Peter Dimmell

What has been the most memorable experience of your career?

The Point Leamington massive sulphide deposit was discovered by Noranda in 1971. I was the project geo on the property and was involved with the discovery from day 1 as I accompanied Allan Keats to large massive sulphide (MS) boulders that he had discovered on a small brook while stream sediment sampling. During the visit I noted pillowed mafic volcanics (MV) and quartz feldspar porphyry (QFP) both in float and outcrop and fragments of QFP in the massive sulphide boulders. I had been tasked the previous winter to examine a 1967 Phelps Dodge airborne electromagnetic (EM) survey and plot the anomalies on air photos so I knew that there was a strong EM conductor approximately 1/4 mile / 400 m away from the MS boulders. The same day that I visited the area with Al we laid out a grid for ground geophysics and after some iterations we drilled the anomaly about a month later hitting 241 feet (70 m) of massive sulphides in the first drill hole which assayed 1% Cu. I was on the drill for the first 80 or so drill holes. The deposit is still not a mine 50+ years later but it was a "good discovery" and it is still being evaluated.

What advice would you give to someone who is considering a career in the mineral industry?

Go for it - it, like most industries it has its ups and downs, driven by world metal prices and the availability of funding for exploration, which is the route to discovery, but it can be very rewarding and once you get some experience every day is different - there is no routine in exploration and the next big discovery is waiting to be found. Mineral exploration is a "treasure hunt" where clues from geochemistry, geophysics and geology guide you to a mineral deposit - it isn't easy and it takes perseverance but the discovery of a deposit is worthwhile for you and ultimately the province and country where you live.