Key points
- Dr Ryan Noble has been awarded the Roy Woodall Medal by the Australian Geoscience Council.
- The medal recognises scientific excellence in mineral exploration methodology.
- Ryan's work includes the development of soil analysis technology UltraFine+®.
Our research scientist Dr Ryan Noble has been awarded the prestigious Roy Woodall Medal by the Australian Geoscience Council.
The medal recognises scientific excellence in mineral exploration methodology and the documentation of world-class mineral deposits.
Ryan received the accolade for his leadership in advancing the scientific understanding of soil, regolith, groundwater, and gas geochemistry methodologies.
"Reflecting the background of Roy Woodall, especially the way he mentored teams and ideas, I’m very grateful for all the mentors I’ve had in my science. They have all mentored my research and made me think differently about the world and its challenges," Ryan says.
"I’ve been able to question exploration practices from different perspectives and bring different approaches to this industry, thanks to their guidance and the support of CSIRO, various governments and the industry that have been involved with numerous research projects."
Ryan is a regolith geochemist who has been with CSIRO, Australia's national science agency, for 19 years. As well as the establishment of a comprehensive groundwater dataset, and research into gas geochemistry, his work includes the development of groundbreaking soil analysis technology UltraFine+®.
UltraFine+®, soil sampling for gold
Ryan was heavily influential in developing this gold exploration technique with partners including the Minerals Research Institute of Western Australia, LabWest, the Geological Survey of Western Australia, and exploration companies.
The process Ryan helped develop, separates soil samples into ultra fine particles fewer than two microns, before it is then analysed. The smaller soil particles allow us to see very low levels of gold.
Since it was commercialised in 2020, UltraFine+® has been used to reanalyse old soil surveys to help identify new areas for gold exploration, and has been taken up by more than 160 mineral explorers.
Dedicated to his science, Ryan is also Chair of Australian Earth Science Education, a fellow of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists and the Association of Applied Geochemists.
Ryan’s work has significantly impacted mineral exploration research in Australia.
"My next R&D challenges are looking at larger and better landscape maps for Australia that are fit for exploration purposes, and possibly a better understanding of our salt lakes, the resources they mask and host, and how to understand them better in general," Ryan says.
"That is going to be more technically challenging than some of the other projects I’ve been involved with, but no less exciting."