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Robert A. Metz

Long time AGS member, Robert A. Metz passed on Friday, June 12, 2020.  Bob was a good friend and respected colleague, who will be missed by all who knew him.

Robert A. Metz was born in Cleveland, Ohio on December 22, 1932.   He received a degree in Geological Engineering (Mining) from the Colorado School of Mines in 1955 and began his career working at Kennecott's Chino mine near Silver City, New Mexico.  Bob was later moved to Kennecott's Ray mine before joining the Duval Corporation in 1968, where he briefly worked at the Sierrita mine before moving to their exploration department.  Following, his retirement from Duval's successor, Battle Mountain Gold in 1991, Bob worked as a consultant for major corporations in the United States, Latin America and Australia. 

In December 2014, Bob Metz was recognized for his 50-year membership with the Arizona Geological Society.  He also served as councilor, Vice Treasurer and Treasurer for the AGS during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Plans for Bob’s memorial service will be announced at a later date.

Rhodochrosite of Sweet Home Mine & Detroit City Portal - Blog/video

The Arizona Geological Society’s (AGS) first virtual evening presentation was a smash hit. More than 100 people ZOOMed in on the evening of 5 May 2020 to see geologist Phillip Perrson tell the story of the origin and mining history of rhodochrosite and associated Pb, Ag, Zn sulfides, tetrahedrite, and fluorite from Colorado’s renowned Sweet Home Mine and the newly opened Detroit City Portal.

Visit the Arizona Geology blog for a primer on one of the world's great rhodochrosite mines. There is a link, too, to the entire 55-minute presentation

To go directly to the 55-minute ZOOM presentation at AZGS Youtube channel.

Mike Conway

Arizona Geological Survey

Interested AGS members can find general requirements below along with contact information: 

Mine Manager Opportunity in the Tucson area

· Minimum Bachelor’s degree in Geology or Geological Engineering.

· Familiarity with Geochemistry and/or Geology related to copper mining

· Experienced with in-situ mining processes

· Experienced with translating mine plans into operating plans and prioritizing and executing those plans

· Operations experience is a must

· Must be organized and an active communicator with others in the company in all direction, encourage two-way communication, and provide ongoing feedback with staff, peers, and management

· Must be capable of identifying and resolving problems in their early stages

· Must have a continuous improvement mindset

· Ability to effectively interact, verbally and in writing, with senior management and functional department managers

· May be required to periodically work varying shifts to include days, nights and weekends

Cheryl Barrett

Bradsby Group

Principal Recruiter | Land/EHS Division

(direct/text: 281.617.5695

(cell: 832.236.6467

*:cbarrett@bradsbygroup.com 

Our December dinner meetings have been the time when the Arizona Geological Society presents scholarships to outstanding students at the state's three major universities, the University of Arizona, Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University.

This year we had a number of outstanding applicants for both the J. Harold Courtright and M. Lee Allison Scholarships, which made our job of selecting the best candidates very challenging.

Will Whitty (left) presents Courtright Scholarship Award

to Robert Hayes (right)

The 2019 Courtright Scholarship was presented to Robert Hayes.  Robert received a MS in Geology from the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom in July 2018.  He currently attends the University of Arizona, where he is a second year Ph.D. candidate  in the Department  of Geosciences.  The title of his field research project is "Basin Dynamics of the Middle-Upper Triassic of the Colorado Plateau".

Will Whitty (right) presents M. Lee Allison Scholarship Award to Lydia Bailey (left)

The 2019 M. Lee Allison Scholarship was awarded to Lydia Bailey.  Lydia received a BS degree in Geology from the University of Edinburgh in June 2015 and a MS degree in Earth Science from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in September 2017.   She currently attends the University of Arizona,  where she is a second year Ph.D candidate in the Department of Geosciences.  Lydia is studying basin-scale paleo-fluid flow in the Paradox Basin on the Colorado Plateau.

To learn more about these two outstanding scholarship recipients visit the Courtright Scholarship and M. Lee Allison Scholarship pages on this web site.

On Saturday, November 9, 2019, members of the AIPG and AGS held their fall field trip, where they examined earth fissures in Apache Junction and Chandler Heights areas. To learn more about this trip visit the Arizona Geology Blog.

Dr. Spencer R. Titley

Dr. Spencer R. Titley passed away in Tucson on Sunday morning, August 18, 2019. His public memorial service is at 1 p.m., on Monday, Sept. 16 at Angel Valley Funeral Home on 2545 N. Tucson Blvd. in Tucson.

