Introduction

A prize for the best paper published by a student is awarded by the Association of Applied Geochemists every two years. The intent of the prize is to encourage prompt publishing of quality research by students in the field of exploration geochemistry or environmental geochemistry related to mining activities, in the association's journal, GEEA. The winner is determined by an international panel consisting of a chair and three judges, drawn from our profession but reflecting the perspectives of academia, government and industry. Criteria include excellence and originality in research design, research execution, interpretation, presentation of the science and its practical application to exploration geochemistry. Honours, MSc and PhD students are all eligible.

The Prize

The prize consists of:

1. From SGS Minerals Services a cash prize of $1000 CAD.
2. From the Association of Applied Geochemists a 2-year membership of the Association, including the AAG's journal (GEEA) and EXPLORE, a certificate of recognition and $500 US towards expenses in attending an AAG-sponsored meeting where the award will be presented.

The prize is normally presented at the biannual IAGS conference

Previous Winners:

• 1992 Stephen J. Cook; Distribution and behaviour of platinum in soils, sediments and waters of the Tulameen Ultramafic Complex, southern British Colombia.
• 1994 Trevor Boyd; Trace element patterns in Fe-Si-Mn oxyhydroxides at three hydrothermally active seafloor regions.
• 1996 Tracy Delaney; Size distribution of gold in some soils associated with selected gold mineralization in Canada and the United States of America.
• 1998 Matthew Leybourne; Hydrogeochemical, isotopic, and rare earth element evidence for contrasting water-rock interactions at two undisturbed Zn-Pb massive sulphide deposits, Bathurst Mining Camp, N.B., Canada.
• 2000 Kathryn A. Laurus Feliks.; Gold distribution in glacial sediments and soils at Boston Property, Nunavut, Canada.
• 2002 Paul A. Polito; A light hydrocarbon soil-gas anomaly above the Junction orogenic gold deposit: an alternative exploration technique.
• 2005 Nigel W. Brand; Weathering, element distribution and geochemical dispersion at Mt Keith, Western Australia: implication for nickel sulphide exploration.
• 2007 Jamil Sader; Low-temperature serpentinization processes and kimberlite groundwater signatures in the Kirkland Lake and Lake Timiskiming kimberlite fields, Ontario, Canada: implications for diamond exploration.
• 2009 Jorge Benavides; Exploration guidelines for copper-rich iron oxide-copper-gold deposits in the Mantoverde area, northern Chile: the integration of host-rock molar element ratios and oxygen isotope compositions.

Rules

1. The paper must have been published in Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis, either during the course of the degree program that generated the research or within five years of the award of the degree;
2. The paper must largely be based on research performed as a student;
3. The student must be the principal researcher (typically indicated by being first author). The student's supervisor or head of department/school maybe asked to substantiate this;
4. The decision of the Student Paper Prize Committee is final and no correspondence will be entered into;
5. Entry is automatic - no nomination is required.

The prize covers papers published in the two volumes of GEEA related to the two years across which each cycle occurs (e.g. the 2011 award is based on papers in volumes 9 and 10 of GEEA).

Send all correspondence and entries to:

David Cohen
Chair of Student Prize Committee
School of BEES
University of New South Wales
Sydney NSW 2052
Phone: 61 2 9385 8084
Fax: 61 2 9385 1558
Email: d.cohen@unsw.edu.au

Download: AAG Student Paper Competition.doc