OREAS 17c 3.04 1.05 1.61% 2.7 0.60% 0.47%OREAS 62c 8.79 1.04 1.18% 1.4 0.44% 0.34%
Rocklabs SE68 0.599 1.06 1.90% 3.8 0.71% 0.55%SG66 1.09 1.06 5.05% 27.1 1.90% 1.47%SJ80 2.66 1.05 1.20% 1.5 0.45% 0.35%SN75 8.67 1.04 1.26% 1.7 0.47% 0.36%
NOTE: Sampling Constant is the required grams to achieve a 1% RSD.
Based on 1 gm INAA data and the Sampling
Constant
12.08%
3.09%
1.61%
2.35%
9.70%
Table 3: Relative Standard Deviation comparison for the various CRM Manufacturers (based on 20 x 1 g INAA determinations per CRM).
TheRSDisusedasastandardisedmeasureofdisper-sionthatindicatestheprecisionorrepeatabilityofanassay.ThelowertheRSD,themorerepeatable,preciseorhomo-geneoustheCRM;converselythehighertheRSDthelesshomogeneoustheCRM.GiventhecriticalimportanceofCRMsandtheirmandatoryuseintheminingandexplora-tionindustry,thelowertheRSDdeterminedfromrepli-cateanalysisviatheINAAmethodonreducedanalyticalsubsamples(e.g.1g)themorehomogenousthereferencematerialandthegreaterconfidenceandcontroltheQCofficerhasinvettingdataqualityfromalaboratory.TheoverallmeanRSDforeachmanufacturerhasbeenderivedfromthemeanoftheindividualRSD’softhe1gINAAdata.InorderofincreasingmeanRSD(correspondingtodecreasinghomogeneity)theyrangefromOREAS:1.61%,toRocklabs:2.35%,toGeostats:3.09%,toCDN:9.70%,toAMIS:12.08%. TheSamplingConstant(Ingamells&Switzer1973)hasbeencalculatedtoshowtheminimumsamplemassrequiredtomeasuregoldineachCRMbythe1gINAAmethodtoachievearelativestandarddeviationof1%.Forhighgradegoldsamples(~9ppmAu),thesamplingconstantrangesfromalowof1.4gfromCDN,GeostatsandOREASto794.8gforAMIS.ThissuggestsAMIS0267isinfluencedbyanuggeteffect. The30and50g2RSDshavebeencalculatedfromtheSamplingConstantsforeachCRMandinsomeinstances
EXPLORE NUMBER 169 PAGE 7
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Gold Homogeneity in Certified Reference Materials… continued from page 6
revealsignificantsamplingerrors.Typicalmeasurementerrorfor30or50gfireassaychargeweightsareusu-allyaround5%atcommerciallaboratoriesfororegrademethods.The2RSDvaluesencapsulatethesamplingerrorcontributionfromtheCRMandthesecanbeaddedtothenominal5%measurementerrorlaboratoriestendtoachievetogetafeelforwhattheoverallerrorswouldbeinreportedanalyticalresults.Resultsfromindividualmanu-facturersarediscussedbelow:
AMIS:homogeneityforindividualAMISCRMsvariesfrom3.60%RSD(AMIS0360;2.94ppmAu)to27.46%RSD(AMIS0267;9.05ppmAu),aspreadof23.86%RSDshow-ingnosystematicchangeinhomogeneitywithchanginggrade.ThesamplingconstantforAMIS0267indicatesthat794.8gofsamplewouldberequiredtoensureaRSDof1%duringanalysis,andfora30gfireassayasamplingerrorof10.29%applies.AtthischargemassonlyAMIS0352(30g2RSDsamplingerrorof1.67%)andAMIS0360(30g2RSDof1.35%)wouldbefitforpurposeCRMsbasedonthesecalculations.ThegoldhomogeneityofCRMsproducedbyAMISisconsideredverypoortogood.
CDN:homogeneityforindividualCDNCRMsvariesfrom1.16%RSD(CDN-GS-8C;8.59ppmAu)to15.85%RSD(CDN-GS-1M;1.07ppmAu),aspreadof14.69%RSDshowingnosystematicchangeinhomogeneitywithchang-inggrade.OfthefourCRMsevaluatedonlyCDN-GS-8C(30g2RSDof0.44%),thehighestgradeCDNgoldCRMtested,wouldbesuitablefora30gfireassay.ForCDN-GS-P5C(0.571ppmAu)asamplemassof111.8gwouldberequiredtoobtainanRSDof1%duringanalysis;equiva-lenttoasamplingerror(30g2RSD)of3.86%;263.4gforCDN-GS-1M;equivalenttoa2RSDsamplingerrorof5.93%at30g;and140.0gforCDN-GS-3L(3.18ppmAu),equivalenttoa2RSDsamplingerrorof4.32%at30g.WhilethehomogeneityofCDN-GS-8Cisverygood,theremainingCDNCRMstestedareconsideredtobepoortoverypoor.
Geostats:homogeneityforindividualGeostatsCRM’svaryfrom1.15%RSD(G914-7;9.81ppmAu)to6.14%RSD(G313-1;1.00ppmAu),aspreadof4.99%RSDshowingnosystematicchangeinhomogeneitywithchanginggrade.ThreeofthefourCRM’s(G909-6at0.570ppmAu,G914-6at3.21ppmAu&G914-7at9.81ppmAu)arefitforpurposeasgradecontrolCRM’sfor30gfireassaywhilstG313-1at1.00ppmAuwouldbesuitablefora50gfireassaybasedonthesamplingconstant.The2RSDsamplingerrorsata30gchargeweightvaryfrom0.43%to2.29%.ThehomogeneityofCRM’sproducedbyGeostatsrangefrommediocretoverygood.
OREAS:AllOREASCRM’sshowconsistentlylowRSDsrangingfrom1.18%RSD(OREAS62cat8.79ppmAu)to1.87%RSD(OREAS201at0.514ppmAu)foraspreadof0.69%RSD.AninversecorrelationisapparentbetweengradeandRSDsuggestingapossibleinfluenceofanalytical
precision.AllfourOREASCRM’stestedarefitforpur-posefor30gfireassaywithsamplingconstantsindicatingthata4gfireassaychargeweightwouldprovideasamplingerrorof1%orlessforallOREASCRM’s.Thesamplinger-rorata30gchargeweightvariesfrom0.44%to0.70%.ThehomogeneityofCRM’sproducedbyOREASisconsideredverygood.
Rocklabs:IndividualRocklabsCRMhomogeneityvariesfrom1.20%RSD(SJ80at2.66ppmAu)to5.05%RSD(SG66at1.09ppmAu),aspreadof3.83%RSDwiththeCRM’sshowingnosystematicchangeinhomogeneitywithchanginggrade.ThreeofthefourCRM’s(SE68at0.599ppmAu,SJ80at2.66ppmAuandSN75at8.67ppmAu)arefitforpurposefor30gfireassaywhileSG66wouldprobablybemorefitforpurposefor50gfireassaybasedonthesamplingconstant.Thesamplingerrorsofa30gchargeweightrangefrom0.45%to1.90%.ThehomogeneityofCRM’sproducedbyRocklabsisconsideredgoodtoverygood.
