Doug Kirwin is an Australian geologist with over 50 years of international exploration experience. He commenced his career in Papua New Guinea with Anglo American in 1970 and later worked for AMAX in Southeast Asia, Mexico, and the Pacific. From 1985 to 1995, Doug formed an independent consulting company, working mostly in Southeast Asia. He was Executive Vice President of Ivanhoe Mines from 1996 to 2012 and a Founding Director of Ivanhoe Mines Australia.
As a member of the joint discovery team for the giant Hugo Dummett copper-gold deposit in Mongolia, Mr. Kirwin was a co-recipient of the PDAC Thayer Lindsley medal, awarded for the most significant global mineral discovery in 2004. Some of his exploration teams’ discoveries and significant mineral resource expansions include a VMS base metal mine in Jalisco (Mexico), three epithermal silver-gold mines in South Korea, the Seruyung gold mine in Kalimantan (Indonesia), the Monywa copper and Modi Taung gold mines in Myanmar, the SWAN and Merlin deposits in Cloncurry, Australia, and the acquisition of the Kainantu mine in PNG for K92 Mining.
Doug has an MSc in Mineral Exploration from James Cook University, where he is currently an Adjunct Professor of Geology, and he is passionate about student training and young professional development.
Brett Davis: Firstly, thanks for giving Coring the opportunity to interview you, Doug. I openly admit to stalking your career summary on professional media. I also admit to getting fatigued just reading your incredibly diverse and amazing professional history, plus your bank of achievements, notwithstanding all the things you are doing currently. It’s going to be hard to do justice with just 21 questions! Anyway, let me try, first by asking you what got you interested in a career in geology?
Doug Kirwin: Brett, thank you for the opportunity and invitation to participate in the Coring Magazine interview series, which I think is a great initiative and an excellent forum for senior professionals to share their career experiences and, hopefully, inspire future generations.
At around eight years old, I recall walking around the back of the family farm near Kingaroy, Australia, when I encountered a petrified log approximately 3 m (9.8 ft) long. For reasons I never understood, I was totally fascinated with this observation and collected several pieces which became the foundation for a very modest collection of rocks and minerals. A couple of years later, I purchased a very basic and informative book, ‘The Golden Guide to Rocks and Minerals’, which I regularly read from cover to cover (I still have this today).
By the age of approximately ten, I was the proud owner of a small four-drawer cabinet which housed my labeled collection of perhaps 20 rocks and minerals. In my early teens, I used to spend a lot of weekend time at the Queensland Museum in Brisbane, which had a substantial display of rocks and minerals. I became very familiar with the collection and enjoyed memorizing the minerals and their origins. I guess, without realizing it at the time, I was already teaching myself geology! During my high school years, I joined the Mt Gravatt lapidary club, which was also a fun experience. In summary, it seems I was destined to be a geologist, culminating in my BSc from the University of Queensland in 1971.
Brett Davis: Were there any genuinely formative moments in your early career and/or people who truly inspired you?
Doug Kirwin: My geological career did not start well. My first few years were spent working in Papua New Guinea for Anglo American, who were exploring for porphyry copper deposits. I really had zero experience, and neither did my superiors in Anglo, being a South African gold company. After three years of thrashing around in the jungle, I attended an Australian Mineral Foundation porphyry copper workshop presented by Willard Lacy at the Bougainville mine. This was an excellent venue, and I quickly learned about the practical fundamentals for porphyry exploration, which was indeed very uplifting.
In 1977, I was to be transferred to epithermal exploration in New Zealand, again with almost no relevant experience. Not wanting to repeat previous mistakes, I decided to use a long work break to travel to the silver districts in Peru. I had contacted Buenaventura, and much to my surprise and delight, the company president offered to host me at all his Peruvian mines with add-ons to the southern Peruvian copper porphyry deposits. It was at this point that I really understood the value of mentorship, and the hospitality and kindness extended to me by Don Alberto Benavides de la Quintana was a major turning point in my career and my life.
