Another busy few months at Third Planet, with Simon participating in events surrounding both AME Roundup (Vancouver) and the PDAC in Toronto, together with starting work with some new clients. Also, there were two trips to Finland Co-Au mineral exploration projects, where Latitude 66 Cobalt published an update on 2022 exploration results. In his part-time role as Head of Exploration, Simon is very proud of the team`s new Co-Au discovery in Kuusamo, Finland.
The year started with a talk entitled “Creating Value from Geochemical Data in Exploration: Examples of Workflows & Interpretations” at the Imdex Xploration Tech Symposium, Vancouver. In this talk, Simon outlined the role of geochemistry in the various stages of the mineral exploration value chain, together with the importance of collecting fit-for-purpose analytical data at all stages. A brief description of interpretation workflows for classifying lithology and alteration then preceded a walk-through of some recent examples of high impact work. The examples included applying chemostratigraphy to pXRF drill data in Nevada (exploration), ore and waste element deportment in a BC mine (lab ICP data) and calculating a geochemical proxy for grindability (hardness) in blast holes from ICP data in Nevada.
The AME Cordilleran Roundup was a great opportunity to catch up with many old friends and former colleagues from Simons Rio Tinto and Barrick days. Also, some great new friends and acquaintances were made and there were some very good projects showcased at the booths.
It seemed that the PDAC was pretty much back to full complement, with almost 24,000 attendees, similar to the pre-Covid 2020 conference. Preceding this, Simon ran an ioGAS session with a real-world drilling data set as part of the MDRU`s day-long course “Practical Use of pXRF in Mineral Exploration.” Participants followed along on their own computers, working through Simon`s workflow for lithogeochemical classification in crystalline rocks. The course was hosted in one of the University of Toronto`s magnificent old buildings. As with Roundup, the PDAC turned out to be a great week for catching up with old acquaintances, nurturing nascent relationships and making new ones.
Catching up with Simon`s two other trips during the first quarter of 2023 were both to Finland in his role as Head of Exploration for Latitude 66 Cobalt. This work involved continuing to lead a team of young, enthusiastic geologists to generate significant new Co-Au discoveries in the Kuusamo Schist Belt, northern Finland. The deposits we are discovering there are very different insofar as Co mineralisation is hosted in an orogenic / greenstone setting with strong structural controls. So far, the discoveries have been in fold axial regions and shear zones and associated with Au grades in excess of 5g/t. For further information on Latitude 66 Cobalt and exploration results, visit their website.
If you’d like any more information, assistance or advice on any of these topics, or more, please don’t hesitate to contact me…
