Arizona Geological Society

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03 Feb 2026 5:30 PM • Hexagon Office at 40 East Congress Street, Suite 150, Tucson, Arizona 85701


Richard D. Jones (1932-2025) AGS Member and Councilor (2001-Present)


Richard Jones on the AGS Vulture Mine-Wickenberg- Anderson Project Field Trip, October 2012

(Photo by Brin Lindley)

Long time Arizona Geological Society member, Richard “Dick” D. Jones passed away on December 27, 2025.   Born and raised in Yuma, Arizona, Dick attended the University of Arizona, initially majoring in Metallurgical Engineering, but soon changed his major to Geology; receiving a B.S. during 1956.  Continuing his education at the U of A, he earned a Master of Science Degree in Exploration and Mining in 1957, which involved the completion of a thesis titled “Geology of the Cerro Colorado Mining District, Pima County, Arizona”.

Prior to completing his MS degree, Dick worked summer jobs as a sampler on a drill rig at Asarco’s Mission project in 1955 and on Bear Creek’s exploration program at Safford during 1956.   Upon completing his education at the University of Arizona, he began a 39-year mining and exploration career with Republic Steel, eventually working in Australia, Belize, Brazil, Canada, Columbia, Liberia, Mexico, and Venezuela.  It was while working in Brazil; he met his wife of 30 years, Iraides.   Hired by Reynolds Metals Company in 1972, Dick evaluated bauxite and PGE projects in Brazil and Western Australia, fluorspar occurrences in Kentucky, and gold prospects in Western Australia, Nevada and southeastern U.S. prior to retiring in 1996.

Dick returned to Tucson during 2000, where he became actively involved with the Geosciences Department at the University of Arizona, Adobe Corral of the Westerners, and the Arizona Geological Society.  He served as a councilor on the AGS Executive Committee from 2013 to 2015.   Actively attending AGS meetings until the month of his passing, he recently published a short paper, titled “Laterite-Hosted Gold Deposits”, which is available on our web site.


Video of December 2025 Meeting
Presentation Available
for Viewing

December 2025 - Dan Aiken, Consulting Geologist - Stromatolites and Friends:  Earth Niches through Time (74 minutes)


2025 AGS Scholarship Recipients


Applicants for both the M. Lee Allison and Courtright Scholarships were impressive across the board. The committee would like to acknowledge and praise all the applicants for their demonstrated excellence in scholarship and research and emphasize choosing awardees was challenging. 

2025 Arizona Geological Society Scholarship Recipients from left to right are:  

  • Bennett Z. Greenfield (University of Arizona B.S.) Allison Scholarship - $ 2,000
  • Pedro H. S. Brito (University of Arizona M.S.)  Courtriight Scholarship - $1,000
  • Emma Zetta Boeman (University of Arizona M.S.) Allison Scholarship - $1,500
  • Jackie Giblin (Arizona State University, Ph.D.) Allison Scholarship - $1,500

Unable to attend the December awards ceremony, Erin Alexander a Ph.D. candidate from Arizona State University also received a $2,000 Courtright Scholarship.

More information about the Courtright and M. Lee Allison Scholarship recipients can be found here.


Video of November 2025 Meeting Presentation Available for Viewing

November 2025 - M. Camila Sojo and Herve Rezeau, Ore Characterization, Spatial Distribution, and Genetic Implications of the Mineralization in the Filo del Sol cu-Au-Ag Porphyry-Epithermal System, Central Andes (65 minutes)


2025 AGS Fall Field Trip


The AGS Fall Field Trip Guidebook to the Copper Creek District is currently available to download.

Additional photos of the field trip are available at this link.

The Arizona Geological Society thanks Faraday Copper Corporation, Benedek Gál and Thomas Bissig for the excellent fall field trip to the Copper Creek district.  We also thank Faraday Copper, Dan Weir, and Copper Bullet Mines and Bronco Creek Exploration for the field vehicles for transportation to the field as well as Bronco Creek for contributing to the guidebook printing.


2025 AGS Symposium


Tim Marsh (Bell Copper Presents "Drilling at Bell Copper's Big Sandy Porphyry Copper Discovery, Mojave County, Arizona" (photo by J. D. Mizer)

Additional photos of the 2025 AGS Symposium are available at this link.