Several years later, I joined AMAX exploring the Southwest Pacific for porphyry deposits. The exploration team was led by a renowned Australian geologist, Jack Thompson, who specialized in aerial prospecting (much like David Lowell in the Andes), and I was fortunate enough to be part of a small team engaged in regional scale flying and field follow-up programs. Jack’s previous discoveries were Sleeper in the US and Wirralie in Queensland.
After leaving AMAX, I subsequently applied this technique in remote northeast Kalimantan which resulted in the discovery of the Jelai-Mewet epithermal deposits and the Seruyung gold mine. Jack Thompson was a great lateral thinker, and his mentorship over the years also had a great influence on my career development. A key takeaway from this experience was the real value of teamwork. Based on my negative and positive early career experiences, I cannot stress enough the importance of mentorship in our industry.
Brett Davis: I’ll ask a question here and revisit the topic later. You have amassed an amazing rock collection during your career—what sponsored the almost obsessive drive to do this and to so thoroughly document the various deposits you’ve worked on and visited?
Doug Kirwin: After I passed the age of 60, I began to realize that I was no longer effectively utilizing my extensive rock and mineral collection (several tonnes accumulated over 40 years). Furthermore, I was becoming concerned what would happen to these valuable assets in the event of an untimely demise. Hence, I began a quest to find a new home for the library and collection. My main priority was that these would be used by students and researchers and not simply left to sit in boxes.
A new home for my rock and mineral collection was challenging to identify, given the size and volume. I approached several potential recipients, including the Society of Economic Geologists based in Colorado, Data Metallogenica based in Adelaide, and the Natural History Museum in London. All expressed interest; however, there were no commitments for proper storage and access for teaching facilities, in addition to the packing and shipping requirements.
I was discussing the situation with a geological colleague, Laurie Curtis, whom I had met several years before on a field trip to Brazil. Laurie was passing through Thailand in 2010 and spent a couple of days with me reviewing the collection. We subsequently had a follow-up meeting at the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) in 2011. Laurie had been discussing my collection with the University of Toronto and the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). The initial meetings were indeed very positive, and I was impressed with their proposals for curation and access for research. Several months later, Kim Tate and Ian Nicklin from the museum’s mineralogy department traveled to Bangkok to appraise the collection. The outcome was extremely positive and I had found a home for the collection.
A verbal agreement was reached, and it remained to organize funding for shipping and a new curation and teaching facility (with an estimated budget of approximately CAD 3.5 million).
In June the following year, fundraising commenced in earnest with a ‘Rock of Ages’ gala event held at the museum. This was an outstanding success, and approximately USD 300 000 was committed. More importantly, the event created widespread awareness about the collection and the museum’s aspirations. One large donation had been promised by a prominent mining figure in Toronto that never materialized, so the museum worked hard over the next three years to eventually reach its target funding. With this in place, the way was clear to pack and ship the entire collection (finally!).
In July 2014, a team from the ROM, comprising Kim Tate, Ian Nicklin, Katherine Dunnell, and Brendt Hyde, arrived in Bangkok and cataloged and packed the collection into a 40-ft (12.2 m) shipping container during a very busy 16 days. Six weeks later, everything arrived safely at the ROM front door, to the great relief of all concerned.
The collection comprises around 26 000 minerals and ore samples. I was to learn that museums assign names to various collections and even refer to specimens by that name. For example, a topaz crystal from my collection would be referred to as ‘a Kirwin topaz’. I would have preferred to remain anonymous; however, the museum was adamant that the name had to be included as part of the donation (standard museum policy, I believe).
In early March 2015, while attending the PDAC, the museum hosted a luncheon at the ROM in my honor with all the donors present: approximately 30 people, including Laurie Curtis. What a great opportunity it was to meet and personally thank those who had made it possible for my collection to be in such a wonderful home!
Post the pandemic, the SEG runs an annual tour of the ROM and a thematic one-day workshop with an invited SEG lecturer before PDAC. The 2026 event was a highly successful workshop about orogenic gold deposits with François Robert, with equal parts presentations and looking at hand samples.