Manufacturer CRMCertified Value Au
(ppb)NAA Mean Au
(ppb)NAA Min Au
(ppb)NAA Max Au (ppb)
NAA SDev Au (ppb)
AMIS0352 450 445.3 393 467 20AMIS0310 1030 1080 946 1450 138AMIS0360 2940 3014 2810 3280 109AMIS0267 9050 8849 7450 17900 2425
CDN-GS-P5C 571 492.7 423 642 51CDN-GS-1M 1070 975.4 774 1480 155CDN-GS-3L 3180 3136 2340 3800 365CDN-GS-8C 8590 8238 8100 8440 96
G909-6 570 545.8 510 576 16G313-1 1000 971.8 885 1130 60G914-6 3210 3269 3110 3390 70G914-7 9810 9657 9440 10000 112
OREAS 201 514 546.2 531 567 10OREAS 204 1043 1020 990 1050 18OREAS 17c 3040 3009 2940 3110 48OREAS 62c 8790 8411 8100 8570 99
SE68 599 615.5 591 638 12SG66 1086 1087 1030 1300 55SJ80 2656 2520 2450 2570 30SN75 8671 8000 7720 8150 100
AMIS
CDN
Geostats
OREAS
Rocklabs
Table 4: Summary Statistics for each CRM.
INTERNAL CRM VARIATION Control charts presented below show the variation inresultsof eachCRMforeachmanufacturer. Figures1 to5(A-Dplots)showgraphicalrepresentationofthe20x1gINAAdatawheretheXaxisrepresentstheorderofanalysis(analyticalsubsamples1to20)fromlefttoright;andtheYaxisshowsthemeasuredINAAconcentrationinAuppb.AsolidredlineshowsthemeanINAAvalue(seeTable4)foreachCRMandforeachgraderange(i.e.0.5ppmAu,1ppmAu,3ppmAuand9ppmAu).ThesameYaxisconcentra-tionrangeandscalehasbeenusedwherepossibletofacili-tate visual comparison between themanufacturers. TheYaxisinFigures1-5(E-Hplots)showsthepercentagediffer-encefromthecalculatedINAAmean.ThesediagramsarenotintendedasverificationchartsforeachCRMbyINAA,butasastandardisedgraphicalcommunicationtool.
PAGE 10 NUMBER 169 EXPLORE
continued on page 11
Gold Homogeneity in Certified Reference Materials… continued from page 8
AMIS: Figure 1 graphically depicts results for the AMISCRMs. Individual values for each CRM show a widespreadofalmostrandomdatawithnosystematicvariation.AMIS0267(cert9.05ppm)rangesfrom7.45ppmAuto17.90ppmAu(Fig.1D)whichrepresents-15.8%to+102%dif-ferencefromtheINAAmeanofthisCRM(Fig.1H).Two
43.5% 102%
29.7% 34.2%
Au (p
pb)
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Figure 1 samplesshowasignificantdeparturefromtheINAAmean,reporting+43.5%(12.70ppmAu)and+102%(17.90ppmAu)ofthemeanvalue(Fig.1H)andreflects inhomogene-ity (presumably a nugget effect) of theCRM. AMIS0310(cert1.03ppm)alsoshows(Figs.1BandF)significantde-parturefromtheINAAmeanfortwosamples(+29.7%and
Figure 1. Control charts for AMIS CRMs showing INAA concentration (Au ppb) in relation to the certified value [A-D] and the percentage difference from the INAA mean value [E-H].
EXPLORE NUMBER 169 PAGE 11
continued on page 12
Gold Homogeneity in Certified Reference Materials… continued from page 1
+34.2%). This inhomogeneityofAMISCRMshaspoten-tiallysignificantimplicationsforlaboratoryreportingwhere-byauserwouldquestionthelaboratoryresultsbasedontheassumptionthattheCRMishomogeneous.
CDN:Figure2graphicallydisplaystheresultsfortheCDN
-25.4%
-20.6%
51.7%
Au (p
pb)
Order of analysis
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%ag
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m M
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Mea
n NA
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E
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H
A
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D
30.3%
21.7%
Figure 2 CRMs.WiththeexceptionofCDN-GS-8C(cert8.59ppm)whichhasaverytightspreadofdataaroundtheINAAmeanrangingfrom-1.7%to+2.5%(Fig.2H).ThelowerthreeofthefourCDNCRMs(CDN-GS-P5C,CDN-GS-1MandCDN-GS-3L),showawidescatterofdatathatcom-monlyexceeds±20%oftheINAAmeanvalue;CDN-GS-
Figure 2. Control charts for CDN CRMs showing INAA concentration (Au ppb) in relation to the certified value [A-D] and the percentage difference from the INAA mean value [E-H].
PAGE 12 NUMBER 169 EXPLORE
Gold Homogeneity in Certified Reference Materials… continued from page 11
P5C(cert.0.571ppm)showsarangeof-14.2to+30.3%fromtheINAAmean(Figs.2Aand2E);CDN-GS-1M(cert1.07ppm)rangesfrom-20.6to+51.7(Figs.2Band2F)andCDN-GS-3L(cert3.18ppm)rangesfrom-25.4to+21.2%(Figs.2C&2G).ThisindicatesinhomogeneityinthreeoftheseCRMsproducedbyCDN.Theexceptionis
Au (p
pb)
Order of analysis
Au (p
pb)
Au (p
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Au (p
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%ag
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Figure 3 continued on page 13
Figure 3. Control charts for Geostats CRMs showing INAA concentration (Au ppb) in relation to the certified value [A-D] and the per-centage difference from the INAA mean value [E-H].
CDN-GS-8C(cert8.59ppm)whichhasaverytightspreadofdataaroundtheINAAmeanrangingfrom-1.7%to+2.5%(Figs.2Dand2H).
GEOSTATS:Figure3showstheindividualresultsfortheGeostatsCRMs.G914-6(cert3.21ppm)andG914-7(cert
EXPLORE NUMBER 169 PAGE 13
continued on page 14
Gold Homogeneity in Certified Reference Materials… continued from page 12Au
(ppb
)
Order of analysis
Au (p
pb)
Au (p
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Figure 4 9.81ppm)showarelativelytightclusteraroundtheINAAmeanwithG914-6rangingfrom-4.9%to+3.7%(Figs.3Eand3G)andG914-7-rangingfrom-2.2to+3.6%(Figs.3DandH).G909-6(cert0.57ppm)showsawiderscatterwhilstG313-1(cert1.0ppm)showsthewidestscatterof
allGeostatsCRMsrangingfrom-8.9%to+16.3%oftheINAAmean(Figs.3Band3F). OREAS:Figure4showstheindividualresultsfortheOREASCRMs.AllOREASCRMsshowaconsistent
Figure 4. Control charts for OREAS CRMs showing INAA concentration (Au ppb) in relation to the certified value [A-D] and the percent-age difference from the INAA mean value [E-H].
