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Data Metallogenica: from vision to reality
Original, unedited text of an article submitted to the March 2006 issue of The Australian Geologist (TAG) magazine

Data Metallogenica (DM) originated in the Queensland bush, in 1970, as a portable means to collect, store, preserve and organize geological materials (rocks and ores) to establish a permanent tangible record, and to make this available to others for study and research. The core of this knowledge base is the collection called Lithotheque, where up to twenty minisamples are permanently attached, in standard order, to page-size aluminium plates. This arrangement assures permanency and instant availability (the sample plates are stored, like books, in slotted containers with amazing space efficiency for easy browsing). The sample plates are ideal for multiple comparisons (e.g. one can visualize changes resulting from progressive metamorphism of a sedex to end-up with a Broken Hill; eh?), as a standard for description (e.g. on a drill site), a material for self- and small group study (workshops and seminars), an extensive base for non-destructive testing (e.g. PIMA, physical properties) and a permanent record of ore deposits many of which are no longer accessible. The sample plates are very suitable for overall and pinpoint high-resolution photography followed by internet transmission. About 80% of the visual (ore) petrographic features are retained, despite the small sample size (breccias can be broken to components, their place shown by a photo), and twenty samples certainly convey more information than one or two traditional hand samples, for equal weight. The occasional need for destructive testing is fulfilled by parallel collections of hand samples (macrotheque) and off-cuts. The physical material is accompanied by on-line printable explanation sheets, field photos and graphics and there is an extensive library of reprints, field notes, photos, slides and thin/polished sections. Yes, DM creation is labor and skill intensive.

Sticking rocks to rigid backing is hardly a revolutionary idea; what is unique here is that this collection of sample plates has reached a critical mass (3500 plates), has a truly global dimension (75+ countries), represents at least 85% of recognized ore types, and has an applied science base. 90% of samples have been collected on the spot, and 100% of sets (so far) were assembled by a single person, over a period of 35 years. This assures uniformity and a consistent bias (if any), as free as possible from the mutating genetic ideas of the day. The collection also provides a tangible backing of the information assembled in my Empirical Metallogeny and Total Metallogeny books, frequently sought by readers in the past. My forthcoming book "Giant Metallic Deposits and Future Sources of Industrial Metals" (Springer, 2006) refers to Lithotheque set numbers in DM, so the reader can rapidly move from the "paper reading" to the world of tangibles.
DM had been grown and maintained, without public funding, by the Laznicka family in Canada, with some 75% of the collection then accessible at the University of Manitoba to visitors and students, by personal arrangement (the rest scattered in boxes). The searching was by means of a MS-ACCESS database, which provided substantially more information and sophistication than the present Bolean setup. The collection has relocated to Adelaide in mid-1999 under the Amira's Project P554 (directed by Alan Goode) and installed in the purpose-furnished premises at the Australian Mineral Foundation (AMF), the joint venture partner. It opened to sponsors in December, 1999. The first 2.5 years had seen a tremendous progress where an originally private collection started a conversion into an internationally accessible public knowledge base suitable for both physical examination on site and internet image delivery (the latter accomplished under the guidance of Kerry O'Sullivan. More geological material was added, collected on several international and Australia-wide trips. The AMF demise at the end of 2001 was a serious blow, from which DM has never recovered.

After mid-2002, the P554 termination, DM continued under a "corporate model". Differences developed between the creators (expected to be driven by "goodwill") and the salaried Amira management. The revision and update of documentation have not been completed as planned and the collection growth came almost to a standstill after mid-2004 except for a brief Gawler Craton sampling project paid for by PIRSA. From 2005 the DM on-line has been updated, out of Melbourne, mostly by third party images "sans les roches", most of which are unrelated to the existing collection. The Glenside (Adelaide) premises depopulated in 11-2004 and have been entirely taken over by Maptek, the present AMF Center owner, in 11-2005 (absorbing the $ 150k the SA Government put into refurbishment in 1999). As of today (January 2006) the "fantastic" DM collection, evicted from its original home, languishes in three shipping containers somewhere in Adelaide. Access denied.
My optimistic vision that brought DM (and my family) to Australia, namely to initiate establishment of a viable and unique knowledge base that combines real geo-materials with images, databases and written word, and has global application and acceptance, has been perhaps 60% fulfilled, until it hit a snag. There is a great opportunity ahead, but many former Aussie icons like AMF, Vegemite, Fosters Lager, WMC, MIM and others are now gone or foreign owned so the future is uncertain. I hope this DM immigrant does not end in a detention center but develops into a locally based international instrument along with the substantial contribution this country of 20 million has made to the world's geosciences and mineral resources knowledge (not counting the resources themselves). I want to see DM to contribute to the success of mineral exploration here and abroad. But DM needs help and a fair go.

 
Amira has initiated, funded, organized and implemented transfer from Canada and DM development in difficult times, then going it alone after the loss of the AMF partner. Despite my great admiration for Amira as a facilitator of new knowledge creation through applied research, it has never been, and is not now, an organization capable to create and maintain such knowledge on its own, particularly a perishable knowledge embedded in some 75,000 samples that have to be stored, maintained, upgraded, interpreted and continuously grown by a specialized staff. The corporate model, with its emphasis on high-salaried management, cannot alone achieve the results previously driven by personal passion, super-thrift and willingness to bear the costs. The only way out I can see for a viable DM in Australia is under a consortium of mixed public and private organizations that would include a geological survey (PIRSA has offered to fulfill this role, but they are desperately slow) and perhaps CSIRO, a museum (curating skills), a university (a unique educational value and a base for an almost endless research), and industry represented by their NGO's or directly. The collection must have public funding like museums and libraries have, as it cannot fend for itself; the website might possibly earn its upkeep. Goodwill of the Australian geological community is needed, and GSA is to be commended for DM support. Let's make it together, but the time is short. Unless the collection growth and update are soon restarted, the frequently invoked Industry as a sponsor will see a dead DM body held on its behalf. Unless suitable premises are provided soon, a portion of the collection will turn into a dehydrated and oxidized regolith.

Peter Laznicka, Adelaide; www.Totalmetallogeny.com