Brett Davis: You are the epitome of the successful industry geologist, having been involved in the discovery of world-class deposits such as the Hugo Dummett copper-gold deposit in Mongolia, among others. As I understand, the award of the Thayer Lindsley Medal is, in part, recognition for this. What makes you special in the realm of deposit discovery, and what are the attributes of great discoverers?
Doug Kirwin: Exploration success, meaning the discovery of a mineral deposit (greenfields and brownfields) that eventually becomes a viable mining operation, is invariably a team effort. Much has been written about this, and those involved in major discoveries all have the same opinion. In my view, there are key factors why some teams are serially successful, and the main requirements are as follows:
- Successful exploration teams are made up of motivated individuals led by a highly experienced manager who has both technical and people skills.
- There needs to be effective communication between the exploration manager and the company chairperson, as well as with the board of directors.
- The exploration manager should play a significant role in determining corporate health and safety policies based on common sense for field programs.
- Time frames and budgets for exploration success normally exceed ten years. This approach avoids the boom-and-bust cycles and provides support and commitment for a motivated team to make discoveries.
- Finally and importantly, the right team in the right place at the right time, no bureaucracy, and no micromanagement of the team.
Brett Davis: What industry projects are you working on now? And what is your level of involvement?
Doug Kirwin: My main commitment during the past few years has been a technical role as a director of Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company and Manila Mining Corporation, both Filipino companies listed on the local stock exchange. Lepanto recently celebrated its 90ᵗʰ anniversary, and there are plans to develop the Far Southeast porphyry gold-copper deposit at Mankayan. Manila Mining is currently evaluating the potential for large-scale heap leach gold production at their former mines in Surigao, northeast Mindanao. My other activities are mainly advisory roles with juniors, with the caveat ‘friends and fun’. One project that I am really excited about is King Copper’s Colquemayo project in southern Peru.
Brett Davis: Do you get many opportunities to revisit some of your old stomping grounds, e.g. Mongolia? Or does Doug Kirwin move on and not revisit old projects or project areas?
Doug Kirwin: I think it’s fair to say that workwise, I tend to move on, possibly a subconscious desire for new challenges. For instance, I haven’t been back to Mongolia since 2009, although it would be wonderful to reconnect with many friends and colleagues there. I do enjoy going back to Papua New Guinea where I was directly involved in K92’s acquisition of Kainantu from Barrick, and subsequently as a technical advisor until 2024. Similarly, I really enjoy opportunities to return to Indonesia and recently attended the 17ᵗʰ MGEI convention in Surabaya, which was outstanding. I also enjoy traveling to the Americas and looking at interesting geology and rocks with friends, although the air miles are becoming a consideration.
After the pandemic, I was invited to Saudi Arabia a couple of times, which was obviously an exciting new frontier (for modern exploration concepts). I would say the same about Central America, and specifically Nicaragua. Conversely, places I probably won’t go back to include the Kyrgyz Republic, where, despite having several years of exploration success, everything went pear-shaped politically. My seven years in China were great cultural and technical experiences pre-2007; however, it is unlikely I would invest there now. The same applies to Myanmar, where my time in the early 2000s was thoroughly enjoyable until the brutal and oppressive military crackdowns commenced 15 years ago. The multi-million-ounce Modi Taung orogenic gold deposits discovered by Ivanhoe were blatantly expropriated and subsequently developed by the military junta and cronies. I still regularly think about the wonderful local people I worked with and their well-being.
Brett Davis: Let’s go back to the previous question regarding your massive rock collection. Does this collection largely look after itself now, or do you continue to add to the collection? Are other people welcome to add to it?
Doug Kirwin: The collection is incredibly well curated, and final cataloging is almost complete (as you can imagine, this is a massive task). I continued to add specific samples until around 2023, when the museum, like many others, introduced very stringent rules about only accepting ‘politically correct’ donations for all departments. From my perspective, this meant providing certified documentation about permission to take samples, written proof of where they were taken, and clearance of National Park reserves, and the list goes on! I think this probably answers your question about further donations. I still collect samples (I have tried therapy, and that didn’t work) for a research collection established at the University of the Philippines in Quezon City. A proper, sustainable curation facility like the ROM was established with generous financial assistance provided by Lepanto.
