An Introduction to Exploration Geochemistry

Presented by: Dennis Arne (PhD)

This comprehensive 2-day short course is designed for geology students, recent graduates and mineral exploration professionals looking for continuing professional development in exploration and applied geochemistry. Day 1 of the course would also be suitable for database professionals wishing to know more about the collection of geochemical data and the assessment of its quality, as well as for more seasoned geologists wishing to review recent advances in the collection, analysis, QA/QC and management of data.

The short course involves PowerPoint presentations to introduce concepts interspersed with short practical exercises to reinforce some of the strategies and methods. Examples will be drawn from publicly available data sources from Canada and Australia. On completion of the 2-day short course participants should be able to design, implement and interpret diverse data sets from geochemical exploration programs while ensuring “fit for purpose” data quality and data management.

Participants should bring a laptop to both days of the course and will need to download and install a 2-week trial version of ioGAS software immediately prior to the course. A download link will be circulated prior to commencement of the course. Note that the trial version will not function if it has previously been installed on the machine.

Day 1 of the course covers geochemical sampling strategies, sample preparation and analytical methods, quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC), and basic data management; an A to Z of designing, implementing and reporting geochemical data in compliance with current public reporting codes.

Day 2 will introduce a structured approach to both univariant and multivariant exploratory data analysis of geochemical data in the best interpretive software available – ioGAS. A key focus of the approach will be the attribution of geochemical data with a variety of metadata for process discovery. No prior use of the software is assumed as this course will provide a solid introduction.

Dennis Arnes has over 40 years experience in geology and applied geochemistry globally. He has overseen regional geochemical exploration programs in the Yukon, British Columbia, Nunavut and northern Quebec in Canada, the USA, eastern Australia, Suriname, north Africa and Laos. He was Managing Director and Principal Consultant – Geochemistry of CSA Global Canada until late 2017, General Manager and Principal Consultant – Geochemistry for Revelation Geoscience (purchased by CSA Global in 2012), Principal Consulting Geochemist with ioGlobal (now part of Imdex) and formerly Senior Geochemist with Geoscience Victoria (now Geological Survey of Victoria, Australia). Dennis is currently director and principal consulting geochemist at Telemark Geosciences based in Australia. He is a Registered Professional Geoscientist (Geochemistry) of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists, a Fellow and former President of the Association of Applied Geochemists, and a registered Professional Geoscientist in British Columbia, Canada.