Lisbon and back, three times
Less of a post, more of an update. I have lots of posts lined up in my head, from the exotic and wow to the mundane, things from Armenia still to show and tell (I also have work still to do from there - oops!), all ready to write but not the time. But I have a ton of work to finish and I'm off to the UK on Friday to catch up with my brother for the first time in a year. I wasn't sure what I'd do in Salisbury while he's singing but conveniently the Historic Inn walking tour is on Sunday (it'd better be a drinking tour too). I am a little scared of Salisbury Live though.
This photo explains why I had/am having the biggest hayfever attack I've had in years (another excuse not to blog, even when I've had half a chance the motivation isn't there to type through streaming eyes). It doesn't show the farcical consequence of all the sneezing - re-injuring my back (assisted by a half-stack on the stairs :( Don't tell anyone, that's embarrassing. Alcohol wasn't even involved, damn these multi-storey houses!). So a couple of days of back stretching doped up on anti-histamines before off to Lisbon to meet our directors. 
As alluded to elsewhere these visits are full of good food and booze. What I haven't mentioned is that you pay for the good life, not $$$ but constant questioning and scrutiny of everything related to the project. This isn't just meetings, it continues throughout the drive(s) to site and back, lunch, dinner, beers afterwards, not constrained to one lease or commodity but any type of deposit we can target anywhere else in the world. It's not a bad thing - it's part of the job after all - but I haven't had that sort of scientific challenge since uni, and it's added on top of the normal pressure from your project being reviewed. I freely admit most of the pressure comes from my own expectations.
It can then be hard to relax after hours when you're with the same people you were arguing with an hour ago, unlike in bigger companies/minesites where you can go and have a beer with different people. I took my boss into Bairro Alto bar-hopping and ran into one of our geos, who was a little scarred by having to deal with both of her bosses drunk. It is also interesting going sightseeing with the guys, we went back to Sintra for more fish on the beach but toured the palace this time (resisting temptation to post pics - I'm really going to have set my Flickr up soon). As a result of the guys visiting I've now been to a bullfight which is another post.
Torre de Belem - the Old Customs House. 
Built in the middle of the Tejo, subsequent land reclamation means it is now on the shoreline
Another consequence was the media flurry following my director presenting to government/industry and the government milking publicity to prove they encourage investment. First I knew was a radio journalist at the front door of the office, followed by a TV crew. While we were having lunch in the cafe a different TV channel had the story (although they interviewed a farmer and the old guys in the village square). Last week another newspaper interview during which they took 40 photos of me in the office (great example of a geo). Self obsession- spending 3euros on the paper to see the article. Irony- a photo of an abandoned mine being used for the article. The result of all this attention is a heap of calls "Can you tell me the email of the director of Human Resources?" "I am a supplier of survey instruments...". Today I had a geo knock on the door and ask if there's any vacancies.
The reason is that we are one of only a few exploration/mining companies in Portugal. The two big mines (Neves Corvo Cu-Zn and Panasqueria tungsten) are re-starting near-mine exploration now because of the boom. Of the other 3 companies we are the most active (and high-profile!) and also the ones closest to mining. A new mine is unusual, even though there were 80 mines active in Portugal 25 years ago. Geologists here work in engineering geology, quarrying (for construction or ornamental rocks e.g. marble - its deposit characteristics/genesis is a big part of geological courses here) or stay at university doing research so we are a unique and reasonably attractive employer. It means a short-term operation is a novel concept too - I was asked in last weeks interview "So what will happen after those 5-10 years of mining?" where that question wouldn't be relevant in Australia. 5 years is a reasonable life for a gold mine, especially with underground potential, and a company wouldn't be expected to detail further plans until the inital mining phase is running.
Bill's Safety Observation 01/2006 - Alfama, Lisbon
An aside about health and safety - great news about the Beaconsfield guys getting out but I don't understand the calls for the mine to be shut. It needs an inquiry/investigation but I suspect there will be little wrong with the operating procedures they were following or present in the mine. While mines are operating they are under strict guidelines both legislative and professional and unfortunately rockfalls/seismicity can still result from the ground they are working under - more rock-bolting or longer exclusion periods following blasting are not really controls. Where they should look is the approvals prior to new mines starting, especially in the current resources boom, as this is where the problems usually stem from. There's no way to re-build a mine based on incomplete geotechnical data or using the wrong mining method used, you can't put all the dirt back in the hole and start again. When you compare Australia's record against China (contrasting news stories in the same week) or other countries the laws, procedures and guidelines in place did their job - they enabled two guys to have a chance at life where in 90% of countries they would've had no chance (its also a reflection on the value of a life - similar efforts might not have been made). Interesting to hear the guys talking about how much their training helped them to deal with the situation - I remember course after course with drillers sitting around complaining that they had to be there. I wonder if those guys listened to that and understood why it is so important.
So then almost back to "normal" last week, couple of dinners out and nights in the pub, beach day on Saturday, some nice "shells"/clams, back to the gym yesterday. The project review also meant more planning so a better idea of what the next few months hold with August a little clearer and the end of the year planned too - Christmas in Africa it is. Still trying to sneak that Berlin trip in there. The only certainty is that I will be busy - the other good thing about this job is that you get a lot closer to the business end and get more opportunities there. I opened my mouth this trip and as a result I'm coordinating a pre-feas study, I know it won't all be my baby and also that it's a stretch (there's a lot of dumb questions being fired around my contacts list at the moment) but it lets me try different things and learn more, instead of just planning/running work programmes. Having said that I now have to go and plan more drilling.
The apostrophes in this post are brought to you by Stern Taskmistress Glitz
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