What We Like to Share

Resources

Resources

Interested to learn more about my favourite topics?

Here is a collection of mineral exploration resources, featuring technical papers, webinars, and practical tools.

Geochemistry & Hyperspectral

Geology &
Alteration Mapping

The Consultant Series

Mineralisation Styles

Applied Geochemistry & Hyperspectral

Like to break into geochemistry & hyperspectral in mineral exploration and don’t know where to start?

Well… I have been there! I found it very difficult to find resources when first starting in these fields.

I have compiled some of my favourite technical papers, books, webinars, podcasts and blogs in the world of geochemistry and hyperspectral. Hopefully, I can help some up and coming geochemists out there understanding some of the principle concepts.

This is nowhere complete, especially the technical papers, it will be a continuous work in progress. Feel free to reach out if you have any favourite resources I am still missing!

Thanks to the creators!

Webinars, blogs and technical material online

Mineral Mapping

Most people in the industry know, Scott Halley has an excellent range of workshops, presentations and tutorials on his website. Even better Scott provides data packages with the workshop info.

Check it out if you haven’t already!

GeOCHemISTea

Who in this field does not know the one and only podcast by Sam Scher?

Every month, Sam releases a new episodes across a range of geochemistry and hyperspectral topics with a variety of guests.

Thanks Sam, keep it up.
We enjoy listening!

LKI Consulting

If you are not into listening podcasts, Sam has a great library of technical talks, webinars and blog posts on her consulting website.

Sam has also gathered relevant Geochemistry GeoHug talks on YouTube.

Datarock

When I am looking for inspiration on how to deal with a dataset in a different way, I often browse through the range of innovative blog topics created by the team at Datarock. There are also some handy tools available such as the Spectral Library Viewer & MICA (Mineral Identification and Compositional Analysis).

3PXS

More recently, after meeting Simon Griffiths and Aidan Kitchener at a conference, I discovered a collection of presentations and LinkedIn technical posts.

Watch this space! I think Simon & Aidan are only just getting started sharing their knowledge online.

An Earth Scientist’s Periodic Table of the Elements & Their Ions

Must-have periodic table of elements for every geochemist. Published by L. Bruce Railsback.

Some Fundamentals of Mineralogy and Geochemistry

Collection of presentations explaining principles in geochemistry and mineralogy compiled by L. Bruce Railsback.

Simon Fraser University – Geochemistry

Overview on the geochemistry of the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere by Stephen Lower.

University of Alberta – Chemistry

A range of basic chemistry lectures to brush up on the fundamentals.

Association of Applied Geochemists (AAG)

There are presentations, geochemical atlases and other resources which are well worth a read. Although not all material is for public access.

Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis

Journal focussing on the use of geochemistry in mineral exploration and resource development as as well environmental applications.

CRCLEME

This Australian Government research program is an excellent resource for regolith geoscience and mineral exploration through cover.

GEOROC

Collection of published analyses of igneous and metamorphic rocks and minerals including major and trace element concentrations, isotope ratios and analytical ages.

FOREGS

Geochemical baseline data for Europe including articles, datasets and maps.
Valuable insights into each elements behaviour in different sample media.

Geochemical Earth Reference Model

Databases and references for elemental abundances including a variety of normalisations and partition coefficients.

Mineral Mapping

Most people in the industry know, Scott Halley has an excellent range of workshops, presentations and tutorials on his website. Even better Scott provides data packages with the workshop info.

GeOCHemISTea

Who in this field does not know the one and only podcast by Sam Scher?
Every month, Sam releases a new episodes across a range of geochemistry and hyperspectral topics with a variety of guests.
Thanks Sam, keep it up.
We enjoy listening!

LKI Consulting

If you are not into listening podcasts, Sam has a great library of technical talks, webinars and blog posts on her consulting website.

Sam has also gathered relevant Geochemistry GeoHug talks on YouTube.

Datarock

When I am looking for inspiration on how to deal with a dataset in a different way, I often browse through the range of innovative blog topics created by the team at Datarock.

3PXS

More recently, after meeting Simon Griffiths and Aidan Kitchener at a conference, I discovered a collection of presentations and LinkedIn technical posts.

Watch this space! I think Simon & Aidan are only just getting started sharing their knowledge online.

