GeOCHemISTea

At GeOCHemISTea we love it when someone is so passionate about their geochemistry topic that they reach out and request(!!) to be on the show. An honor, Ben! So what ground did we cover... manifest your own destiny (or was that the US in the 1800s?). Ben has been a geochemist, a geophysicist, and a data scientist; there's lots of nuggets in there for young geos who are looking for the how-to... so how did Ben become a geochemist? Our topic of interest this month was to talk about methodology selection to solve geochemical, geometallurgical, and dare I say geophysical situations that arise during the course of exploration and mining programs... and dare I say... Ben has a lot of opinions, advice and ideas on the matter! For this episode we read: Characterization of Ore Properties for Geometallurgy (Butcher et al., 2023) --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/geochemistea/support

For this episode we read: Using machine learning to estimate a key missing geochemical variable in mining exploration: application of the Random Forest algorithm to multi-sensor core logging data (Schnitzler et al., 2019) A big difference between applied geochemistry and machine is the terminology, but once you start to chip away at this, like Britt, you will realize that the two disciplines are not so different. Join us as we talk about dimensionality reductions, transformations, and workflows pre- and post- her introduction to the realm of data science. And talk about a really neat paper that used random forest to predict sodium for an alteration study. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/geochemistea/support

For this episode we read a chapter from Sam Cantor's thesis entitled: Exploration Tool: Tracking Cryptic Alteration Surrounding the Iscaycruz Zn (Pb-Cu-Ag) Skarn-CRD Deposit, Central Peru (Cantor, 2020) Have you implemented UV lamps into your exploration programs to help try and sort out complex mineralogy and vein paragenesis? Sam Cantor explains his side hustle at the Mineral Deposits Research Unit at the University of British Columbia, where he was able to start to build out workflows to tackle this in a complex skarn and carbonate replacement deposit in Peru. If this has not yet peaked your interest, perhaps come for the tea where he talks about his role as a green junior geologist in Nicaragua using hyperspectral to overturn high sulfidation epithermal mineral identifications using the field geologist's tried and true method of tasting minerals :) --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/geochemistea/support

Honestly... I don't know which is more interesting... the content of the mesothermal gold chat or the tea. Almost 17 years after the work was originally presented, we dive into Jeff's honors project - a study on gold mineralization at the Callie Deposit, Dead Bullock Soak, NT, Australia. The evolution of the research to present day is fascinating for all the fans who have asked for some orogenic gold love on the show! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/geochemistea/support

A big thanks to Heidi Pass, Michelle Carery, Dave Lawie, Pim van Geffen, Putra Sadikin, Mike Whitbread, Des Pascoe, & Steve Sugden for rolling with this as we tried for our Holiday special to embody the Dickens-esq theme of Geochemistry: Past, Present & Future. Everyone on the show this month was part of the ioGlobal team, a global applied geochemistry consultancy for the mineral exploration and mining industries, the likes of which has not been seen since the company was bought in the early 2010s. Part charming family reunion, part educational, and many parts geochemistry. Happy holidays to everyone from GeOCHemISTea <3 --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/geochemistea/support

We always talk about fluids in geochemistry. How the ore metals are moving and how they are depositing - we think in pressure-temperature-redox space. However, when we get our geology, structure and geochemistry in 3D... and then we start to rotate a model for the first time... it is the most rewarding moment because we see the fluid pathway and why our metals have deposited. Nothing, perhaps, in exploration geochemistry is more rewarding then spinning a 3D model. I've paraphrased myself from this interview here, but I hope everyone listening finds a friend in Julia because all geochemistry is 3D and deserves to be seen as we discuss! For this episode we read: https://www.seequent.com/technical-tuesday-linking-lithology-and-geochemistry-with-iogas-and-leapfrog-geo-workflows/ https://www.seequent.com/connect-your-exploration-teams-with-the-power-of-a-fast-and-agile-workflow/ https://www.seequent.com/mapping-metal-deposits-in-canada/ https://www.seequent.com/data-is-a-solid-investment-for-junior-exploration-companies-2/ https://www.seequent.com/modelling-large-and-complex-data-in-the-integra-gold-rush-challenge/ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/geochemistea/support

