2024-03-18 00:01
Thanks to my friends who commented for this piece. You know who you are.
PDAC has come and gone, marking -for me- the unofficial end of yet another underwhelming year for mining and explo… Read More
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Urban Crows, A Personal Blog
urbancrows.com
Earth Science, Mining, Crows, Classical Music, Crystals, Drinks & Me. What's not to like? My Twitter Feed: https://twitter.com/ralph_rushton
2024-01-21 23:57
The Campo Del Cielo meteorite.
Life’s little rituals are important. I have one that takes place every March and is something I look forward to in these troubled times we live i… Read More
2023-12-31 00:20
The Puna Eruption
The last thing most people would put on their Xmas list is “Dear Santa, please could I have an active volcano in my back yard”. For sure there’d be adv… Read More
2023-10-31 22:04
Blowin’ In The Wind
(click above..you won’t be sorry)
One of my bestest favouritest rocks is a ventifact (pictured below). It sat on my office desk in downtown Vancouver… Read More
2023-10-15 23:34
A Surfeit of Sulphides
I was fondling my rocks the other night -something I do often- gently touching them, stroking each one, talking to them like the fine old friends they are. My colle… Read More
2023-09-19 00:39
i·so·la·tion
/ˌīsəˈlāSHən/
noun: 1. “the isolation of geologists”
We’re Lonely Bastards
Every geologist has e… Read More
2023-09-07 01:49
How to screw up a presentation.
Stuck to a stained, gray padded seat in the speaking hall at yet another retail investment conference, the guy in front of you is falling asleep as the pre… Read More
2023-08-24 00:53
A scattering of ashes.
Ilkley Moor is a small, windy, heather-covered hill in Yorkshire in northern England. It’s due north of the old textile city of Bradford, in the heartland of… Read More
2023-07-21 22:22
*the new official spelling of the country’s name.
High up in the mountains of northeast Türkiye -up where the borders of Georgia, Türkiye and Armenia meet- the terrane is… Read More
2023-05-05 22:19
Pt 2 was originally written for my friends at the Northern Miner hence it’s not as sweary as my usual pieces. Which is a pity.
Strolling around PDAC in March, I ended up in the core… Read More
2023-02-25 23:12
Apologies for the picture quality in this piece. I can’t get the old school photos out of the old photo album -they’re stuck down firm after 40 years under a sticky plastic film… Read More
2023-02-11 19:42
Turkey (*now known officially as Türkiye) -a country I know fairly well and have always loved visiting- has been on my mind recently for both good and sad reasons. I’d just finish… Read More
2022-12-13 01:18
I was never really one for keeping a diary; I’m fundamentally too lazy, and not nearly introspective enough to sit down every day after my sausage-and-mash supper to scribble down the… Read More
2022-12-03 01:18
Of Limestone, Quarrymen and Apple Laxative
Today’s news is all thoroughly depressing. The BBC is spouting on about the war in the Ukraine. There’s ongoing chaos on Britain&rsq&hell…Read More
2022-10-30 22:23
Most earth scientists are deeply passionate about their science, treating it as a vocation -a true calling- and not just any old degree. And they tend to feel the same way about beer, applyi… Read More
2022-10-14 00:23
My last shift working as an underground geologist wasn’t planned. It just sort of happened. In October 1987, I had 1 month left on a 3-year contract in South Africa. I was looking forw… Read More
2022-08-19 18:33
A Brief Science Diversion
Hands up if you’ve heard of pseudotachylite? No? Neither had I until 1984 when – as a fresh faced geology graduate- I landed my first job underground… Read More
2022-07-15 02:11
Four sweaty men and a few pints of cider.
Two years ago, in a moment of remarkable prescience for yours truly, I had an idea. Good ideas don’t come often to me so I had to act fast… Read More
2022-06-22 22:48
Line Ups, Cut Outs & Simulcasts
In this brave new COVID world, the threat of infectious diseases is everywhere. So, when Father’s Day weekend came around just post-PDAC I was fe… Read More
2022-06-10 03:08
Normal service is resumed on the Urbancrows Blog. Lucky you.
October 2021 – the last day of the New Orleans Investment Conference. After 3 long days in the Hilton hotel on Poydrass… Read More
2022-03-21 00:12
Along the edge of the tideline.
Shuffling along the winter tideline, layered in strata of sweaters and a damp anorak, I finally spotted what I was looking for; a small, rounded translucen… Read More
2022-02-09 23:09
It’s Bloody Grim
By the start of 1995, I’d been working as a geologist for Rio Tinto *boo hiss* in Turkey for about 18 months. I was unhappy with the terms of my employment -w… Read More
2022-01-28 23:14
Regular readers of this blog (both of you) might recall a few stories about my time in western Pakistan in the late 1990s. It was bloody amazing; rough country but an extraordinary experienc… Read More
2022-01-16 22:42
God, I Feel Old.
This is the second of 2 posts on the joys of interviewing & hiring geologists and engineers. See also Arms and the Man.
I’ve finally admitted an awful truth… Read More
2022-01-04 00:08
Or, how to interview a heavily armed geologist.