PAGE 14 NUMBER 169 EXPLORE
Gold Homogeneity in Certified Reference Materials… continued from page 13
tightrangewithin±5%oftheINAAmeanindicatingaconsistenthomogenousCRMproductovertherangeofCRMstested. Rocklabs:Figure5showstheindividualresultsforthe
Au (p
pb)
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Figure 5 Figure 5. Control charts for Rocklabs CRMs showing INAA concentration (Au ppb) in relation to the certified value [A-D] and the per-centage difference from the INAA mean value [E-H].
continued on page 15
RocklabsCRMs.ThreeofthefourCRMsevaluatedshowatightrangewithin±5%oftheINAAmeanindicatingaconsistenthomogenousproduct.SG66(cert1.086ppm)isslightlylesshomogenouswithvaluesrangingfrom-5.2%to+19.6%includingoneoutlier(Figs.5Band5F).
EXPLORE NUMBER 169 PAGE 15
Gold Homogeneity in Certified Reference Materials… continued from page 14
DISCUSSION TheapplicationofCRMsintheminingandexplora-tionindustryistomonitorlaboratoryqualityandtocomplywithmandatoryreportingrequirements(e.g.,TSX,ASX).Theyarealsoutilisedduringorereservecalculationstoun-derstandtheuncertaintyinaresourcethatultimatelyfeedsintoaneconomicmodel.ItisthusessentialthatusershaveconfidenceinthequalityandhomogeneityoftheirCRMs.TheCRMcertifiedvaluesareconsensusvaluesderivedbyinter-laboratoryroundrobinprograms.Themethodsusedbysomemanufacturerstofilteroutlierscanmaskpotentialissueswiththehomogeneityofthematerials.Onlyoutliersconfidentlyreasonedtobeanalyticalshouldberemovedandthisconfidenceonlyexistswherehomogeneityhasbeenindependentlyvalidated. Resultsfromthisstudyshowthatthedegreeofhomo-geneityofCRMsavailablefromthefivemanufacturersisvariable;usersandanalystsofthesematerialsneedcon-fidencethattheCRMsarehomogenoustoalevelfitforpurposesothatQCfailuresaregenuineandnotafunctionofsamplingerror(i.e.inhomogeneousmaterials).Arank-ingsystembasedonthevaluesforthe30g2RSDsamplingerrorwouldprovideaguidetohomogeneityofaCRMandenableuserstoselectappropriateCRMsfortheirprojectssuchthat<1%isconsideredVeryGood;1-2%consideredGood;2-3%consideredMediocre;3-4%consideredPoorand>4%consideredVeryPoor. AMIS(McWha&Smee2012a-c,2014)certificatescontainnoevidenceofhomogeneitytestingbutstate,“Sampleswererandomlyselectedforhomogeneitytestingandthirdpartyanalysis.Statisticalanalysisofbothhomo-geneityandtheconsensustestresultswerecarriedoutbyindependentstatisticians”.CDNcertificates(Sanderson&Smee2013a-c,2014)makenomentionofhomogeneity;Geostatscertificates(Geostats2009,2014,2015a,b)pro-videanunsupportedstatementthat“materialsaretestedregularlytoensurestabilityandhomogeneity”.OREASpublisheshomogeneitytestresultswiththeirgoldCRMcertificates(Hamlyn,2009a,b,2012a,b).Rocklabs(Smith&Ball2012a,b,2013a,b)certificatescontaina‘Homogene-ityAssessment’sectionwiththeRSDreportedbutdonotprovidetheactualresults.Segregation/Settlinginformationisalsoprovided. ToenabletheexplorationandminingindustrytohaveconfidenceinthequalityofgoldCRMsusedforQCandmandatoryreporting,manufacturersneedtoprovidedataonthehomogeneityofeverygoldCRM.Thishomogene-itytestworkcouldbethroughtheReducedAnalyticalSubsampleMethodasutilisedroutinelybyOREASandchosenforthisstudyorthroughtheReplicatesofLargeandSmallSampleMassasdescribedbyBagleyetal.(2015).WithoutCRMmanufacturersprovidingtranspar-encyonthehomogeneitythroughtestwork,usersshouldnotassumeallCRMsrepresentqualityproducts.
CONCLUSIONS ThehomogeneityoftwentycommercialgoldoreCRMsproducedbyAMIS(SouthAfrica),CDN(Canada),
Geostats(Australia),OREAS(Australia)andRocklabs(NewZealand)havebeenevaluatedandcompared.TheCRMsrangeingoldcontentfrom0.45to9.81ppm,typicalofthelevelscommonlyencounteredinminingexplorationprojects. TheCRMsofAMIS,CDN,GeostatsandOREASareproducedfromnaturallyoccurringgoldorestowhichvariablequantitiesofbarren/wasterockmaterialhasbeenaddedtoachievetargetgrades.RocklabsCRMsarepro-ducedfromarangeofrockandmineralproductstowhichfinegolddustparticleshavebeenaddedinconcentrationstoachievedesiredgrades. Theinvestigationhasshownaremarkablecontrastinhomogeneitybetweenthevariousproducers.Thesecon-trastinglevelsofhomogeneityhaveseriousramificationswithregardtosamplingerrors,whichinsomeinstancesareofamagnitudeequaltoorgreaterthantypical30gfireassaymeasurementerrorsrenderingthemofquestionablevalueasaQCtool.Samplingerrorsforatypicalfireassaychargeweight(25to50g)shouldbeveryminorcomparedtolaboratorymeasurementerrors.OtherwisetheCRMcannotbedeemedfitforpurposeastheuserisunableascertainthesourceoftheerrorseeninanalyticaldata. Thehomogeneityofthe20goldCRM’swereevalu-atedusingtheSamplingConstant,theminimumsamplemass(chargeweight)requiredtoachievea1%relativestandarddeviationinrepeatanalyses.ForthefourAMISCRM’stested,theSamplingConstantsreturnedarangefrom14to791g.CDNhadoneCRMwithaSamplingConstantof1.4gwhiletheotherthreerangedfrom111.8to263.4g.GeostatshadoneCRMwithaSamplingCon-stantof1.4gwiththeotherthreerangingfrom4.9to39.4g. TheOREASCRM’sallreturnedSamplingConstantsoflessthan4g.ForRocklabs,threeofthefourCRM’sre-turnedSamplingConstantsoflessthan4gwiththefourthcominginat27.1g.Currently,OREASistheonlyCRMmanufacturerroutinelyevaluatingandpublishingtheresultsofhomogeneitytestworkonalltheirgoldCRM’susingtheReducedAnalyticalSubsampleINAAmethod. ThisstudyclearlydemonstratesthatthereisawiderangeinqualityamongstcommerciallyavailablegoldoreCRM’sandthatthehomogeneityofgoldCRM’sfrommostmanufacturersvariesfromoneproducttothenext.ItisproposedthatallmanufacturersbeencouragedtoundertakeandpublishresultsofhomogeneitytestworkongoldinCRM’s,therebyprovidingendusersirrefutabledataonthemagnitudeofCRMsamplingerrorsandtheirimpactonQCprotocols.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND DISCLOSURE TheauthorwouldliketoacknowledgetworeviewerswhoassistedinframingthisarticleandRobertGarrett,EmeritusScientist,GeologicalSurveyofCanada,forhisconstructivecommentsonthemanuscript.Theauthorhasnofinancialinterests,directorindirect,inanyofthefiveCRMmanufacturers.
continued on page 16
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Gold Homogeneity in Certified Reference Materials… continued from page 15
REFERENCES
Bagley,T.,Stanley,C.R.andMurimboh,J.2015.Deter-miningtheheterogeneityofReferenceMaterials.Pro-ceedingsofthe27thInternationalAppliedGeochemistrySymposium,April20-24,2015,Tucson,USA,9p.
