Applied (h'ochemt~try, V o l 1. p. 629, lt~X6 11883-2927/Xf~ $3.1~1 + (~l Printed in ( i rca t Britain I'crgarn~m .h~urnaN L i d

ANNOUNCEMENT

World Catalogue of Primary Geochemical Signatures of Mineral Deposits

THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GEOCHEMISTRY AND COSMOCHEMISTRY (IAGC), through their Working Group on Geochemical Prospecting, and the Association of Exploration Geochemists (AEG) are jointly wOrking on a compilation of data on mineral deposits with the objective of producing a world catalogue. Specifically, the catalogue will report data on the geochemical response, in bedrock, to mineral deposits of all types in order to provide a geochemical exploration guide for specific deposit types. The essential data required include information on: (1) the geological environment of thc deposit: (2) a list of elements that are enriched or depleted in the bedrock; (3) the dimensions of the halos for the enriched or depleted elements: and (4) a record of elements that do n o t respond to the presence of the mineral deposit.

It is intended that the data will be published together with an interpretive summary of element combinations that are likely to be useful for specific types of mineral deposits, in particular geological environments.

It is expected that this catalogue of primary geochemical response will provide data useful in developing models of ore genesis and of the formation of primary halos, and be useful in assessing the mineral potential of a region. In the longer term, the data base assembled will be invaluable in the more complicated task of compiling a catalogue of responses in the secondary environment.

The coordination of this project is being carried out by Professor G. J. S. Govett (School of Applied Geology~ University of New South Wales, P.O. Box 1, Kensington, N.S.W. 2033, Australia) and Dr P. Koval (Vinogradov Institute of Geochemistry, PLO. Box 701, Irkutsk, U.S.S.R.) from whom copies of the data forms may be obtained.

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