b'CommitteesASEG newsASEG Research Foundation: Winner of the second Richard Lane ScholarshipInitially as I was studying, I explored thisThe Stawell Corridor is bounded by the through physical sciences and thought Inorth-northwest trending Moyston might pursue theoretical physics. Instead,Fault and Congee Fault, and extends Ive found fulfilment in pursuing thoseapproximately 250 km. Along the corridor, questions through geology and the longa suite of kilometre-scale metavolcanics histories of the Earth. It was by coincidencelies beneath the Murray Basin sedimentary that I came back to physics later in mytop cover. These metavolcanics are referred degree, and its applications in exploration. to by the local miners as dome structures, and are known to be high potential gold The central principle of explorationtargets. Stawell Gold Mine is hosted in geophysicsthat we can image andthe Magdala Dome, where mineralisation understand sequences buried in theoccurs along a sheared contact between crust without ever needing to seethe dome metabasalt and the sedimentary themreminds me constantly ofcountry rock. The currently accepted the strangeness and complexity ofmodel for mineralisation is that the the natural world, and the depth ofcompetence contrast between the knowledge that is still buried. lithotypes caused major deformation It was important to me when designingin the sediments and provided a vector my Masters project that it could havefor fluid flow along the dome body. This applications that would be useful beyondstyle of ore deposit is termed Magdala-obtaining the degree. When Ive finishedstyle mineralisation. Miners are actively my Masters, I plan to spend time inexploring the other domes along the Tom McNamara corridor to determine potential for other industry and learn as much as I can about The winner of the second annual Richarda breadth of resource industries at eachMagdala-style domes. However, the top Lane Scholarship is Tom McNamaralevel. My long-term goal is to work oncover becomes thicker as the corridor from University of MelbourneSchoolconstructive applications for geophysicsprogresses north, and geometries of the of Geography, Earth and Atmosphericin environmental remediation. I alsodome structures become more difficult to Sciences. Tom is undertaking a Mastershave an interest in modelling toolsidentify and constrain.degree in geophysics and is to beand intend to spend time developingThe project aims to characterise the awarded $5000. Toms supervisor is Drmore comprehensive multi-disciplinegravity and magnetic responses of a Mark McLean. modelling and integration methods. few targeted dome structures along The ASEG Richard Lane Scholarship hasthe Stawell Corridor, and subsequently been established to support geophysicsToms Masters project develop a method for applying machine Honours and Masters students and tolearning algorithms to the exploration commemorate the life and work of ASEGCharacterisation of metavolcanicof undercover Magdala-style volcanic Gold Medal recipient Richard Lane. Themegaclast structures within the Moystondomes. We have partnered with the scholarship is open to all BSc (Hons) andFault hangingwall mlange (Moornambooloperator of Stawell Gold Mine, North MSc geophysics students and consistsMetamorphic Complex), western Victoria:Stawell Minerals (NSM) for the project. of a grant of $5000 to the best rankedInsights from potential field modelling andNSM have recently acquired a high student in the current year. Ranking ismachine learning. quality aerial gravity gradiometry survey based on a 200-word discussion, overviewVictorias goldfields are highlyover their tenement in the corridor, which of a geophysics project and academicprospective, and are the target forincludes the high-potential Wildwood transcript. We acknowledge and thankongoing large-scale exploration andand Lubeck domes. We will collect high Jayson Meyers and Resource Potentialsmining operations. With advancesresolution ground gravity data across the Pty Ltd for the concept and donations. in undercover exploration driven byMagdala, Wildwood and Lubeck domes geophysical imaging and recentlyto help constrain their geometry, then The scholarship is awarded annually andwith the data provided by NSM, train a donations to support the scholarshipsacquired high-resolution geophysicalmachine learning algorithm on real and continuation are sought fromsurveys over major gold prospects,synthetic gravity responses to identify institutions, companies and individuals.Victorian gold exploration is seeingpotential undercover domes at various Information on donations via the ASEGrenewed activity. The Stawell Corridordepths out of regional datasets.Research Foundation can be found atis a highly prospective goldfield with www.aseg.org.au/foundation/donatemultiple large-scale mining operationsBeyond the scope of this project, an Please mark donation specificallycurrently active. One of these operationsalgorithm like this could be scaled and Richard Lane Scholarship: is Stawell Gold Mine, the secondapplied to other datasets and deposit largest hard rock gold mine in Victoria.styles, to recognise potential targets for The mine has produced 62 tonnes ofundercover deposits that have not yet Why Tom is studying geophysicsgold since 2016, and the goldfield hasbeen identified or explored.(200-word discussion) produced a historical total of 170 tonnes. Undiscovered gold resources in theDoug Roberts I have a deep personal interest in howregion are estimated to be up to 900ASEG Research Foundation Secretary the world works on a mechanical level.tonnes. research-foundation@aseg.org.au5 PREVIEW AUGUST 2022'