An Earth Scientist’s Periodic Table of the Elements & Their Ions

Must-have periodic table of elements for every geochemist. Published by L. Bruce Railsback.

Some Fundamentals of Mineralogy and Geochemistry

Collection of presentations explaining principles in geochemistry and mineralogy compiled by L. Bruce Railsback.

Simon Fraser University – Geochemistry

Overview on the geochemistry of the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere by Stephen Lower.

University of Alberta – Chemistry

A range of basic chemistry lectures to brush up on the fundamentals.

Association of Applied Geochemists (AAG)

There are presentations, geochemical atlases and other resources which are well worth a read. Although not all material is for public access.

Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis

Journal focussing on the use of geochemistry in mineral exploration and resource development as as well environmental applications.

CRCLEME

This Australian Government research program is an excellent resource for regolith geoscience and mineral exploration through cover.

GEOROC

Collection of published analyses of igneous and metamorphic rocks and minerals including major and trace element concentrations, isotope ratios and analytical ages.

FOREGS

Geochemical baseline data for Europe including articles, datasets and maps.
Valuable insights into each elements behaviour in different sample media.

Geochemical Earth Reference Model

Databases and references for elemental abundances including a variety of normalisations and partition coefficients.

Books

Using Geochemical Data – To Understand Geological Processes

Rollinson, H. and Pease, V. (2021). Using Geochemical Data: To Understand Geological Processes. 2nd Edition, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Practical Geochemistry

Alexandre, P. (2021). Practical Geochemistry. Springer Textbooks in Earth Sciences, Geography and Environment. 126p.

Geochemistry

White, W.M. (2020). Geochemistry. 2nd Edition. John Wiley and Sons Ltd | Wiley-Blackwell. 960p.

Technical Papers

Lithogeochemistry & Hydrothermal Footprints – Scott Halley

Halley, S., Dilles, J.H. & Tosdal, R.M. (2015). Footprints: hydrothermal alteration and geochemical dispersion around porphyry copper deposits. Society of Economic Geologists Newsletter, 100, 12–17.

Halley, S., Wood, D., Stoltze, A., Godfroid, J., Goswell, H. & Jack, D. (2016). Using Multielement Geochemistry to Map Multiple Components of a Mineral System: Case Study from a Sediment-Hosted Cu-Ni Camp, NW Province, Zambia: in SEG Newsletter, No. 104, January, 2016, 15-21.

Halley, S. (2020). Mapping magmatic and hydrothermal processes from routine exploration geochemical analyses. Economic Geology, 115, 489–503.

Porphyry Fertility – Robert Loucks

Loucks, R.R. (2014). Distinctive composition of copper-ore-forming arc magmas. Australian Journal of Earth Sciences v.61, p. 5-16.

Porphyry Geochemistry – David Cooke

Cooke, D., Hollings, P., Wilkinson, J. & Tosdal, R. (2013). Geochemistry of Porphyry Deposits. Treatise on Geochemistry: Second Edition. 13. 357-381.

Cooke, D.R., Agnew, P., Hollings, P., Baker, M., Chang, Z., Wilkinson, J.J., Ahmed, A., White, N.C. Zhang, L., Thompson, J., Gemmell, J.B., Danyushevsky L. & Chen, H. (2020). Recent advances in the application of mineral chemistry to exploration for porphyry copper–gold–molybdenum deposits: detecting the geochemical fingerprints and footprints of hypogene mineralization and alteration. Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis 2020; 20 (2): 176–188.

Spectral Geology and Remote Sensing

Laukamp, C., Cudahy, T., Thomas, M., Jones, M., Cleverley, J. S., & Oliver, N. H. S. (2011). Hydrothermal mineral alteration patterns in the Mount Isa Inlier revealed by airborne hyperspectral data. Australian Journal of Earth Sciences, 58(8), 917–936.

Zhou, X., Jara, C., Plascencia, C. & Bardoux, M. (2017). Multi-scale Integrated Application of Spectral Geology and Remote Sensing for Mineral Exploration. Proc. 6th Decennial Int. Conf. Mineral Exploration, Toronto, ON.