Brett Davis: Can you give the readers examples of some of the contents of the collection you donated, including any rarities or samples that would be hard/impossible to obtain now?
Doug Kirwin: The collection’s main components are: minerals species and selected specialist units including ore gossans, igneous cupola rocks including unidirectional solidification textures (USTs), breccias and ore suites.
For many years, in addition to collecting myself, I participated in auctions and regularly obtained interesting pieces from various dealers. Highlights of the mineral species are a comprehensive group of hundreds of rare and interesting minerals from the Kola region of northwest Russia. I obtained these from mostly two sources. I became good friends with a Moscow-based Russian mineralogist who regularly went to Kola and scientifically studied and analyzed the minerals. I visited him in Russia twice, and he also made two trips to my base in Thailand. The second source was a Russian mineral dealer who still maintains a trade booth at the PDAC. Every year, I was his first customer for Kola minerals and he would always have something new for me.
Another significant component of the species collection was collected in Myanmar, and specifically, specimens from Mogok. I commenced working in Myanmar in 1996 and was involved in exploration projects there up until 2010. During this time, I had a network of local dealers who became good friends and provided a constant stream of high-quality specimens from Mogok, which was inaccessible to foreigners at the time. The Mogok region is a limestone terrain intruded by numerous syenitic dykes, resulting in a plethora of wonderful minerals such as sapphires, rubies, spectacular mega topaz crystals, tourmalines, spinels, lapis lazuli, and dozens of other rare and interesting species. There are several hundred specimens from this locality, including museum-sized ones, e.g. a 30-kg (66 lbs) single topaz crystal. This is a unique collection in itself and is by far the largest ever assembled outside of Myanmar.
While working in China from 1990 to 2002, I had the opportunity to visit many provinces, and it was around this period that local mineral dealers came to realize that there was a market for quality mineral and ore specimens. I was fortunate to be exposed to this, and as a result, there are several hundred interesting samples in the collection, including two diamonds in kimberlite ores from Shandong. Others are fluorite, scheelite, stibnite, calcite, and most of the minerals featured in the recent, wonderful Fine Minerals of China (2006) publication.
The bulk of the collection is composed of thousands of samples collected from hundreds of mineral deposits, many of which are now closed. A large percentage of these are cut and polished slabs which have been photographed. The main ore deposit types are porphyry coppers, high- and low-sulfidation epithermals, orogenic gold, the spectrum of massive sulfides, sediment-hosted copper and gold, and carbonatites. The suites are from more than 70 countries and represent a vast amount of material available for teaching, research, and publications.
Brett Davis: Piggybacking on the previous couple of questions, I’ll mention one of the things I have been lamenting recently in forums such as LinkedIn, namely the loss of geological legacy and irreplaceable scientific value in the form of collection destruction. We hear of so many examples of specimen collections and libraries being destroyed by educational institutions, big resource companies, and government agencies, commonly with looting of the collections when they are in crisis. So, it was heartening to see the protection of your extensive collection. Do you have any suggestions for how to stem the tide of collection destruction and make them accessible?
Doug Kirwin: I have been following the discussions, and I, too, genuinely lament the loss of so many important and irreplaceable legacy samples. In addition, personally seeing major universities and government agencies deliberately disposing of such collections is nothing short of criminal! I really don’t have an answer to how to prevent such future tragedies. There is hope, at least in some states in Australia, where there are now major facilities for legacy drill core storage. Perhaps an annex to store well-cataloged minerals and sample IDs is not a step too far?
I was extremely fortunate to find the ROM at the right time, and I couldn’t be happier.
Brett Davis: Is there a particular mineralization style or deposit type that interests you, and why?
Doug Kirwin: I started out with porphyry copper deposits and epithermals and have spent much of my career learning about these fascinating deposits globally. This naturally led me into the complex geology in the magmatic to hydrothermal transition zones and in textures observed in cupolas. I have been researching this topic for decades, based mainly on fieldwork, and continue to maintain a very keen interest in it because there is little published about fascinating rocks. Pretty much a case of the more I see, the less I know!