There are geochemists and isotope geochemists... this episode we're speaking with the latter and this discussion could not be more interesting! Seriously. I found myself at different points so riveted (by that I mean thinking too hard) that I forgot I was supposed to be asking more questions. As usual, my favorite part of the episode is Tea Time, but for a different reason. As an undergraduate, Libby asked a question to established researchers that were giving a talk to her university 8000+ of miles from their lab en route to do some fieldwork at the Platreef (Bushveld Complex, South Africa) that became a huge contribution to science and ore deposits research, as well as the focus for her MSc and PhD research. So cool. For this episode we read: Sulfate recycling at subduction zones indicated by sulfur isotope systematics of Mesozoic ultramafic island arc cumulates in the North American Cordillera (Milidragovic et al., 2023) --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/geochemistea/support

Critical metals are merely lists built based on geopolitics and supply chain, but are nonetheless essential for advanced technology and particularly the 'green' energy transition. Our interview spans softball critical metal questions to talking about the dredged material containing sulfate-reducing bacteria that is generating pyrite on the bottom of a canal in the Chesapeake watershed through to more typical acid mine drainage. All the while we retain focus on the recovery of critical metals from unconventional sources to supplement domestic supplies. For this interview we read: Critical metal geochemistry in groundwaters influenced by dredged material (Goodman et al., 2023) Rare earth element recovery in hard-rock acid mine drainage and mine waste: A case study in Idaho Springs, Colorado (Goodman et al., 2023) --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/geochemistea/support

This episode returns to our roots... to our very first episode with Simon where we talked about the geochemistry of Carlin deposits, except this time we're talking about high sulfidation epithermal systems. We're talking scale, exploration methodologies, geochemistry, and even a light amount of geophysics, all with a stiffly brewed cup of tea. For this episode we read two papers: Alturas: A Unique Discovery Within a Mature District Through Integrating Sound Geological Practices, Multidisciplinary Expertise and Leading Technology (Astorga et al., 2017) Multi-Scale integrated application of Spectral Geology and Remote Sensing for Mineral Exploration (Zhou et al., 2017) --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/geochemistea/support

This is a different conversation from those we’ve had before because we took two extremely different topics in hydrogeochemistry and pXRF on drillcore and looked at how these different techniques and scales come together in a junior exploration program. If you've never been to Nevada, no worries... we're going there together, now. For this episode we read: Parts per trillion (ppt) gold in groundwater: can we believe it, what is anomalous and how do we use it? (Buskard et al., 2019) --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/geochemistea/support

A favorite thing Dave likes to say is "we do all sorts of things to the rocks... to try and understand them...." But then Dave often likes to tell geologists and especially mining engineers that "rocks don't give a shit to what we think of them. They're just rocks. They're just gonna sit there and be like, all right, whatever guys. I'm a rock." And as for why you won't see Dave penning a book on his career... "because it with be complete utter bullshit." That's hindsight bias for you. Join us as we discuss Nassim Nicholas Taleb's philosophical book "Fooled by Randomness" and try and apply it to the wide world of geochemistry... with drinks. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/geochemistea/support

For this episode we read the Datarock blog post Fusing core imagery and chemistry to model stratigraphy. Perhaps more interesting that the foundation of Datarock is built on Aussie rules football is some of the advice that Brenton Crawford, one of the the company's founders has to impart: that we can get distracted by what we 'need' from a university in order to get the geoscience job we want. He goes on to counsel that getting involved in a community of your choosing, albeit geochemistry, data science, or some other sector, can be a better investment of your time and energy. Importantly, if you have interested in transitioning to data science, remember that your knowledge of the geosciences is infinitely more important than an additional degree in data science - your ability to make an impact on your team is greater simply because you understand the nuances of the data you are working with. As for working with image data and integrating it with geochemistry... you'll have to have a listen. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/geochemistea/support

For this episode we read: Geochemical Modeling of Water-Rock Interactions in Mining Environments (Alpers and Nordstrom, 1997). For those who've asked "how do I become an environmental geochemist?" ...Tom has some advice for you. And for those that have questions about the business of consulting... his tea has some hard numbers. Best, though, is when we examine geochemical modeling philosophy and the Alpers and Nordstrom quote that models are "not reality, nor [are they] reliable, correct or valid representation[s] of reality." After this show, I think we need to interview some more environmental geochemists! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/geochemistea/support

We think we speak for everyone that the geochemical community is forever enriched by Putra's decision not to study plankton biostratigraphy or go into construction. Everyone's favorite ioGAS product manager stops by the show this month to talk to us about his journey through an MSc, MBA and life in general, as well as some good off-the-cuff Tea, and then a stimulating discussion on interpreting geochemical data. Never be too prideful to ask a question and the more questions you ask, the better you become at asking questions (Sadikin, pers. comm. 2023). For this episode we read: Lithogeochemical and Hyperspectral Halos to Ag-Zn-Au Mineralization in the Eastern Goldfields Superterrane, Western Australia (Hollis et al., 2021). --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/geochemistea/support