GeostatsPtyLtd.2009.CertifiedGoldReferenceMaterialProductCodeG909-6.GeostatsPtyLtd.,1p.
GeostatsPtyLtd.2014.CertifiedGoldReferenceMaterialProductCodeG313-1.GeostatsPtyLtd.,1p.
GeostatsPtyLtd.2015a.CertifiedGoldReferenceMate-rialProductCodeG914-6.GeostatsPtyLtd.,1p.
GeostatsPtyLtd.2015b.CertifiedGoldReferenceMate-rialProductCodeG914-7.GeostatsPtyLtd.,1p.
Hamlyn,C.2009a.CertificateofAnalysisforGoldRefer-enceMaterialOREAS17c.OreResearchandExplorationPtyLtd.,10p.
Hamlyn,C.2009b.CertificateofAnalysisforGold-SilverReferenceMaterialOREAS62c.OreResearchandExplo-rationPtyLtd.,12p.
Hamlyn,C.2012a.CertificateofAnalysisforGoldOreReferenceMaterialOREAS201.OreResearchandEx-plorationPtyLtd.,7p.
Hamlyn,C.2012b.CertificateofAnalysisforGoldOreReferenceMaterialOREAS204.OreResearchandEx-plorationPtyLtd,7p.
Ingamells,C.O.&Switzer,P.1973.Aproposedsamplingconstantforuseingeochemicalanalysis.Talanta,20,547-568.
JORC.2012.AustralasianCodeforReportingofExplora-tionResults,MineralResourcesandOreReserves(TheJORCCode)[online].Availablefrom:(TheJointOreRe-servesCommitteeofTheAustralasianInstituteofMiningandMetallurgy,AustralianInstituteofGeoscientistsandMineralsCouncilofAustralia),44p.
Lieser,K.H.2001.Nuclear and Radiochemistry,2ndEd.:JohnWiley&Sons,Inc.
McWha,M.&Smee,B.W.2012a.AMIS0267,CertifiedReferenceMaterial,Goldsilver,epithermalveinore(highgrade)Guanajuato,Mexico.AfricanMineralStandards,11p.
McWha,M.&Smee,B.W.2012b.AMIS0310,CertifiedReferenceMaterial,GoldandCopperore,greenstone(rougherfeed)BuzwagiMine,Tanzania,AfricanMineralStandards,9p.
McWha,M.&Smee,B.W.2012c.AMIS0352,CertifiedReferenceMaterial,Mediumgradeepithermalgoldore,MasbateGoldProject,Philippines.AfricanMineralStan-dards,9p.
McWha,M.&Smee,B.W.2014.AMIS0360,CertifiedReferenceMaterial,Goldore,TaylorsMine,BarbertonGreenstoneBelt,SouthAfrica,10p.
NI43-101.2011.Standardsofdisclosureformineralproj-ects(Ni43-101);Chapter5,RulesandPolicies,CanadianInstituteofMining,MetallurgyandPetroleum,7043-7086,(http://web.cim.org/).
SAMREC.2009.TheSouthAfricanMineralCodefortheReportingofExplorationResults.MineralResourcesandMineralReserves(TheSAMRECCode),2007EditionasamendedJuly2009,61p(http://www.samcode.co.za/).TheSouthAfricanInstituteofMiningandMetallurgy(SA-MIM);GeologicalSocietyofSouthAfrica(GSSA).
Smith,M.&Ball,T.2012a.CertificateofAnalysisROCK-LABSReferenceMaterialSE68.Rocklabs,6p.
Smith,M.&Ball,T.2012b.CertificateofAnalysis.ROCK-LABSReferenceMaterialSG66.Rocklabs,6p.
Smith,M.&Ball,T.2013a.CertificateofAnalysis.ROCK-LABSReferenceMaterialSJ80.Rocklabs,6p.
Smith,M.&Ball,T.2013b.CertificateofAnalysis.ROCK-LABSReferenceMaterialSN75.Rocklabs,6p.
Sanderson,D.&Smee,B.W.2013a.ReferenceMaterials:CDN-GS-1M.CDNResourcesLaboratoryLtd.,2p.
Sanderson,D.&Smee,B.W.2013b.ReferenceMaterials:CDN-GS-3L.CDNResourcesLaboratoryLtd.,2p.
Sanderson,D.&Smee,B.W.2013c.ReferenceMaterials:CDN-GS-8C.CDNResourcesLaboratoryLtd.,2p.
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Stanley,C.R.&Smee,B.W.2007Strategiesforreducingsamplingerrorsinexplorationandresourcedefinitiondrillingprogrammesforgolddeposits.Geochemistry: Ex-ploration, Environment, Analysis,7,329–340.
EXPLORE NUMBER 169 PAGE 17
Geochemical Nuggets *New Feature*Sometimes an ICP-MS Never Forgets!
Table 1. Gold analyses by ICP-MS following an aqua regia diges-tion, with a lower detection limit of 0.1 ppb and an upper detec-tion limit of 100 ppb.
