P1061B South American Exploration Initiative Stage 2 recently hit a major milestone, coming to the end of its first year of operations.
Research lead Professor Mark Jessell from the University of Western Australia said SAXI has been part of a ‘rebirth of collaboration’ in research and exploration in the region.
“In spite of the challenges the team has faced with COVID-19, we have managed to undertake a full research program in the first year” Prof Jessell said.
“We have completed a full field program in Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana.
“We are particularly proud that we have, after only one year, 27 graduate student projects integrated into the SAXI program, with students based in Paramaribo, Utrecht, Sudbury, Pará, Belo Horizonte and Perth.”
Prof Jessell thanked the research team and Amira Global for their work over the past 12 months. SAXI includes researchers from Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Brazil, France, the Netherlands, Australia and Canada.
SAXI Stage 2
SAXI began in 2018 to investigate the exploration potential of the Guiana Shield and neighbouring terranes, which span Brazil, French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana and Venezuela, extending down to the Borborema Province.
Stage 1 ran from 2018-2019 and created an exploration GIS harmonising newly collected data with legacy datasets. It also revived the Inter-Guiana Geological Conference (IGGC), which had not been held since the 1970s. The 12th IGCC is planned for December 2022 in Georgetown, Guyana.
The second – and current – stage enhances the work of SAXI 1. It suits exploration and mining companies working in all commodities hosted by the Guiana Shield.
“Companies can still join Stage 2 to get access to the work from Stage 1 as well as the new research outcomes provided on a quarterly basis,” Prof Jessell said.
The work package includes:
- analysis of major tectonic structures in the Archean and Birimian of South America and their relationship to mineralisation
- a harmonised analysis of the lithostratigraphy of North-East South America
- detailed studies of South American ore deposits
- a compilation of a comprehensive SAXI GIS package.
SAXI is built of the highly successful West African Exploration Initiative (WAXI) framework, which has provided intelligence that has help build a globally significant minerals province.
Similar to WAXI, the South American project supports the development of talent in industry and research.
“We aim to maximise the collaborative involvement of local researchers and ensure the transfer of knowledge, supported by in-country training to regional geoscientists,” Prof Jessell said.
“We are supporting the training of the next generation of geoscientists in South America through a variety of post-graduate positions.”
SAXI is sponsored by Anglogold Ashanti Australia, Barrick Gold Corporation, Centamin Plc, Newmont Mining Corporation, Reunion Gold Corporation, and Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (in-kind).
The research team includes:
- The University of Western Australia
- Anton de Kom Universiteit van Suriname
- Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières
- Companhia de Pesquisa de Recursos Minerais
- Geologische Mijnbouwkundige Dienst
- Guyana Geology and Mines Commission
- Institute de Recherche pour le Développement
- Laurentian University
- Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
- Universidade Federal do Ceará
- Universidade Federal do Pará
- Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri
- Université de Guyane
- Université de Lorraine
- Université de Toulouse
- University of Utrecht
SAXI is still open to new sponsors. For more information, please contact Amira Global Program Manager Dr Silvia Black at silvia.black@amira.global.
