GSN Regular Membership Meeting, Reno, Nevada – March 15, 2024

Description

Contact: gsn@gsnv.org

GUEST SPEAKER:  Ken Witherly, Condor Consulting

TITLE:  “Cortez Summit Case Study Plus 11 years; do we know any more?”

DATE:   FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 2024

TIME:  Drinks @ 6 pm, Dinner @ 6:30 pm, Talk @ 7:15 pm

WHERE:  The Atlantis Hotel & Casino, Reno, Nevada

SPONSOR:  KAPPES, CASSIDAY & ASSOCIATES

Abstract:

Extracted from the extended article “An assessment of airborne and ground geophysical data over a Carlin-Type gold prospect, Battle Mountain Nevada.” published in 2013 by Ken Witherly, President of Condor Consulting, Inc, Lakewood, CO,

Summary

Carlin-Type deposits represent a major class of gold deposit first defined at the type location in Nevada with the discovery of the Carlin deposit in 1960. Since then, dozens of other similar deposits have been found and many exploited, making the NE corner of Nevada one of the most prolific gold districts in the world.

The petrophysical characteristics of these deposits are subtle as the primary deposit attributes; structures and lithology along with some alteration associated with ore emplacement are seldom unique and often overprinted by other similar events before, concurrent and post the primary ore forming events.

In the present study the results from three geophysical surveys; two airborne techniques ZTEM and HeliTEM and ground gravity are processed and assessed over a property that while near well-defined Carlin-Type deposits, is itself largely covered by young volcanic rocks which has made the assessment of the property challenging.

The geophysical results show good agreement with some previously recognized structural features derived from regional mapping and drilling. As well the surveys are providing information about what are considered significant structural features not previously recognized. Alteration could be a component of the observed responses but additional validation with drilling is required to fully assess the significance of these results.

Bio:

Ken Witherly graduated from UBC (Vancouver Canada) with a BSc in geophysics and physics in 1971.

He then spent 27 years with the Utah/BHP Minerals company during which time as Chief Geophysicist, he championed BHP’s programs in airborne geophysics which resulted in the development of the MegaTEM and Falcon technologies. In 1999, Ken helped form a technology-focused service company that specializes in the application of innovative processing and data analysis to help drive the discovery of new mineral deposits. In 2017, he helped establish the Women Geoscientists of Canada, a group dedicated to support early career women in the minerals industry. In the last five years, he has undertaken to help build a historical record of mining geophysics and the people and technology in this profession.

 

 

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