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Chris Wijns

Adjunct Research Fellow
Centre for Exploration Targeting (CET)

Contact details

Address
Level 1, 24 Outram St
West Perth, WA 6005
Australia

Phone
+618 9346 0147
Email
chris.wijns@fqml.com

Chris has been the Group Geophysicist for First Quantum Minerals, a world-wide base metals miner, since late 2008. Previously, he held a similar role for four years with gold company Resolute Mining Ltd, following completion of a PhD at UWA and CSIRO in crustal geodynamics and interactive geophysical inversion. Before moving to Australia in 1999 as a visiting researcher at CSIRO, Chris worked in gold exploration in West Africa for Placer Dome.

Education

Ph.D. Geophysics, 2004. University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
M.Sc. Geophysics, 1996. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

B.Sc. (honours) Geophysics, 1993. McGill University, Montreal, Canada

Current Professional Memberships

Society of Exploration Geophysicists (Active), Australian Society of Exploration Geophysicists (Active),

Australian Institute of Geoscientists (Member)

Research Interests

Chris is generally interested in integrating geology and geophysics for the purposes of mineral exploration, and bringing research results into the mining industry for practical application as soon as possible. He fancies himself as a geophysicist who tries to become a bit more of a geologist and geochemist with every passing year. Chris is keen to push geophysics into resource modelling and the mining operation at one end of the spectrum, and relishes greenfields targeting and area selection at the other end. Chris is a strong supporter of sharing data and providing data for research, and recognises that the best advances come from cross-disciplinary ideas. His enthusiasm for mentoring has translated into continuous involvement in student supervision from BSc to PhD levels, with previous students at universities in Australia, Mali, Tanzania, and Finland.

Publications

Selected Publications

 

Wijns, C. (2017). Exploration geoscience inside the mine gate.  15th SAGA Biennial Technical Meeting and Exhibition, 10-13 Sep 2017, Cape Town, South Africa. Extended Abstracts.

Wijns, C. (2017). Geophysics at the small end of the scale: understanding the resource. In Wyche, S. and W.K. Witt (eds) 2017, TARGET 2017, Perth, Australia: abstracts: Geological Survey of Western Australia, Record 2017/6, 166p. 

Wijns, C. (2016). Airborne EM for mine infrastructure planning. Exploration Geophysics, 47, 279–284.

Koivisto, E., A. Malehmir, N. Hellqvist, T. Voipio, C. Wijns (2015). Building a 3D model of lithological contacts and near-mine structures in the Kevitsa mining and exploration site, northern Finland: constraints from 2D and 3D reflection seismic data. Geophysical Prospecting, 63 (4), 754-773.

 
Wijns, C. (2015). Improving resource density models via surface gravity inversion. Australian Soc. Expl. Geophys. 24th Conference and Exhibition, 15-18 Feb 2015, Perth, Australia. Extended Abstracts (USB).

Malehmir, A., E. Koivisto, M. Manzi, S. Cheraghi, R.J. Durrheim, G. Bellefleure, C. Wijns, K.A.A. Hein, N. King (2014). A review of reflection seismic investigations in three major metallogenic regions: The Kevitsa Ni–Cu–PGE district (Finland), Witwatersrand goldfields (South Africa), and the Bathurst Mining Camp (Canada). Ore Geology Reviews, 56, 423-441.

Malehmir, A., C. Juhlin, C. Wijns, M. Urosevic, P. Valasti, E. Koivisto (2012). 3D reflection seismic investigation for open-pit mine planning and exploration in the Kevitsa Ni-Cu-PGE deposit, Northern Finland. Geophysics, 77(5), WC95-WC108. doi: 10.1190/GEO2011-0468.1

Wijns, C. (2012). Geophysics in Resource Delineation. Resource Evaluation and Mining 2012, 30 Mar 2012, Burswood, Western Australia. Extended Abstracts, AIG Bulletin No. 55 – 2012.

Wijns, C. (2011). The best of geophysics, 2005-2015. Exploration Technologies 2011, 28-29 Mar 2011, Burswood, Western Australia. Extended Abstracts, AIG Bulletin No. 54 – 2011.

Wijns, C. and D. Core (2010). Hunting for massive sulphides between density logs. Australian Soc. Expl. Geophys. 21st Conference and Exhibition, 22-26 Aug 2010, Sydney, Australia. Extended Abstracts (CDROM).

Wijns, C. (2009). The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Airborne EM and the regolith. South African Geophys. Assoc. 11th Biennial Conference and Exhibition, 11-18 Sept 2009, Royal Swazi Spa, Swaziland. Extended Abstracts (CDROM).

Wijns,C. (2009). Structural mapping under cover with airborne EM. Australian Soc. Expl. Geophys. 20th Conference and Exhibition, 22-25 Feb 2009, Adelaide, Australia. Extended Abstracts (CDROM).

Wijns, C. and M. Yossi (2007). The benefit of combining downhole with surface IP. Australian Soc. Expl. Geophys. 19th Conference and Exhibition, 18-22 Nov 2007, Perth, Australia. Extended Abstracts (CDROM).

Wijns, C. and P. Kowalczyk (2007). Interactive geophysical inversion using qualitative geological constraints. Exploration Geophysics, 38, 208-212.

Gessner, K., Wijns, C., and L. Moresi (2007). Significance of strain localization in the lower crust for structural evolution and thermal history of metamorphic core complexes. Tectonics, 26, TC2012.

Wijns, C., R. Weinberg, K. Gessner, and L. Moresi (2005). Mode of crustal extension determined by rheological layering. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 236(1-2), 120-134.

Wijns, C., C. Perez, and P. Kowalczyk (2005). Theta map: edge detection in magnetic data. Geophysics, 70(4), L39-L43.

Wijns, C., T. Poulet, F. Boschetti, C. Dyt, and C.M Griffiths (2005). Interactive inverse methodology applied to stratigraphic forward modelling, in: A. Curtis and R. Wood (Eds.), Geological Prior Information, Geological Society of London Special Publication 239, 147-156.

 Wijns, C., F. Boschetti, and L. Moresi (2003). Inverse modelling in geology by interactive evolutionary computation. Journal of Structural Geology, 25(10), 1615-1621.

Boschetti, F., C. Wijns, and L. Moresi (2003). Effective exploration and visualisation of geological parameter space. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 4(10), 1086.