Video of October 2025 Meeting Presentation Available for Viewing

October 2025 - Stanley B. Keith and Jan C. Rasmussen, Peraluminous Copper-Oxide Greisen Deposits (73 minutes)


Video of September 2025 Meeting Presentation Available for Viewing

Lisa Thompson, Arizona Geological Survey, Geological origin of the Basin volcano-sedimentary lithium deposit, Kaiser Spring volcanic field, Arizona (61 minutes)


AGS June 2025 Social Mixer

The Arizona Geological Society's first summer mixer at Borderland Brewing Company North Taproom at 5605 E. River Road was a success.


Twenty-five people showed up to socialize, eat tacos, quaff beers, and play a rousing game of "Geo Trivia", Arizona Water & Related Geology", prepared an moderated by AGS Councilor Chad Kwiatkowski.


Photos of AGS members at Borderland, June 2025


Notes on Porphyry Copper Exploration in the Basin and Range Province of the Southwestern U. S. and Northwestern Mexico


Bingham Canyon, Utah

AGS member, Ken Krahulec has recently completed a paper titled: "Notes on Porphyry Copper Exploration in the Great Basin Province of the Southwestern U. S. and Northwestern Mexico".

Written for exploration geologists with little porphyry copper experience, Ken shares some of the exploration lessons he learned during a 40-year career as an exploration geologist with Kennecott-Rio Tinto group companies and the Utah Geological Survey.


Video of May 2025 Meeting Presentation Available for Viewing

Dr. Simon M. Jowitt, Director of the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, Nevada State Geologist, and Arthur Brant Chair of

Exploration Geology at the University of Nevada Reno.  Understanding the Impact and Value of Publicly Available Precompetitive Geoscience Data for Mineral Exploration; Lessons to be Learned for the U. S.


North and Central Altar Valley, Coyote Mtns to Sierrita Mtns, Pima County, Arizona Field Trip Guide Book


The guidebook for the Spring 2022 AGS Spring Field Trip to Altar Valley, Coyote Mountains to Sierrita Mountains, Pima County, Arizona is now available.


Arizona Mineral Districts v. 4 Graham and Greenlee Counties


Arizona Mineral Districts v. 4 Graham and Greenlee Counties by Jan C. Rasmussen and Stanley B. Keith was recently released in March 2025.

Paperbacks or hardbacks copies of this publication can be ordered through Amazon.com.  Search for Arizona Mineral Districts.

Describing the geology, mineralogy, age dates, location, and production, it  is profusely illustrated with 1:62,500 scale topographic maps, mineral photographs, and geologic maps and diagrams.


February 2026 Newsletter



February 2026 Meeting Sponsor

Hexagon


Video of April 2025 Meeting Presentation Available for Viewing

Nirio Mendoza Inca, Colorado School of Mines, Geology and Hydrothermal Alteration of Red Mountain Lithocap, Eastern Lake City Caldera, Hinsdale County, Colorado, U.S.A. (59 minutes)


Video of March 2025 Meeting Presentation Available for Viewing

Chad Kwiatkowski, Arizona Geological Survey, Revisiting the Arizona Red:  The Lower to Middle Triassic Moenkopi Formation (62 minutes)


Geology Paper on Laterite-Hosted Gold Deposits

Long-time AGS member Richard (Dick) Jones has recently submitted a paper on Laterite-Hosted Gold Deposits.  This interesting article can be viewed at this link.



Video of February 2025 Meeting Presentation Available for Viewing

Mark Holland, Ph.D. Arizona Geological Survey, The Ghost of Sutures Past: A Re-evaluation of the Yavapai-Mazatzal Province Boundary in Central Arizona (59 minutes)


Video of January 2025 Meeting Presentation Available for Viewing

Brian Gootee and Tawnya Wilson, Arizona's Deep Subsurface: Exploring energy Resiliency through Gas Storage, Mineral-Sequestration, and Geothermal Energy.  This 65 minute presentation include 10-minutes of Q&A.


Video of December 2024 Meeting Presentation Available for Viewing

Steve Reynolds, Ph.D., “Untangling the stratigraphy of the upper Paleozoic Supai and Naco Groups of the Mogollon Escarpment,” recorded 3 Dec. 2024. The 67-minute presentation includes 20-minutes of Q&A 


Video of November 2024 Meeting Presentation Available for Viewing

Arizona’s Role in the Green Energy Transition, Strategic/Critical Minerals, How they will be Sourced - Or Ramblings on Critical Minerals and Thoughts Thereof by Carson A. Richardson, Senior Research Scientist, Arizona Geological Survey, University

Critical and strategic minerals have been buzzy terms in the news in the last few years, but have an often-ignored history that stretches clearly back to World War I. Critical mineral topics have been receiving bipartisan support from Congress as sourcing them addresses multiple needs. For one, in the United States, we are dependent on imports of critical minerals from other countries to meet 50% to 100% of total domestic demand for almost all critical minerals. Thus, many of these supply chains are vulnerable to disruption from geopolitics, social upheaval, and other unexpected events. Additionally, the renewable (or green) energy transition away from fossil fuels to reduce carbon footprints and combat climate change will require huge amounts of metals compared to current levels. There are simply not enough active mines or emerging deposits of many of the critical minerals to meet projected global demand.