Asageneralrule,itisalwaysagoodideatomatchboththematrixandgrade
ofcertifiedreferencematerials(CRM)withthesamplesinageochemicalsurvey.Thefollowingexampleillustrateswhatcanhappenwhenthisisnotthecase. Table1illustratesasub-sampleofICP-MSaquaregiaAudataforsoilsamplesinaregionalsurveydesignedtodetectsub-10ppbAuanomalies.Thecontrolmaterialchosenforthesurveywasasulphidic,oregradeAuCRMbecausethisiswhattheexplorationcrewhadonhand.Asthetableillustrates,regionalbackgroundisprobablyontheorderof2ppb,sotheCRMchosenwasmorethanthreeordersofmagnitudeabovethislevel.ThehighlevelsofAuintheCRMhavecarriedacrosstothe“downstream”sampleswithintheanalyticalsequence,givingthemvaluesthatwouldotherwisebeconsideredanomalous.Theeffectpossiblycontinuesfurtheralongtheanalyticalsequencealthoughthelevelofcontaminationgraduallydiminishes.Asaconsequence,themostobviouslyaffectedsampleshadtobefilteredoutoftheinterpretationofasurveyinvolvingseveralhundredsoilsamples. The“memoryeffect”isawell-knownissuewithanaly-sesbyconventionalICP-MSusinganaquaregiadigestion(WangandBrindle,2014),orevenun-acidifiedsamples.Es-sentially,metalsmaybeadsorbedfromsolutionontoglasswareortubingduringsampleinjectionandnebulizationwithinanICP.Thesemetalsmaynotbeeffectivelyremovedbystandard,diluteacidicwashsolutionsanditmaybesometimebeforecrosscontaminationlevelsarereducedtobackgroundlevels,aswasthecasehere.Hadtheissuebeenrecognizedintime,thesamplesolutionsmighthavebeenre-readbeforedisposal,withouttheCRMs. Whileadvancesininstrumentationnowallowustode-tectthelevelsofsomeanalytesdowntotheppborevenpptlevel,theseadvancesmustbematchedwithanunderstand-ingofinstrumentationandtheconsequencesoffailingtouseappropriateCRMs.Inthisinstanceawell-intentionedattempttointroducequalitycontrolssamplesintoalow-levelAusoilsurveysucceededonlyincompromisingthedataduetopoorCRMselection.
References
Wang,Y.&Brindle,I.D.2014,Rapidhigh-performancesampledigestionforICPdeterminationbyColdblockTMdigestion:part2:golddeterminationingeologicalsampleswithmemoryeffectelimination.Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry,29,1904-1911.
Join us for Exploration ‘17October 21-25, 2017, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Exploration ‘17 is the sixth of the very successful series of Decennial Mineral Exploration Conferences which have been held in the seventh year of every decade starting in 1967. The theme of the Exploration ’17 conference is “Integrating the Geosciences: The Challenge of Discovery”, featuring a multi-national, multi-disciplinary technical programme, exhibition, workshops and field schools.
Decennial Conference Proceedings from the past five conferences (1967, 1977, 1987, 1997, 2007) are available for download on the web site under the ‘Resources’ header.
Web site: http://www.exploration17.com
PAGE 18 NUMBER 169 EXPLORE
Minutes of the 2015 AAG Annual General Meeting
Minutesofthe2015AnnualGeneralMeetingoftheAs-sociationofAppliedGeochemists,heldatthe27thInterna-tionalAppliedGeochemistrySymposium,Tucson,Arizona,USA,20April2015
I. Call to Order – Establishment of Quorum PresidentLeybournecalledtheAnnualGeneralMeet-ing(AGM)toorderat6:00PMlocaltime.Morethan30AAGFellowswerepresent,exceedingthenecessary15requiredforaquorum.
II. President’s report (M. Leybourne) PresidentLeybournethankedtheAAGExecutive,Council,andRegionalCouncilorsfortheircontributionstoAAGduringthetimesincethe2014AGM.HeextendedaspecialthankyoutoGwendyHallforhertremendouscontributiontoAAGasEditorofGEEAsinceitsinception(Volume1,Number1beingpublishedinFebruary2001)to2015.HealsowelcomedKurtKyserasthenewEditorofGEEA.HethankedBethMcClenaghan(Editor)andPimvanGeffen(BusinessManager)fortheircontributionstotheAAGnewsletterEXPLORE.HealsoextendedthankstoPatricedeCaritatforservingasAAG’sliaisonwithEle-mentsmagazineforthepastfewyearsandannouncedthatDennisArnewouldbetakingoverthoseresponsibilities.BrunoLemièreandGemmaBonham-Carterwererecog-nizedfortheiroutstandingcontributionstoAAG’swebsiteandAlArseneaultforhisdedicationtoAAGastheAs-sociation’sBusinessManager.Lastly,PresidentLeybournethankedErickWeiland,RobBowell,SarahLincoln,andRickSchwarzfortheirhardworkastheLocalOrganizingCommitteeforthe27thInternationalAppliedGeochemis-trySymposium. PresidentLeybourneannouncedthatDanielLayton-MatthewsofQueen’sUniversity,Kingston,Ontario,Cana-da,willbeAAG’sDistinguishedLecturerfor2015–2016.
III. Vice President’s report (R. Noble) VicePresidentNoblereportedonprogressinthepubli-cationofBobBoyle’sbookonthehistoryofgeochemistryandcosmochemistry.AneditorialteamisnowinplaceanditishopedthisbookmightbereadyforthenextIAGSin2017. Duringthisyear,AAGhasreceivedthreeupdatesfromRegionalCouncilors.NealBrewardhassteppeddownasRegionalCouncilorfortheUKandRepublicofIreland.VicePresidentNobleextendedhisthankstoNealforhisservicetotheAssociation.
VicePresidentNoblerecognizedPeterBradshawwhoreportedonprogressofthebookaboutthecontributionsofTonyBarringertothefieldofgeochemistry.Thefirstdraftislargelyeditedandthefirsttwochaptershavebeenprintset.Whencomplete,thebookwillbeavailableforpurchaseontheAAGwebsite. Lastly,VicePresidentNobleannouncedthatSteveCookwillbeAAG’snewVicePresidentbeginninginJanu-ary2016.
IV. Treasurer’s report (G. Hall) In2014,AAGsuccessfullyaccomplishedallthepaper-worknecessarytocontinueitsnon-profitstatusunderthenewCanadaNot-for-ProfitCorporationsAct. Ourinvestmentholdingsat3MacsforMarch31,2015:$615,301.29inCdn$(7%ofthatiscash)and$89,514.85inUS$cash(soontobeinvested). AlsoasofMarch31,ouraccountsare: CIBCCdn $25,539 CIBCUS $15,303
V. GEEA (G. Hall) AAG’sshareoftheprofitfromGEEAfor2014wasUS$43,797.Therejectionrateforsubmittedmanuscriptsisabout64%.
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VII. Awards and medals (B. Eppinger) ColinDunn(2014)andRaviAnand(2015)willbereceivingAAG’sGoldMedalduringtheIAGS.BethMc-ClenaghanwillbereceivingtheSilverMedal.Requestsfornominationsfor2016willbesenttoAAGmemberssoon.
VIII. Symposia (D. Cohen) Thebidtoholdthe2017IAGSinFlorence,ItalywasrejectedbyCouncilbecauseofconcernsaboutsomeofthecostestimates.TheAssociationiscurrentlyinvestigatingholdingthe2017IAGSinCanada.Moreinformationwillbeavailableinthenextfewmonths.
IX. Other business PresidentLeybourneopenedthemeetingtoquestionsfromtheattendingAAGFellows.Avarietyoftopicswerediscussedthatwererelatedtoothersectionsoftheminutesandconcluded.
X. Adjournment PresidentLeybournethankedalltheparticipantsforattendingthe2015AGManddeclaredthemeeetingad-journedat6:47PMlocaltime.
