Pacific Minerals in the New Millennium SCIENCE , EXPLORATION , MINING AND CO mm UNITY THE JACKSON LUM VO L UME JU L Y 2009 TECHNICAL BULLETIN 11 Secretariat of the Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission Obituary: Jackson Lum 12th May 1954 to 31st May 2001 Many an exploration geoligist ater a long toil in the sun looking for gold up the creeks on our Pacific islands knows well the meaning of “no colours”. The frustration of finding no sign of a new gold prospect. It might well be softened at the thought of going fishing. Jackson Lum, an exploration geologist by profession, gave up a long toil with cancer when he passed away peacefully at his home in Suva at the young age of 47. Jack has gone fishing. To many who know him, outside of his private family life, Jack had two passions; one was his work and the second fishing. His work involved an all too short a career during which he spent over half as a servant of the region. Born in Ba, Fiji, Jack was educated at Xavier JACKSON LUM College and the University of the South Pacific before joining the Fiji Mineral Resources Department. Subsequently, at the University of Leeds he gained a Masters degree in geochemistry. Following further work back in Fiji, Jack began his regional career first at the East-West Centre at the University of Honolulu and then to the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) where he has been head of the Mineral Resources Unit for the past nearly 9 years. His career has taken him into the field in many Pacific island countries, notably in Melanesia. During these times in “the bush” Jack honed his knowledge of the region, about its geology and the people. For sure, during bush-life with local field assistants he developed his deep desire to pass on his skills to other nationals from the region. He was a good teacher. His geological knowledge of the region extended from the islands themselves and their contained mineral resources to the deep ocean floor. Whilst at SOPAC he was responsible for the overall coordination of all deep ocean mineral exploration in the region, most notably the multi-million dollar intergovernmental Japan/SOPAC Deepsea Mineral Exploration Programme which is now in its 17th year and has included work in waters of Cook islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. This potential seabed wealth includes the polymetallic manganese nodules, the cobalt-enriched manganese crusts as well as the hydrothemal vent massive sulphide ores with their unique biota. Only a few years ago, Jack like many others, did not consider that licences to private companies for seabed exploration would be issued before the turn of the century. When Papua New Guinea did so, all were proved wrong, and legislation was left wanting. At the time of his death Jack had been assisting Papua New Guinea and other countries of the region with potential seabed mineral wealth, develop guidelines to assit them with developing their offshore mining potential. The “Madang guidelines.....” produced in 1999 will live as testimony to Jack’s efforts in this regard. Back “on island” Jack’s regional knowledge of mineral potential was second to none. He provided ongoing advice to Kiribati with work on the phosphate deposit on Banaba as well as the much lesser known gypsum deposit on Malden. But inevitably it was the islands of Melanesia that dominate the “Pacific Ring of Fire” in the south and west Pacific that commanded much of Jack’s time. When Solomon Islands was moving forward to reopen Gold Ridge, Jack was recruited as an adviser to the Government. When Vanuatu wanted an education programme for landowners about mineral exploration they turned to Jack. In Fiji following on from his earlier career days with Mineral Resources, Jack spent his last days in the field loking for gold ‘colours’ in the Nasivi River delta draining across the Tavua Volcano that contains the Vatukoula Gold Mine. These “colours” maybe leading the way to alluvial gold dredging in the furture. Throughout his working life Jack was fascinated by the potential for alluvial (placer) gold potential around the high islands of Melanesia. In his paper “Placer Gold Potential of Fiji, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu”, published in 1995. Jack’s words express clearly his passionate belief. “Although most of the South Pacific deposits were discovered by following “colours” in the respective rivers and coastline, there is so far no major discovery of a large economic placer occurence. Why ? Simply there has been little or no exploration ....”