This talk will: 1) sift through the jargon around critical and strategic minerals and materials; 2) provide a survey of the history of critical and strategic minerals in the United States; 3) an overview of the known critical mineral deposits in Arizona with primary critical mineral ores and those with potential to produce byproduct critical mineral ores; and 4) future demand scenarios and how the United States could work to meet these demands.



Porphyry Copper Deposits of Casa Grande Field Trip October 26, 2024

Field Trip Participants at Discovery Outcrop of Cactus

(Sacaton) Deposit

The recent field trip to visit the Santa Cruz and Cactus (Sacaton) porphyry copper deposits of the Casa Grande area was a great success.  AGS Executive Committee thanks Ralph Stegan for organizing the trip and the staffs of the Ivanhoe Electric and Arizona Sonoran Copper Company for providing tours of their deposits. An excellent field guide, which can be viewed at this link.


Video of October 2024 Meeting Presentation Available for Viewing

Postfire debris-flow research at Arizona Geological Survey: Efforts to improve hazard assessments by Ann Youberg and Becky Beers (AZGS Research Scientists).

They discuss how wildfires impact the landscape to increase the likelihood of postfire debris flows and floods; the transient nature of fire impacts on the landscape; the challenges of mitigating these hazards in areas where fire season and monsoon overlap; and projects the AZGS and Geosciences are conducting to address these issues. We’ll close with an ongoing case study assessing the effectiveness of novel mitigation strategies deployed in northern Arizona.


Big Sandy Field Trip April 27-28, 2024


Big Sandy Field Trip Participants examining an outcrop on Big Sandy Field Trip (photo by Brian Gootee)

The recent Big Sandy Field Trip was a great success.  AGS Executive Committee thanks Paul Jensen for organizing the trip and the staff of the Arizona Geological Survey - Brian Gootee, Carson Richardson, Lisa Thompson, Brad Johnson & Phil Pearthree -  for leading trip and providing and excellent field guide, which can be viewed at this link.


Member News


Stankeithite (Mn2Te4+4O10)

A Tellurite from Moctezuma Mine, Sonora Mexico

Stankeithite, a newly discovered mineral is named after long-time AGS member Stan Keith.  Stan is a consulting geologist and founder of MagmaChem.


Member News




Long-time Arizona Geological Society members, Jan Rasumssen and Stan Keith have recently published "Arizona Mineral Districts v. 2, La Paz and Yuma Counties.  This is a detailed reference work describing the geology, mineralogy, age dates, locations, and past production of the mineral districts within La Paz and Yuma counties, Arizona.  It is profusely illustrated with 1"62,500-scale topographic maps, mine maps, cross sections and photographs of old mines, scenery and minerals.  It also includes a detailed table of the geologic history of Arizona.

Copies of both hardback and paperback versions of this publication can be purchased from Amazon.com.


Rasmussenite - The Mineral

Rasmussenite, a newly discovered mineral is named after long-time AGS member Dr. Jan Rasmussen.  Jan is a consulting geologist and a former professor at Pima Community College.

  

Rasmussenite IMA No. 2024-018

Ca(C2H3O3)2 3H2O (glycolate subgroup) - White sprays and spherules of fibers in fractures in leucogranite - a micromount mineral from Pusch Ridge, Santa Catalina Mountains, north of Tucson, Pima County, Arizona, USA, by Hexiong Yang, Xiangping Gu, Anthony R. Kampf, Warren Lazar, Ronald B. Gibbs, and Robert T. Downs.


AGS Digests Now Available On-line

Articles contained within the Arizona Geological Society Digests 1 through 22 are now available on-line at our publications page.  Our out-of-print Digests are available to the public, While our in-print Digests are only accessible to AGS members. 

Anyone who is interested in purchasing Printed Copies of In-Print AGS Digests can do so on-line or contact the AGS Secretary for more details.  Copies of current AGS Guidebooks and Digests are also for sale at a reduced price at AGS monthly dinner meetings.



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