For this episode we read: "Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy – An Emerging Analytical Tool for Mineral Exploration (Harmon et al., 2019)" Starting from the basics of what is LIBS through to cutting edge applications, Andrew Somers (Global Business Director: Geochemistry at SciAps Inc.) is here to guide us through the ins and outs of this tech. For our young geochemists - are you nervous about making the jump from working at a mining company to working for a vendor? Andrew has some words of wisdom on this too. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/geochemistea/support

What are we observing versus what are we supposed to see, in other words, how (and how much) is dogma directing our interpretations? We explore this concept this month when we delve into Duncan McLeish's PhD work on the transport and deposition of gold at the Brucejack Deposit (Canada). In a world where aqueous complexation has long been considered the only viable means of transporting gold to depositional sites in hydrothermal ore-forming systems, Duncan et al. found that rejecting dogma was of the utmost importance. For example, a major weakness of the Au transport in solution hypothesis is that it cannot readily explain the formation of ultrahigh-grade gold veins when transporting Au at ppb levels. ...so how do “bonanza” veins contain weight-percent levels of gold in some epithermal and orogenic deposits? ...what are colloids and flocculation? ...why is this research both exciting and important? All this and more in this episode! Put on your thinking caps, it's time to listen to some applied chemistry, economic geology and a little bit of philosophy. For this episode we read "Colloidal transport and flocculation are the cause of the hyperenrichment of gold in nature" by McLeish et al., 2021. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/geochemistea/support

Did you know that in addition to being one of our industry's geochemical powerhouses, JC is also an artist? But also as we continue along in the episode we'll see that he's perhaps a staunch businessman. For this month's episode we reviewed a PDAC short course organized by JC and Lynda Bloom entitled: "Geochemical Modeling for Orebody Knowledge and Exploration Targeting Workshop" - including his helpful Review on Methodologies for Geochemical Data Analysis. The course spans fundamentals (including QA/QC), a review of methodologies, interpretation of 4 acid ICP data, geometallurgy, ore body knowledge, regional soil geochemistry, and applications of till and indicator minerals in glaciated geochemistry. The idea is that as geochemists we need to move past just exploration and into the realms of mine, mill and reclamation. If we have geochemistry collected at any point, by any group it must be standardized as a true multi-client dataset. Sample the overburden! Have a geochemist overseeing your database and controlling how the rocks are sampled from a multiclient perspective. "Until we do this, geochemistry will never be looked at in a company as a valuable asset, but as an expense." As a sidenote, JC's section of the course contains topics, such as compositional data, geochemistry templates, and unsupervised and supervised learning. Buckle up geochemists and geochemistry enthusiasts... see you on the other side of this fascinating interview! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/geochemistea/support

Article: Random forest rock type classification with integration of geochemical and photographic data (Trott et al., 2022) Do you want to integrate machine learning into your exploration workflow, but feel precluded from doing so because of complicated terminology in the majority of the literature? Have a crack at Mac's first paper and then join us for this discussion on how he implemented a relatively simple, but well-constrained, study to provide explorationists with confidence on joining the ML push towards making core logging more quantitative. For our young listeners, Mac has some twists and turns on his way towards his current position as a PhD student at Queen's as well as being an embedded researcher at Goldspot. Also... the tea is good. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/geochemistea/support

Have you perused a geochemistry lab schedule and not known where to start? Don't worry - the answers are not obvious and GeocHemiSTea is here to help! We have broken this episode into six sections to get to your answers quicker, but considering the complexity of the topic and the importance of having the best data possible we recommend listening to this episode in its entirety! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/geochemistea/support

For this episode we had a squiz at: "Mineral Geochemistry Vectoring: Uncovering Northwest Queensland’s Hidden Potential" (Steadman et al., 2021), "Improving geological logging of drill holes using geochemical data and data analytics for mineral exploration in the Gawler Ranges, South Australia" (Hill et al., 2021), and the tutorials on the Mineral Mapping website. There's a role for classical geochemistry (bivariate plots, probability plots, etc.) to play, but the future is moving towards a data science approach to geochemical data. Come listen to Mike's take on where geochemistry in industry is heading and where it still needs to shift. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/geochemistea/support