The SEG International Exchange Lecturer for 2008
William X. Chávez, Jr.
Bill offers three lectures describing his and his students’ research work,
with presentations in English, Spanish, or fake French.
Available Lectures:
- Weathering-related metals mobility: Geochemical controls on the intensity and maturity
of development of supergene enrichment profiles: This talk involves the geochemistry of low-T
metals transport, with reference to metals accumulation and preservation; many examples
from well-developed supergene profiles to show students and professionals how well-developed
profiles form...or are not formed. Appropriate for upper-division undergraduates, graduate
students, and professionals.
- Environmental geochemistry: The understanding of supergene processes applied to the
remediation of mine environments: This lecture discusses metals and rock-forming minerals
destruction/ transport in a mine environment(-s), with emphasis on how one uses such information
to assess and remediate mine sites, including base metals, uranium, and precious metal mines.
Suit¬able for upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, and professionals.
- Minerals exploration and supply: A worldwide perspective: This presentation discusses
mineral resources/sources, noting how social, environmental, and political forces influence
from whom/ where metals and non-metals are sourced. Topic appropriate for a general
undergraduate through professional audience, with many slides showing geologic settings
of various metal commodities worldwide, and “new” exploration areas.
William X. Chávez, Jr. is currently Professor of Geological Engineering at the New Mexico
School of Mines in Socorro, New Mexico, where he has taught since 1985. He received B.S.
degrees in geology (1976) and mining engineering (1977) from the New Mexico School of Mines.
Upon graduation, he worked with Harry M. Parker and the geostatistics group at Fluor Utah
in San Mateo, California. He attended the University of California at Berkeley, receiving M.A.
(1980) and Ph.D. degrees in geology (1984); his dissertation dealt with Cu-Ag mineralization
associated with felsic volcanic rocks in the Mantos Blancos District of northern Chile.
Bill has worked in northern Chile and adjacent regions in western South America for the past
27 years, with emphasis on supergene processes and weathering-related metals transport and
accumulation, and on alteration-mineralization zoning characterizing porphyry- and
epithermal-style hydrothermal systems. He has worked as a exploration consultant in many
parts of the world—most of them arid!—but especially in western South America and the western U.S.
Academic, government and corporate institutions interested in hosting one or more
lectures are invited to make arrangements through the SEG Traveling Lecturers Committee
Secretary:
Christine Horrigan
7811 Shaffer Parkway, Littleton CO 80127-3732 U.S.A.
phone: +1.720.981.7210
fax: +1.720.981.7874
email: christinehorrigan@segweb.org
List of prior lectures and topics