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EXPLORE NUMBER 169 PAGE 19
Recently Published in ElementsVolume 11, no. 4 Social and Economic Impact of Geochemistry TheAugusteditionofElementsfocusedonthemanywaysthatappliedgeochemistryimpactssociety.Itstartswithanoverviewoftheimpactofgeochemistry(Ludden,Albarède&Coleman),looksathowgeochemistryisusedinmineralexploration(Kyser,Barr&Ihlenfeld)andthenatnewchallengesandmaterialsinthefieldofenvironmentalmineralogy(Calas,McMillan&Bernier-Latmani).AnarticlebasedonacasestudyfromtheCityofLondonexamineshowgeochemistrycanbeappliedtourbanplanning(Ludden,Peach&Flight),whilstanotherexplorestheuseofstableisotopesinforensicgeochemistry(Ehleringer,Chesson,Valenzuela,Tipple&Martinella).Thefinalcontributionexplorestheusesofmetalstableisotopesinmedicine(Rakovan&Pasteris).TheAAGSocietyNewsincludedasummaryofthesuccessful27thIAGSbyErickWeilandandanabstractofBobGarrett’sthought-provokingarticleonQA/QCplotsthatappearedinExplore167.Therecertainlyshouldbesomethingfornearlyeverygeochemistinthisvol-ume!
Volume 11, no. 5, Supergene Metal Deposits TheOctobereditionofElementsfocusesonsupergenemetaldeposits.Itbeginswithanoverviewofthegeologicalandeconomicsig-nificanceofsupergenemetaldeposits(Reich&Vasconcelos),exploressupergenealterationoforedeposits(Dill),paleoclimaticsignaturesofthisdeposittype(Vasconcelos,Reich&Shuster),theuseofCuisotopesinunderstandingsupergeneprocesses(Mathur&Fantle),predictinggeologicalcorrosionwithelectrodes(Renock&Shuller-Nickles),andfinisheswithanexaminationofthegeomicrobiologyofsupergenemetaldeposits(Zammit,Shuster,Gagen&Southam).TheAAGSocietyNewsincludedashortobituaryforEricHoffman,aswellascitationsforthewinnersofthe2014and2015goldandsilvermedals.Thisiscertainlyanissueforthoseinvolvedinregolithgeochemistryandwithaninterestinsupergenemineraldeposits.
Dennis Arne
InlovingmemoryofDr.EricHoffman,Ph.D,P.Geo,theEricL.HoffmanMemorialScholarshiphasbeenes-tablishedattheUniversityofToronto,Canada.ThisEarthSciencesgraduatescholarshipwillbeabletohelpfuturestudentsadvanceafieldthatEricwassopassionateabout.Dr.EricHoffmanwasthePresidentandfounderofActi-vationLaboratoriesLtd.(Actlabs),withheadquartersinAncaster,Ontario,Canada,specializingincontractanalyti-calservicestomanyindustriesincluding;Minerals,Metal-lurgy,Petroleum,LifeSciences,Environmental,Forensics,MaterialsTesting,andAgriculture.EricdedicatedhiscareertoadvancingActlabsandthegeochemicalfieldandquicklybecamearespectedandvaluablecontributortothegeochemistrycommunity.Ericwasastrongsupporterofcollaborativeindustry-Universityresearchsupporting
bothundergraduateandgraduatestudentswhileprovidingprojectguidanceandcontributingtohundredsofresearchpublications. Eveninhisabsence,Actlabswillcontinuetoprovideindustry-leadinginnovativetechnologiesandhighqual-ityservicesandsupportstudentsthroughActlabsandtheEricL.HoffmanMemorialScholarship.Eric’smemorywillneverbeforgottenandhislegacywillliveforever. Tocontributetothescholarship,visitthewebpageontheUniversityofTorontowebsite:
https://donate.utoronto.ca/give/show/85 IfyouhaveanyquestionsregardingtheMemorialScholarshiporhavememoriesorcommentsaboutEricthatyouwouldliketoshare,contact:ahoffman@actlabs.com
Eric L. Hoffman Memorial Scholarship
PAGE 20 NUMBER 169 EXPLORE
AAG’s Student Support Program Resurrected in 2015
Treatise on Geochemistry. Edition No. 2
Researchcarriedoutbystudentsofappliedgeochemis-tryusuallyinvolvesgeochemicalanalysis,thecostofwhichcanbeonerous.Recognisingthisfact,theAssociationofAppliedGeochemists(AAG)institutedaStudentSupportProgramin2011,inwhichanalyticallaboratoriesofferedsupporttoappliedgeochemistrystudentsintheformoffreeanalyses.ThisprogramhasbeenimplementedbytheAAGforovertwoyears.Duetothedownturninthemineralexplorationsector,participatinglaboratorieswerenotbe-ingabletosustaintheirinvolvementandtheprogramwassuspendedin2014.However,allparticipatinglaboratories(ALS,Ultratrace,Genalysis,Becquerel)andAAGagreedthattheaimoftheprogramwassound,andtheprogramhasbeenrevised.Actlabs,ALS-Australia,Intertek-Genaly-sis,andBureauVeritasUltratracehaveagreedtobepartofthisrevisedversionoftheStudentSupportprogram. Initsrevampedform,participatinglaboratoriesdonothavetopre-commitfundstotheprogram,butcanchoosewhethertheywilloffersupport–andtowhatlevel–onacase-by-casebasis.Thisrevisionmeansthatlaboratoriesarenotobligedtosupportallprojectsofferedtothem,butalsothatprojectsendorsedbyAAG’sEducationCommit-teemaynotreceivesupport,ormayonlyreceivepartialsupport.Thesechangestotheprogramhavenot,however,affectedtheapplicationprocess.ApplicationscanbemadeusingtheformavailableontheStudentspageoftheAAGwebsite(www.appliedgeochemists.org).Followingsubmis-sionofthecompletedformtoAAG’sEducationCommit-tee(education@appliedgeochemists.org),themeritoftheapplicationisassessed,andthoseworthyofsupportarerecommendedtoparticipatinglaboratories.Inmakingtheapplication,itisusefultolookatthescopeofworkthatisofferedbyparticipatinglaboratoriesassetoutintheirscheduleofservicesavailableontheirrespectivewebsites.Theseschedulesalsoprovideanalyticalcosts:inmakingthe
application,itismorelikelythatanapplicationwillreceivesupportfromAAG’sEducationCommitteeandcommit-mentfromlaboratoriesifthescopeofworkrequestedisstronglyalignedwithappliedgeochemistryandrealisticintermsofcosts. ExamplesofgeochemicalresearchsupportedbyAAG’sStudentSupportProgramincludeprojectscarriedoutbyAndyLucasandXinDu,bothofwhomreceivedin-kindanalyticalsupportfromIntertek-Genalysis.BothAndyandXinfulfilledtheirobligationsfromtheAAGStudentSup-portProgrambypublishinginEXPLORE: Lucas,A.R.,Rate,A.W.,Salmon,S.U.,Reid,N.,Anand,R.R.,2013.Evaluatingthediffusivegradientsinthinfilmstechniqueforthedetectionofmulti-elementanomaliesinsoils.EXPLORE,161,1-15. Du,X.,Rate,A.W.,Gee,M.A.M.,2012.ParticlesizefractionationandchemicalspeciationofREEinalateriticweatheringprofileinWesternAustralia.EXPLORE,157,1-14. Currently,studentsMarcusPhua(UniversityofMel-bourne)andEnerstTata(UniversityofBuea,Cameroon)havereceivedsupportfortheirresearch.Marcus’sworkinvolvesthepetrogenesisofgabbroicintrusionshostingNi–Cu–PGEmineralizationinWesternTasmania(supportedbyBureauVeritas–Ultratrace),andEnerst’sPhDthesisdealswithgranite-hostedgoldmineralizationfromsouth-eastCameroon(supportedbyIntertek-Genalysis). IftheAAGStudentSupportProgramisofinteresttoyouasasupervisor,orasastudentofappliedgeochemistry,pleasevisittheStudentpageoftheAAGwebsite(https://www.appliedgeochemists.org)tofindoutmoreaboutthisprogram,anddownloadanapplicationform.