Early in my career, I was fortunate to be involved in the discovery of the Kuroko-type VMS deposits in Fiji, which led to a study trip to the active mines in the Hokuroko Basin in Japan. I was later able to apply this experience to unraveling the ‘Manto’ geology of the Cretaceous Manto Ag deposits at the Cuale mines in Jalisco in Mexico, operated by AMAX and Peñoles. After remapping the district, it was clear these were classic Kuroko deposits; possibly the first recognition of this style of mineralization in Mexico. A significant part of my mid-career was also spent exploring for epithermal systems in Indonesia and South Korea in terranes where such deposits had not been previously discovered or recorded.
In 1975, I spent two weeks in Taiwan, mostly at the Chinkuashih mine, which was still operating then. I also visited a spectacular weekend jadeite market with Chinese friends, which triggered a lifelong interest in the geology and history of this fascinating gemstone. While working in Myanmar in 2002, I was fortunate to access the massive strip mines at Hpakant in Kachin State, famous for imperial green jadeite production. In more recent years, I also visited the only two other economically significant known deposits: at Itmurundy in Kazakhstan, and at Serra das Minas in Guatemala. The Olmec and Mayan history in the jade trade spanned more than 4000 years, and I recently had the pleasure of meeting Mary Lou Ridinger (now 80), the American archaeologist who discovered the hard rock deposits in the Motagua Valley in central Guatemala.
Brett Davis: I have to ask—political instability/ insecurity aside, what part of the world do you think is highly prospective for finding new world-class orebodies?
Doug Kirwin: For porphyry copper-gold mineralization, I would say the Philippines. There are more than 60 known deposits (mostly discovered pre-1985), with only three examples currently in production. If modern exploration methods were applied, even more would be found. Other regions would be the Tethyan Belt in Iran and the Russian Far East. Very significant discoveries continue to be made in the Andes, e.g. the Vicuña Belt in Argentina and the Valeriano district in Chile. I also like the potential for copper-gold porphyries in parts of southern Peru.
For epithermal deposits, Central America would be high on the list, and specifically Nicaragua and El Salvador. The Arabian–Nubian Shield is an emerging new frontier for intrusion-related and orogenic gold deposits and the spectrum of intrusion-related copper-gold deposits, perhaps analogous to those found in the Patterson Ranges. The Proterozoic in Brazil is similar, but much more explored.
Brett Davis: You’ve worked in a lot of countries and on a lot of continents. Are there any skills or mindsets that have helped you in your roles in these places?
Doug Kirwin: I think one of the first skill sets to apply is to understand and appreciate the culture and history of the host terrain. As exploration geologists, we are often the first point of contact, which is becoming increasingly important in today’s world (as it should be). Building relationships in frontier terrains can be the difference between success and failure. Basically, this is common sense. I experienced this firsthand in remote parts of Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Mongolia, Fiji, and Thailand, to name a few.
Next, I would say having the ability to adapt to your surroundings. For example, after my first week in the field in PNG, I came close to throwing in the towel. After two weeks, I was beginning to realize what an adventure I was having, and after one month and with some basic Melanesian phrases, I was having a great time! Front-end exploration is not for everybody, and it does require a survivalist mindset. Some of my most memorable years were flying all around Mongolia in Russian Mi-8 helicopters and actually getting paid to have that amazing adventure.
Finally, I would say that being well prepared for the likely challenges the various terrains might present is extremely important. This should be based on local advice and research from previous explorers. Similarly, having a sound technical appreciation of the prospective geology and available data are prerequisites, but this needs to be approached with a totally open mind. There are countless examples of major discoveries made while exploring for a totally different commodity.
Brett Davis: What is the most maddeningly common and frustrating thing you have encountered when visiting an exploration site?