Other Excellent Reports and Papers

Fabris A.J., Halley S., van der Wielen S., Keeping T. & Gordon G. (2013). IOCG-style mineralisation in the central eastern Gawler Craton, SA; characterisation of alteration, geochemical associations and exploration vectors, Report Book 2013/00014. Department of Innovation, Manufacturing, Trade, Resources and Energy, South Australia, Adelaide.

Surface Mapping – How to build a field system

Having trouble interpreting surface mapping and logging data with inconsistent rock descriptions?

Unfortunately, most geologist would answer “Yes….”. For that reason I rely heavily on integrating geology with geochemistry and hyperspectral data to gain confidence in the datasets I have been given.

When Nick Tate approached me for some help to move from MapInfo using Nomads in the field to a more modern mapping system, I thought this would be an excellent opportunity to tackle the common inconsistencies in mapping at the source.

We decided to build a surface mapping system for QGIS using QField and QCloud which records a more visual and consistent dataset between multiple geologists in the field. I have also created a similar system in ArcGIS Pro with Field Maps for one of my clients.

We are currently working on some video content and a mapping system, so watch this space!

The Consultant Series with Nick Tate

Ever thought of becoming a consultant but wondering about its pros and cons?

Nick Tate and I have been chatting about the challenges and rewards of being a consultant for a few years now. When he asked me whether I would be keen to talk about it in front of the camera, I certainly hesitated. But I now very much appreciate the opportunity and all the great connections and discussions I have had with other consultants in the industry ever since.

Thanks Nick, it has been a pleasure working on videos and real life projects with you!

Technical Literature – Mineralisation Styles

There is a lot of specific literature and case studies on a variety of deposit styles. I have compiled some of the must-reads.

This is quite a task and this list is nowhere near complete and will be a constant work in progress.

Again, get in touch if you think I should be adding another key piece of literature.

Books

Introduction to Ore Forming Processes

Robb, L. (2020). Introduction to Ore-Forming Processes. Second Edition. Wiley-Blackwell. 496p.

Technical Papers

Porphyry and Epithermal

Chang, Z., Hedenquist, J.W., White, N.C., Cooke, D.R., Roach, M., Deyell, C.L., Garcia, J., Gemmell, J.B., McKnight, S. & Cuison, A.L. (2011). Exploration Tools for Linked Porphyry and Epithermal Deposits: Example from the Mankayan Intrusion-Centered Cu-Au District, Luzon, Philippines. Economic Geology 2011; 106 (8): 1365–1398..

Cooke, D.R., Hollings, P. & Walshe, J.L. (2005). Giant porphyry deposits: characteristics, distribution, and tectonic controls. Economic Geology, 100, 801–818.

Cooke, D.R., Wilson, A.J., House, M.J., Wolfe, R.C., Walshe, J.L., Lickfold, V. & A. J. Crawford, A.J (2007). Alkalic Porphyry Au – Cu and Associated Mineral Deposits of the Ordovician to Early Silurian Macquarie Arc, New South Wales.” Australian Journal of Earth Sciences 54 (2-3): 445–63.

Corbett, G. – Multiple technical papers, short course manuals and presentations.

Hedenquist, J.W. & Taran, Y.A. (2013). Modeling the Formation of Advanced Argillic Lithocaps: Volcanic Vapor Condensation Above Porphyry Intrusions. Economic Geology 2013; 108 (7): 1523–1540.

Holliday, J.R., Wilson, A.J., Blevin, P.L., Tedder, I.J., Dunham, P.D. & Pfitzner, M. (2002). Porphyry gold–copper mineralisation in the Cadia district, eastern Lachlan Fold Belt, New South Wales, and its relationship to shoshonitic magmatism. Min Dep 37, 100–116.

Sillitoe, R.H. (2010). Porphyry Copper Systems. Economic Geology, 105, 3-41.

Sillitoe, R.H. (2024). Metallogeny and Mineral Exploration – Some Personal Reminiscences. Geochemical Perspectives Volume 13, Number 1 – April 2024 (pages 1-196).

Orogenic Gold

Colvine, A.C., Fyon, J.A., Heather, K.B., Marmont, S., Smith, P.M. & Troop, D.G. (1988). Archean Lode Gold Deposits in Ontario. Ontario Geological Survey. Miscellaneous Paper 139.