Paul MorrisChair, AAG Education Committee
ThisextensivelyupdatedneweditionofthewidelyacclaimedTreatiseonGeochemistryhasincreaseditscoveragebeyondthewiderangeofgeochemicalsubjectareasinthefirstedition,withfivenewvolumeswhichinclude:thehistoryoftheatmosphere,geochemistryofmineraldeposits,archaeologyandanthropology,organicgeochem-istryandanalyticalgeochemistry.Inaddition,theoriginalVolume1on"Meteorites,Comets,andPlanets"wasexpandedintotwoseparatevolumesdealingwithmeteoritesandplanets,respectively.TheseadditionsincreasedthenumberofvolumesintheTreatisefrom9to15withtheindex/appendicesvolumeremainingasthelastvolume(Volume16).Eachoftheoriginalvolumeswasscrutinizedbytheap-propriatevolumeeditors,withrespecttonecessaryrevisionsaswellasadditionsanddeletions.Asaresult,27%wererepublishedwithoutmajorchanges,66%wererevisedand126newchapterswereadded. Formoreinformationpleasegotoon:http://www.researchandmarkets.com/publication/me5b86z/treatise_on_geochemistry
EXPLORE NUMBER 169 PAGE 21
Student-Industry mineral exploration workshop
Inanefforttoattractmorestudentsintothemineralexplorationindustry,theProspectorsandDevelopersAsso-ciationofCanada(PDAC)convenedits9thannualStudent-IndustryMineralExplorationWorkshop(S-IMEW)fromMay1-15,2015.Twenty-sixseniorgeosciencestudentsfromuniversitiesandcollegesfromacrossCanadaconvergedonSudburytoparticipateinlectures,presentationsandhands-onsessionscoveringexplorationtechniques,mineraldeposits,geophysics,geochemistry,environmental,healthandsafetyandcorporatesocialresponsibilityissues.Thetwo-week,allexpenses-paidgatheringprovidedthestudentswithanopportunitytoexperiencethemanyfacetsofthemineralexplorationindustry. ‘GeochemistryDay’isoneofthehighlightsoftheworkshopeachyearandwasorganizedandtaughtthisyearbyStewHamilton,RichardDyer,AndyBajc,andSarahHashmioftheOntarioGeologicalSurveyandBethMc-ClenaghanfromtheGeologicalSurveyofCanada.Theyintroducedstudentstoexplorationgeochemicaltechniquesandprovidedhands-onfieldandlabexperiencesthatstudentswereunlikelytoreceiveatuniversity,includingor-ganiclakesedimentsampling,soilprofilesandtillsampling,andthemicroscopicworldofindicatorminerals. Theworkshopwasagreatopportunityforstudentstolearnaboutthewidevarietyofcareeropportunitiesinmineralexploration,gainexperiencewithexplorationtech-niquesnottypicallytaughttoundergraduatestudentsandexperiencesomeoftheadventuresofbeingageoscientist. InformationaboutthePDAC’sS-IMEWprogramisavailableatthisweblink:http://www.pdac.ca/programs/students/s-imew/
Beth McClenaghanGeological Survey of Canada
Voting Members
DavidMurphyAnglogoldAshantiLtd.PrincipalGeochemist19WhitfieldSt.Floreat,WAAUSTRALIA6014Membershipno.3675 PerttiSaralaGeologicalSurveyofFinlandP.O.Box77Rovaniemi,FINLAND96101Membershipno.3893
Regular Members StephenDeWitConsultingGeologist3020MeadowDriveNanaimo,B.C.CANADAV9R7C6Membership#4307 SusanDriebergPrincipalGeochemist,RioTinto224N2200WestSaltLakeCity,UTUSA84116Membership#4308 EvgeniaLebedevaGeochemist,Intertek156CanningHighwaySouthPerth,WAAUSTRALIA6151Membership#4310 DouglasC.MenziesConsultingGeologist,Geoinsite16CullenDriveKiama,NSWAUSTRALIA2533Membership#4311 Student Members JasmineA.MoertleCaliforniaStateUniversity,LongBeach6750E.RosebaySt.LongBeach,CAUSA90808Membership#4309
New AAG Members
Students examining indicator minerals during Geochem-istry Day lab exercise.
PAGE 22 NUMBER 169 EXPLORE
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EXPLORE NUMBER 169 PAGE 23
CALENDAR OF EVENTSInternational,national,andregionalmeetingsofinteresttocolleaguesworkinginexploration,environmentalandotherareasofappliedgeochemistry.TheseeventsalsoappearontheAAGwebpageat:www.appliedgeochemists.org.