Doug Kirwin: There are many issues here that somewhat depend on the location, company involved, and size of the project. I guess, first and foremost, is the preservation state of legacy drill core, and I’m aware that you have frequently commented about this. I recently visited a project in northern Colombia, which had 72 000 m (236 220 ft) of previous drilling. Approximately 70% of the core was totally missing, and the remainder was in such a state that much of it was beyond rescue! This is an extreme example, but not an uncommon situation, and I hope there is now an increasing appreciation within our industry about this serious problem.
I regularly visit drilling programs. One of the first things I would like to see is the hand-drawn graphic drill logs and sections compiled using colored pencils. Sadly, this is not often the case, and a lot of valuable observations are lost or never recorded. I always like to see shelves filled with field samples and display boards of drill core illustrations, rock types, alteration, and mineralization. The best-case scenario is what I call a slab library, where labeled cut slabs are well stored and frequently reviewed by project geologists. I first encountered this at El Salvador in 1979 (where Gustafson and Hunt were working), and it has stayed with me to the present day.
Another concern is how much time the geologists actually spend on site and with the rocks. This varies a lot, and I’ll leave it at that.
Brett Davis: Has there been a single satisfying moment in your career that rates above all the others?
Doug Kirwin: This is tough to answer. There have been many ups and downs throughout my career. I guess a eureka moment for most economic geologists is the sudden recognition that a field observation of a set of assay results is a game-changer. An example would be sailing around Gasado Island in South Korea in a small local fishing boat to check for conceptual epithermals and seeing a 15-m-wide (49 ft) massive outcrop in a cliff with textbook multiphase colloform banding. Another showstopper would be Ivanhoe’s discovery drill hole at Hugo Dummett (Oyu Tolgoi), which intersected 638 m (2093 ft) 1.8% Cu.
Some of the non-technical moments have been observing firsthand how a discovery can translate into a highly successful mine totally operated by national professionals, as was the case at Seruyung in Indonesia. Watching young professionals I have had the pleasure of working with going on to establish highly successful and rewarding careers is also right up there.
Brett Davis: What stressed you most in the roles you’ve had over the course of your career? Dealing with people? Technical challenges? Financial constraints? Physical relocation? Constant travel?
Doug Kirwin: If I am brutally honest about this, my greatest stress is related to being away from family for extended periods of time. I tried to achieve a balance between field and family time, which I did not manage well. During exploration presentations to students and early-career professionals, I try to highlight this issue. Especially during the mid-career period, important decisions need to be made. I have always enjoyed technical challenges, and financial benefits were not a priority. The constant travel is indeed becoming harder to cope with as the years fly by.
Brett Davis: One topic we commonly talk about but rarely put into print is that of the health hazards of working in different countries and environments. Has your health ever been particularly challenged and, if so, what happened?
Doug Kirwin: Spending long periods in the tropics early in my career came with a price. I had malaria for 8 years in the 1970s, during which time it was possible to suppress the attacks but not cure it. I used to travel around with a large tin of chloroquine tablets, and it wasn’t until 1978 that the various strains were identified and specific drugs became available to knock it out. Other lowlights in the 1970s were amoebic dysentery from the Philippines and hepatitis in Fiji. Also typhoid fever in Cambodia and dengue fever in Thailand during the 1980s.
While working in Sumatra in 1984, I had the misfortune to disturb a nest of greater banded hornets (Vespa tropica). It was late in the afternoon, and I was stung many times (even through my jeans). Luckily, my Indonesian crew was not impacted. My body quickly swelled, and I lost all ability to walk. My crew carried me back to a village base camp, where I spent a painful night drifting in and out of consciousness. First thing the next day, I was driven to the local hospital in Padang, where I was treated by a German missionary doctor. He was amazed I had not succumbed to cardiac arrest, given the number of stings over my face, arms, and legs. I spent the next three days in the hospital and was back on my feet shortly after. The extremely valuable lesson I learned from this was: let the locals take the lead, as they know what the dangers are. African tick fever was added to the list in Malawi in 1990. I guess one could argue that, with all of the above, I may now have a strong immune system?
