Get to know your committee! Introducing our Vice Chair and Internal Secretary

Desmond FitzGerald

When I completed a PhD in mining engineering I turned myself to the original Underground Rail loop project in Melbourne, and became one of the first people to model 3D rock stress/strain and interactions with excavation activity. I made the choice of setting up my own business to offer both geotechnical instruments and software products.

At the time, Broken Hill was regularly having mine stopes induce rock bursts in a manner that defied explanation. The concepts of plate tectonics and higher horizontal stresses in the Australian continent were unproven still. The process of modelling and testing 3D geometry of excavations using the Finite Element method was largely pioneered by me in Australia.

The success of being able to explain to technical planning engineers what the primary causes were for failures and rock bursts led to my business being underwritten by CRA for many years.

As an outcome, and given this was at the time of the dawn of technical computing in mining, I then converted the ore reserves system at Zinc Corporation (OREX) to its first digital /graphical expression.

I enjoy identifying and dreaming up strategies and tools to increase geoscientific computational methods. My belief is this process needs to be free from tied external funding.

In 1992, all the geological surveys of Australia, BHP, Pasminco and DeBeers approached me to switch focus to engineering the first commercial product for exploration geophysics (Intrepid Geophysics). Up to this point in time, all institutes were doing in house programming with bespoke code. Within just 3-4 years, defining standard tools and processes for general use emerged for the Gravity/Magnetic/Gamma Ray mapping of Australia, resulting in the world leading practise of continental scale geophysical datasets that continue to evolve.

In 2024, The French Geological survey challenged me to use geostatistics to create 3D geology models by combining observations of the geological pile and structural geology field mapping. Potential field forward models of gravity magnetics and seismic signatures were added to test how the geology can/cannot explain what is independently observable. (Geomodeller). The move of geology from a descriptive science to a quantitative science is now quite an established dream for many geoscience groups.

My job these days is to encourage anyone who wants to start down the road less travelled and take calculated technical risks.

Having employed more than 50 talented young geoscientists, often giving them their first job, I have found the need to provide on the job training for most of these graduates, and help the process of developing independent skills, while working in small teams.

Ian Wollff

I graduated in Applied Geology from the Ballarat School of Mines at the end of 1972, and promptly started exploration in 1973 behind Cairns, at the other end of Australia. I spent the next year at Goonyella coal mine, and then headed off to explore coal for Shell in South Sumatra. I then backpacked around Asia for a year, and spent another year in South Sumatra before returning to Australia for coal and uranium exploration and obtained a degree in science, majoring in geology.

I returned to Indonesia in 1985 for more exploration in coal, gold and other commodities, with a variety of companies, and various exploration roles, with some great success. During this time, I employed and mentored many expatriate and Indonesian geologists, and had the joy of discovering new coal fields, and in starting up two successful coal mines (from scratch).

I married and settled down to eventually retire in 2015 and continue to engage with the Indonesian geological society. I created exploration articles that were published every month over 10 years in a leading Indonesian mining magazine. I also started and maintain a LinkedIn blog with numerous articles.

I joined the AusIMM in 1982, but it was not until 2018 that I volunteered to be the Indonesian representative for two years. I became a Geoscience Society committee volunteer in 2020 that will have run its full 6-year period to the end of 2025. I have always been a “self-starter” and measured myself through output. During the six years at the Geoscience Society, my principal activity was to initiate and drive the Society’s newsletter. I also assisted in personally inviting more than 1,000 followers to join the GeoSoc LinkedIn site.

Now at the age of 75, I plan to publish on LinkedIn numerous articles looking into and analysing exploration geology. In going forwards I hope to continue the volunteer activity in the geoscience space. For example, I recently donated some of my geoscience reference books to a local university, and was asked to continue some mentoring efforts.