Pleaseletusknowofyoureventsbysendingdetailsto:Steve Amor
GeologicalSurveyofNewfoundlandandLabradorP.O.Box8700,St.John’s,NL,Canada,A1B4J6
Email:StephenAmor@gov.nl.caTel:+1-709-729-1161
2016 10-16JANUARY WinterConferenceonPlasma Spectrochemistry.TucsonAZUSA. Website:icpinformation.org/ Winter_Conference.html19-21JANUARY 10thInternationalSymposiumon EnvironmentalGeochemistry.PerthAustralia. Website:www.iseg10.com/25-28JANUARY MineralExplorationRoundup.Vancouver BCCanada.Website:amebc.ca/roundup5-6FEBRUARY AtlanticGeoscienceSocietyAnnual Colloquium.TruroNSCanada.Website: www.acadiau.ca/~raeside/ags2016/14-18FEBRUARY TheMineralsMetals&MaterialsSociety 145thAnnualMeeting&Exhibition.Nash- villeTNUSA. Website:tinyurl.com/nbdyqeh21-26FEBRUARY2016OceanSciencesMeeting.NewOrleans LAUSA.Website:osm.agu.org/2016/6-9MARCH ProspectorsandDevelopersAssociationof CanadaAnnualConvention.TorontoON Canada.Website:www.pdac.ca/convention21-23MARCH NorthAtlanticCratonMeetingEdinburgh UK.Website:www.bgs.ac.uk/nac201617-22APRIL EuropeanGeosciencesUnionGeneral Assembly2016.ViennaAustria.Website: www.egu2016.eu/16-18MAY 7thGeochemistrySymposiumwithInter- nationalParticipation.SideTurkey. Website:jeokimya.ankara.edu.tr/en22-25MAY 10thSouthAmericanSymposiumon IsotopeGeology.PuertoVallartaMexico. Website:www.ssagi10.geofisica.unam.mx/1-3JUNE GAC/MACAnnualMeeting.Whitehorse YTCanada.Website:whitehorse2016.ca/13-17JUNE 8thInternationalSiberianEarlyCareer GeoScientistsConference.Novosibirsk Russia.Website:conf.ict.nsc.ru/sibconf201619-23JUNE 6thInternationalCongressonArsenic intheEnvironment.StockholmSweden. Website:www.as2016.se26-30JUNE AustralianEarthSciencesConvention. AdelaideSAAustralia.Website: aesc2016.gsa.org.au26JUNE-1JULYGoldschmidt2016.YokohamaJapan. Website:www.geochemsoc.org/programs/ goldschmidtconference/10-13JULY 3rdInternationalConferenceon3D MaterialsScience.St.CharlesILUSA. Website:tinyurl.com/psr55at
10-13JULY 9thInternationalConferenceonEnviron- mentalCatalysis.NewcastleAustralia. Website:tinyurl.com/pts5mtv11-15JULY 4thInternationalWorkshoponHighly SiderophileElementGeochemistry. DurhamUK. Website:community.dur.ac.uk/hse.ws17-22JULY Eurosoil2016.IstanbulTurkey.Website: www.eurosoil2016istanbul.org19-21JULY 39thInternationalSymposiumonEnviron- mentalAnalyticalChemistry.Hamburg GermanyWebsite:tinyurl.com/pnaswjw23-27JULY EuroscienceOpenForum2016.Manchester UK.Website:www.esof.eu24-28JULY Microscopy&Microanalysis2016. ColumbusOHUSA. Website:tinyurl.com/pdyxkpz27-28JULY 8thInternationalCongressofEnvironmen- talResearch.LübeckGermany.Website: www.icer16.jerad.org20-21AUGUST 6thInternationalConferenceonEnviron- mentalPollutionandRemediation. BudapestHungary.Website:icepr.org21-25AUGUST 33rdInternationalGeographicalCongress. BeijingChinaWebsite:www.igc2016.org27AUGUST– 35thInternationalGeologicalCongress4SEPTEMBER CapeTownSouthAfrica. Website:www.35igc.org4-7SEPTEMBER IAP2016:InterfacesAgainstPollution. LleidaSpain.Website:www.iap2016.org4-7SEPTEMBER15thWorkshoponProgressinTraceMetal SpeciationforEnvironmentalAnalytical Chemistry.GdanskPoland.Website:chem. pg.edu.pl/tracespec5-9SEPTEMBER 13thInternationalNickel-Copper-PGE Symposium.FremantleWAAustralia. Website:www.iagod.org/node/5811-15SEPTEMBER2ndEuropeanMineralogicalConference. RiminiItaly. Website:emc2016.socminpet.it/25-28SEPTEMBERSEG2016Conference:TethyanTectonics andMetallogeny.ÇeşmeTurkey.Website: www.seg2016.org9-13OCTOBER WorldWaterCongress&Exhibition. BrisbaneQLDAustralia. Website:tinyurl.com/pgrbkwu16-21OCTOBER WaterRockInteraction15.ÉvoraPortugal. Website(pdf):tinyurl.com/lch75x8
PAGE 24 NUMBER 169 EXPLORE
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Gwendy E.M. Hall, Treasurer 110 Aaron Merrick Drive Merrickville, ON K0G 1N0 Canada TEL: +1-613-269-7980 email: gwendyhall@gmail.com
David B. Smith, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey Box 25046, MS 973 Denver, CO 80225, USA TEL: (303) 236-1849 email: dsmith@usgs.gov
Al Arseneault, Business ManagerP.O. Box 26099, 72 Robertson Road, Ottawa, ON K2H 9R0 CANADA,
TEL: (613) 828-0199 FAX: (613) 828-9288, e-mail: office@appliedgeochemists.org
Matt Leybourne, President DepartmentofEarthSciencesand MineralExplorationResearch Laurentian University 935 Ramsey Lake Road Sudbury, ON P3E 2C6, Canada TEL: +1-705-675-1151 ext. 2263 email: mleybourne@laurentian.ca
THE ASSOCIATION OF APPLIED GEOCHEMISTSP.O. Box 26099, 72 Robertson Road, Ottawa, Ontario K2H 9R0 CANADA • Telephone (613) 828-0199
www.appliedgeochemists.org
AAG COMMITTEES
COUNCILLORS
Brazil João Larizzatti joao.larizzatti@cprm.gov.brChile Brian Townley btownley@ing.uchile.clChina Xueqiu Wang wangxueqiu@igge.cn
Northern Europe Pertti Sarala pertti.sarala@gtk.fiSouthern Europe Benedetto De Vivo bdevivo@unina.itSoutheast Asia Iftikar Malik malik.iftikhar@gmail.com
Southern Africa Theo Davies theo.clavellpr3@gmail.comUK and Republic of Ireland Kate Knights kknights@hotmail.com
Ryan Noble, Vice-President CSIRO P.O. Box 1130 Bentley, Australia 6102 TEL: +61 8 6436 8684 email: ryan.noble@csiro.au
New MembershipNigel Radford, Nigel.Radford@newmont.com Awards and MedalsBobEppingereppinger@usgs.govChris BennPertti Sarala Romy Matthies
AdmissionsNigel Radford, Nigel.Radford@newmont.com EducationPaul Morris, paul.morris@dmp.wa.gov.au
SymposiaDavid Cohen, d.cohen@unsw.edu.au
2014-2015 Alejandro Arauz Dennis Arne StephenCook Mel Lintern Paul Morris PeterSimpson BobEppinger,Ex Officio
AAG COORDINATORS
AAG Student Paper PrizeDavid Cohen, d.cohen@unsw.edu.au
AAG WebsiteGemma Bonham-Carter, webmaster@appliedgeochemists.org Coordinator: Bruno Lemiere, b.lemiere@brgm.fr
Geoscience CouncilsDavid Cohen, d.cohen@unsw.edu.au
GEEAKurt Kyser, kyser@geol.queensu.ca
EXPLOREBeth McClenaghan, beth.mcclenaghan@canada.ca
ELEMENTSDennis Arne, dennis.arne@csaglobal.com
AAG Regional CouncillorsRyan Noble, Ryan.Noble@csiro.au
2015-2016 Dave Cohen Ray Lett Tom Molyneux Juan Carlos Ordóñez Calderón Peter Rogers Peter Winterburn
OFFICERSJanuary - December 2015