Another memorable event was a two-week reconnaissance field trip in a very remote part of Aceh in northern Sumatra in 1980. This entailed a four-day walk to the site and fly-camping with porters. An armed military escort was provided for protection from tigers, and the destination was known as Panton Gajah (Elephant Flats in Bahasa). We indeed frequently saw wild elephants and quickly found that their trails provided good access paths. On our fifth night out, we pitched camp on the sandy bank of a large river, with me in one tent and four soldiers in another. I woke at dawn and went outside the tent to urinate and immediately noticed large fresh tiger tracks in the sand all around the tent! The tiger had gone, but not long ago. I recall taking a photo of the paw prints. Obviously, the tiger wasn’t hungry, as our flimsy tents and escorts would have been to no avail at night. The soldiers were terrified, and I am not sure how much use they would have been anyway.
In May 2015, I was in western Szechuan, traveling around in a brand-new Range Rover, and after a very long day of driving, we were scheduled to spend the night at Yading. At approximately 4 p.m. that afternoon, while traveling along a narrow high mountain road at around 60 km/h (37.3 mph), the driver fell asleep at the wheel. I was sitting in the back, checking photos, and the next thing I knew, we were hanging off the side of a cliff above a significant drop-down to a raging river. Fortunately, I was wearing a seat belt and was able to quickly climb out of the back left side passenger window. The Chinese companions could do the same from the front left side door. All the details are beyond the scope of this commentary; however, I was extremely fortunate to have survived this serious life-threatening accident. Dick Sillitoe stated in his 1999 SEG presidential perspective that the most dangerous risk geologists face is getting in a vehicle!
Brett Davis: This is a standard question of mine, because it never fails to elicit interesting and important answers. If you have abundant financial funding, is there a fundamentally annoying question or problem you’d like to solve or a topic you’d like to work on?
Doug Kirwin: A crisis facing our industry right now is the closing down of institutions teaching earth science courses. The political mindset behind this is particularly annoying when funds are being misdirected to far less relevant, culturally correct initiatives. Australia’s economy depends on the mining industry, and political failure to recognize and support this is suicidal.
Brett Davis: You have been, and continue to be, an incredible mentor to members of the geological community. What is your opinion about people ‘giving back’ to the industry and how they should go about it?
Doug Kirwin: I firmly believe it is an obligation for all of us to share our experiences (positive and negative) with the students and early-career professionals. While there are many mentorship programs, many of which are very good, the most effective interaction is always at the personal level. One of the activities I enjoy most is accompanying students on field trip programs. This tends to establish good relationships, which often extend far beyond the trip itself. In-house mentoring in a company environment is critical, and I believe some companies could be more proactive. As mentorship is a two-way street, the younger generations also need to be proactive.
Brett Davis: Now to a personal question. What does Doug Kirwin do when he isn’t thinking about rocks (does this ever happen)?
Doug Kirwin: From mid-career until recently, I have been an avid bird-watcher. I discovered that appreciating nature in general was extremely enjoyable and rewarding. Like exploration, this interest has taken me to faraway places, such as most of southern Africa, Madagascar, West Papua, Bhutan, Central and Latin America, often for periods of more than two weeks, and where possible, combined with field work. I also discovered that I really enjoy small ship scientific voyages to places not readily accessible (e.g. National Geographic, Zegrahm). The highlights of such trips are multiple zodiac landings to very remote places. Memorable voyages were to The Falklands, South Georgia, Antarctica, the Galápagos, the French Polynesia Islands, the Aleutian-Kurile Islands, the Azores. Yes, I’ve kept a nature viewing checklist, but I certainly wouldn’t call myself a hardcore ‘twitcher’ like in ‘The Big Year’. As the years fly by, I have had to accept I am no longer able to handle arduous trekking and that core sheds are preferable to 12-km (7.45 mi) hikes.
Brett Davis: Finally, any concluding comments or words of wisdom from an industry veteran?
Doug Kirwin: My advice to students and young professionals is to identify what you are passionate about and pursue that as a career. There are a lot of choices in our industry, and it is never too late to make changes. Internships are great opportunities to see if the experience is the career you are thinking about.
