Author Description

This book is particularly aimed at geologists and students as it focuses primarily on report products and standards required for mineral exploration, geological mapping and related geoscience reports. It identifies the necessary components for good reports, and assists in creating those components to professional standards. It not only suggests the types of information to include in a report, and the critical supporting data, but explains why such information may be important to understanding and how some critical data must be collected in order for it to be meaningful in the final presentation. It is also an excellent reference for geoscience Editors. It has material dedicated to peer review and editorial issues, reviewing foreign-language manuscripts and the basic concepts to apply to copy-editing and scientific review. By applying these editiorial concepts, the manual also provides a basis for evaluating professional geoscience reports and data by those specializing in minerals-related industries, such as regulators, stock brokers, analysts and investment managers. The book presents techniques for reviewing and editing scientific information, and establishes a logical basis for evaluating information contained within published reports on mineral properties and other geoscience topics. It provides basic standards for report and map content and layout, geological symbols, the correct use of scientific terms and numerous other guidelines. There is also a section focused on digital issues, data management and archiving. It contains the only published guidelines for reporting on the exploration and early development aspects of diamond and kimberlite exploration geology. In addition, the 'Specialist Reporting' section also covers common reporting requirements such as, university theses, journal articles, geological field notes, core logs, valuation reports, geochemical reports, feasibility studies, abstracts and journal manuscripts, and hints for posters and oral presentations. The manual incorporates and elaborates on recommendations for reporting proposed in the National Standards 43-101, produced by the Canadian Securities Commissions. It also incorporates the CIM standards for ore reserve and resource definitions and mineral property valuation guidelines. It also addresses and elaborates on most issues covered by various Australian, US and European regulatory guidelines. Scientific writing also requires a basic understanding of the logic and sequence of scientific (and geologic) arguments as well as grammar, word usage, spelling, punctuation, use of abbreviations and symbols and informative referencing standards. This manual covers all these topics and identifies additional references for information and authority on these topics. It is particularly appropriate for geoscientists as it uses examples which are specific to geology, geophysics and geochemistry. This publication, and its earlier version "The Art and the Science of Writing Geoscience Reports", have been sold in over 55 countries, and on every continent including Antarctica. This revised and greatly expanded version is now used as the 'standards manual' at several government geological surveys and as a textbook in geoscience communication at several universities