. Jack’s other passion, fishing, brought with it all and more of the usual fishing stories about the one that got away. Whatever the yarn about what happened fishing was never any doubt about Jack’s passion for fishing left in the mind of a person who had the privilege to watch him prepare the sashimi from the unfortunate tuna that didn’t get away. As the sun sets over Dogowale, the evening shadows are cast on the peace and tranquility of Yarawa Bay and Serua Reef, a favourite fishing area of Jack’s along the southern Viti Levu coast. Jack is now at rest, gone fishing, after an all too short a career looking for “colours”. Sadly, the region has lost a sincere and faithful servant. To Norah and family members, we extend to you no colours...gone fishing! no colours...gone our deepest sympathies. PACIFIC MINERALS IN THE NEW Millenni U M : Science , EX pl O rati O N , Minin G , an D CO mm U nit Y The Jackson Lum Volume Published by Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) Private Mail Bag, GPO Suva, Fiji Islands Phone: (679) 338 1377 Fax: (679) 337 0040 www.sopac.org SOPAC PACIFIC MINERALS IN THE NEW Millenni U M : Science , EX pl O rati O N , Minin G , an D CO mm U nit Y The Jackson Lum Volume Compiled & Edited by Michael G Petterson SOPAC Technical Bulletin 11 July 2009 Pacific Minerals in the New Millennium – The Jackson Lum Volume Cataloguing in publication data: Pacific Minerals in the new Millennium: Science, Exploration, Mining, and Community : The Jackson Lum Volume/compiled & edited by Michael G Petterson. Suva, Fiji: SOPAC Secretariat, July 2009. 178 p. (Technical Bulletin/Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission; no. 11) ISSN : 0378-6447 ISBN : 982 207 020 9 1. mineral exploration 2. mining industry 3. geophysics 4. tectonics 5. environmental effects 6. Pacific Islands I. Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission II. Petterson, M.G. (Compiler/Editor) III. Title IV. Series iv SOPAC Technical Bulletin 11 Pacific Minerals in the New Millennium – The Jackson Lum Volume INTRODUCTION It gives me great pleasure to introduce this volume mineral plans which aim to benefit a wide range of which focuses on exploration, scientific, political, society and minimise environmental impact. economic, cultural, environmental and social issues related to mineral development. It is unusual Donn Tolia describes the key elements of the that such a wide range of issues are addressed in geology of Solomon Islands and its relevance to one volume and I am particularly pleased that there mineral exploration. Dr Tolia’s paper documents are notable first-author contributions from Pacific the lead up to the successful development of Island nationals. I am sure that this volume will Guadalcanal’s Gold Ridge mine proving that the contribute to mineral development and the various Solomon Island Government can work successfully related complex strategic planning issues for many with international mining companies and reach years to come. amicable deals. This partnership benefits a wide range of the local community, government at The volume began life as a series of oral presentations regional and national levels and the operating and abstracts presented at the Tanoa Hotel, Nadi, mining company. Fiji, on 23 - 25 September 1998, although several of the papers have been submitted by other interested Russell Maharaj presents two papers on construction researchers who could not make the original aggregate minerals for FSM. Dr Maharaj’s work is meeting. an excellent example of the vital importance of industrial minerals. Whilst gold and platinum are The papers are arranged in thematic order and very ‘pretty’ and ‘precious’ it is the relatively low address key themes such as: political, economic, value bulk-minerals (often the Cinderella of the social and environmental factors which influence minerals world) which are most important to most mineral development at local, regional and global people. These resources provide the basic building scales; the vital importance of industrial minerals to materials of roads, houses and wharfs to name the development of Small Island Pacific states; recent but a few. It is essential that governments of Small interpretations of airborne geophysical surveys Island States plan aggregate mineral development flown over Fiji; the implications of geotectonic in a way which is in sympathy with fragile Pacific modelling and exploration methodologies for ecosystems. metallogeny in Solomon Islands and Fiji; the first geological map of the last large Solomon island Peter Gunn and colleagues and Bina Singh present to be mapped; and an analysis of mineralising a thematic suite of three papers which present hydrothermal systems. This variety of themes is and interpret recent airborne geophysical data for central to the SOPAC mission which aims to deliver Fiji. The papers are a tremendous contribution to high quality and relevant applied geoscience for the understanding of the geological and tectonic the benefit of all Pacific people. development of Fiji and its related mineralisation. The geophysical interpretations have a wide Allen Clark introduces the volume with an variety of implications and applications including analysis of regional and worldwide economic, suggested revisions of accepted geological maps social, environmental and political issues which and models and a demonstration of the close are impacting on the mining world of today.