It’s amazing that approximately one-half of my term as president of the AAPG Energy Minerals Division is behind me at the time of this writing. Letting this inescapable passage of time sink in, I find myself asking why it is that we never fully realize the goals we set out to accomplish. The closest answer I could find is the “Hemmingway effect.” In short, the effect is derived from one of Hemmingway’s quotes: When asked how much you should write in a day, Hemmingway stated, “The best way is to stop when you are going good and when you know what will happen next. If you do that every day when you are writing a novel you will never be stuck.”
This puts me at ease in knowing that every single day is packed with multitudes of tasks, small steps, and the eventual completion with the knowledge of where I will start the following day without necessarily knowing where it will end.
Energy minerals have always been lurking in the background, silently supporting societal progress without the usual spectacle accompanied by paradigm-shifting discoveries. Looking back at decades’ worth of AAPG EXPLORER issues, many of the cover stories lay bare the gradual exposure of energy minerals into the light. Energy minerals continue to play a supporting role in most technologies, and as these become more prevalent, it is my hope that we don’t lose sight of how and where these energy minerals are being sourced.
Coming EMD Events
The Energy Minerals Division is holding on tightly as we move forward and have many upcoming events in 2023. These include local, regional and international as well as online and in-person events. So, really, none of you have any excuse to not attend at least one or all of the upcoming events.
The North American Petroleum Expo, or “NAPE,” as most of us know it, kicked off on Feb. 1. It is always a good litmus test on the health of the petroleum industry. NAPE is hosted in Houston and as such serves as a tropical destination for someone from Wyoming, like me.
The Energy Opportunities Conference and Exhibition held in person in Mexico City, Mexico from March 22-23, 2023, will have a session chaired by Emily Hersh and Adebayo Okunlola titled, “Critical Minerals Powering the Energy Transition.”
The North American Helium Exploration Conference is also coming up in Denver, Colo. in March and, without question, will have some of the best and brightest in this burgeoning mineral industry.
The EMD will also host its own online seminars throughout the year. There is one that has been in the works for quite some time on mud volcanoes (a quick shoutout to Mark Tingay – let’s make this happen!) as well as one on hydrogen (Geoffrey).
We have a very dedicated and experienced group of individuals here at the Energy Minerals Division so please do not hesitate to reach out. I strongly encourage all of you reading this to contact us and become a part of the Energy Minerals Division of the AAPG.
In addition, we are also looking for cabinet members, so if you are interested in increasing your commitment to AAPG and become part of the growing energy minerals sector, please reach out and volunteer.
Thank you all for taking the time to read this and your commitment to science. Please visit the EMD YouTube page at: YouTube.com/@energymineralsdivision4537 and look for our Division and committee pages on LinkedIn.