Spencer Titley was born September 27, 1928, in Denver, Colorado, where he grew up and graduated from East High School in 1946.  His first taste of the future was spent working as an underground miner at Cripple Creek and Idaho Springs during the summers of 1947 and 1948. Spence earned an undergraduate degree in Geological Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines in 1951.

After serving in the Korean War, he returned to Gilman, Colorado in 1953, where he worked as a Staff Geologist for the New Jersey Zinc Company until 1955, when he began graduate work at The University of Arizona, earning his Ph.D. in Geology and Chemistry in 1958.  From 1958 to 1960, he continued as Regional Exploration Geologist for New Jersey Zinc in Arizona and New Mexico.  Spence joined The University of Arizona faculty as an Assistant Professor in 1960, progressing to Professor of Geosciences Emeritus.

Besides being a licensed commercial pilot, Spence was a prolific writer, prodigious scholar, prized consultant and teacher.  His list of accomplished students, clients, grants, awards and honors reflect on his stature as a world authority of porphyry copper systems, metal provinces and metallogenesis. 

An Honorary Life Member of AGS, Spence served as AGS President in 1974-75 and its Vice President of Field Trips in 1973-74. He was also a co-editor of the 2008 AGS Ores and Orogenesis Digest.

Dr. Titley was a true gentleman, a geologist's geologist, a student's teacher, and a client’s consultant.  He had a lasting impact on his students and the field of economic geology.

November 18, 2019 - Arizona Mining Review's 50th episode, 'Arizona Silver Exploration Projects, with Greg Hahn, VP of Exploration. AZGS' Carson Richardson discusses with Greg the Philadelphia-Arabian gold-silver property in the Oatman Mining District of Mohave County.

Bob Downs, Univ. of Arizona Mineral Museum Curator & Prof. of Geosciences, is leading the effort to build out a University of Arizona Gem & Mineral Museum (UAGMM) at the former Pima County Courthouse in downtown Tucson. Building renovation is well underway with the museum scheduled for a soft opening at the Courthouse in Jan. 2020.

Two of the museum’s chief organizers, Eric Fritz (Mgr.) and Les Presmyk (Mining Engineer & mineralogist), approached AGS’s Jan Rasmussen (former Curator of the Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum in Phoenix) and AZGS’s Mike Conway about helping design an exhibit focusing on the geology of Arizona.

Jan and Mike have begun pulling together ideas for an Arizona geology narrative – one idea involves building a digital display showcasing Ron Blakey’s marvelous paleogeographic reconstructions of the Colorado Plateau and environs, complemented by geologic scenes, lithologies, and interviews as the cornerstone of the exhibit. 

HELP! But we want your help in gathering ideas on the elements of narrative (with visuals) expounding on Arizona’s geologic history. In short, we want your ideas, sketches, brainstorms, and musings to help us rough out a draft design by mid-July 2018 – 3 weeks away!  This is an important opportunity for you to influence a future wide audience about Arizona geology.

LOGISTICS

Arizona Geology Exhibit. Approximately 75 square feet is set aside for an Arizona Geology exhibit. An additional 15 square feet is provided for a porphyry copper display. (Will Wilkinson. FMI retired, is taking the lead here.)  

Audience. UAG&MM organizers anticipate a largely non-science audience of considerable age range and with limited knowledge of geologic concepts.

Timeframe. Time is short. AGS & AZGS representatives meet with the UAG&MM design team in mid-July, so the sooner you share your ideas the sooner we can begin evaluating them.  

Financial Resources.  Bob Downs, Eric Fritz and others in the management will pursue the financial resources for final exhibit design and construction.

How to help! Please send your ideas, sketches, and experiences gleaned from other mineral or natural history museums to Mike and Jan at the e-mail addresses below. We can meet to brainstorm ideas before the July 3 AGS meeting to discuss ideas.

Barbara Murphy

Our colleague, friend and fellow AGS member, Barbara (Barb) Murphy, was awarded the Ian Campbell Medal for Service to Geosciences by the American Geosciences Institute.  The Arizona Geological Society congratulates Barb for this well-deserved recognition and award.

The Arizona Geological Society is seeking out mineral donations for our guest speaker appreciation awards for 2020. We are grateful for all donations that will help continue our tradition of presenting these awards to our guest speakers at the end of each dinner talk. The speaker plaque is 5’’ x 3’’ with an example of what they look like featured below.

If you are interested in donating specimens to be used for our guest speaker appreciation awards for 2020, please contact:

secretary@arizonageologicalsoc.org

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.