PGC International Study Tours

The PGC International Study Tour series of professional development courses is targeted at geologists & related professionals within the mineral exploration and mining industry.

The concept is that the best way to teach geoscientists more about ore deposits is to visit the best examples available - wherever they may be in the world - and learn from those that know them the best - the geologists that work on and around them.

Two tours are usually run per year visiting classic mines and ore deposits around the globe. Each tour has a targeted theme, and is supported by field traverses, core inspections and workshops/seminars presented by renowned experts.

Early tours were usually divided into compact, intensive, optional modules & parts of 5 to 10 days that allow participants to focus on their specific interests without being taken away from their projects for an extended period.

More recent tours have allowed participants to take any minimum block of 4 or 5 consecutive days, up to the full tour, as suits their interests and availability on a sliding cost scale.

Tours are generally attended by professionals from all parts of the globe, representing many of the world's major mining & exploration companies, as well as mid-size or juniors, government geological surveys and individual consultants. They bring a breadth of knowledge and international experience that broadens and enriches the discussion and greatly enhances the tour as the group travels together and views the deposits visited from their varying perspectives and backgrounds.

While the primary focus of the tours is geological, attention is also devoted to the mining, metallurgical and economic aspects of each operation to the degree requested by the tour participants.

From the Past Tours page you may read descriptions of previous tours and the geology of the deposits visited, review articles published in trade magazines summarising past tours and what they involved, as well as other pages describing the organisational and logistics detail of each.

See the New Tours listing on the International Study Tours Home Page for new tours available for registration now & those planned for the future.