Recruiting geologists for a project is a tricky business. For all sorts of reasons, someone who comes across well in an interview can be an… Read More
2021-12-15 05:11
I was back home in Brexit land in October and again in November. In between moping on the forecourts of sucked-dry gas stations, getting rained on in Wales, and being depressed in downtrodde… Read More
2021-11-09 03:37
I bloody love Iceland
It’s full of rocks and puffins and volcanoes and ponies and geysers and more volcanoes and stuff. And it’s a geologist’s wet dream, although I don… Read More
2021-10-15 22:51
ooer…
One of the joys of a career in geology is the opportunity it affords humble earth scientists to get closer to nature, David Attenborough style. Sometimes a bit too close. Her… Read More
2021-09-19 00:47
Social media is full of idiots. Doesn’t matter what topic you’re following -astronomy, koala bears, aliens or cross-dressing nuns – someone has a stupid fringe opinion that… Read More
2021-09-01 02:10
Adventures with A Fib
It’s been a few months since I published anything on my motley blog. I’ve been distracted by on going health issues that bullied their way into the tranq… Read More
2021-06-07 01:37
Thanks go to my colleague Polar Bear Dave for filling in the blanks and sending me his pictures from the trip.
“A hungry dog believes in nothing but meat.”Anton Chekhov, … Read More
2021-05-24 23:56
This slightly sarcastic piece was massively improved by contributions from 4 colleagues: -Brent, Owen, Neil & Mike- all of whom I’ve been lucky enough to know for years. Thanks cha… Read More
2021-05-11 22:17
In a departure from the usual mining-related sarcastic drivel, here is a short story about my mother’s dim and distant origins -and hence mine too- which are rooted in one of the key h… Read More
2021-04-12 16:36
Full credit to Kevin Broomberg for writing this down, sending it to me, giving me permission to publish it, and putting up with my simplistic edits.
When I grow up I want to be an ostrich… Read More
2021-04-02 21:51
Credit where credit is due. A huge thank you upfront to my friend and colleague Dave for a) suggesting this great story, which he first told me years back, and b) writing it all down coheren… Read More
2021-03-25 22:07
There’s Been A Death In The Family
The name of this blog is Urban Crows; a name I picked for its obvious links to earth science. Ha ha.
Three years ago, as a distraction from wor… Read More
2021-03-20 02:28
The junior exploration world revolves around new discoveries. It’s what we live for. Everyone gets excited when someone finds something significant; shareholders, management and the ba… Read More
2021-03-11 00:00
They Thought They’d Get Away With It.
Names, dates, locations have been excised from this story to protect anyone who needs protecting -yes, even the guilty parties. People and comp… Read More
2021-02-11 00:16
It all spells trouble.
Miners have more than their fair share of superstitions. The nasty, smelly bowels of the earth aren’t kind to those who choose to grub around down there, and… Read More
2021-01-25 00:52
To everyone who’s ever read anything on the Urbancrows blog. Sometime last week, the blog sailed past 50,000 hits: not readers, hits -so some are return users (why, oh why, would you c… Read More
2021-01-21 04:58
One key lesson that my glittering multi-decade career at the cutting edge of mineral exploration has taught me – which I touched on in an earlier post– is that much of your unive… Read More
2020-11-28 01:05
Every geologist owns (or should own) an A to Z of geological terms. Mine is a dog-eared Penguin paperback; a nerd-fest of geoscience words that was used over and over when I was still learni… Read More
2020-08-14 00:13
I’ll Take Disclosure for $500 Please.
Urbancrows’ adult education series continues today with a post focused on junior mining company news releases.
All the news that&rsqu&hell…Read More
2020-08-01 00:26
One day in early September 1981, my dad dropped me and my Berghouse backpack off at a scummy B&B at No. 14 Nightingale Road, Southsea, what was then the red-light district of Portsmouth… Read More
2020-06-24 23:28
Why Is It Mining, Always Bloody Mining?
I know. I hear you. I’ve been so preoccupied dredging up old mining stories from the caved-in stopes of my aging brain, I’d clean forgo… Read More
2020-06-13 19:33
A Biographical Interlude
Tell me Ralph, how did you end up in Africa working down a mine? How did a middle class boy from southeast Kent, of distinctly average intelligence, end up in exo… Read More
2020-06-07 23:45
Ore Pass Mapping
Mines are amazing places. I’ve made no secret on the blog for my love of underground. The smells, the sounds. It’s visceral shit that gets deeply ingrained. I… Read More
2020-04-24 22:25
Rock Licking
What’s the most daring thing you’ve ever licked- something that you’re happy to talk about in polite company which isn’t a body part?
When I was ve… Read More
2020-04-17 23:20
I regard geophysics as a necessary evil -something proper geologists use to find out useful things about rocks but should otherwise avoid if they know what’s good for them. Some people… Read More
2020-03-31 18:23
Rock & Mineral Collecting
“The 4 stages of addiction: Experimentation, Regular Use, Problem Use, Addiction / Dependency”
My name’s Ralph. I write the urbancrows b… Read More
2020-03-21 20:10
The Self-Isolation-Round-The-World-In-14-Days Tour
I flew in from Santiago last Tuesday with a plane load of worried Canadians heading home from their business trips, or cancelled cruises… Read More
2020-03-14 21:46
..once the Atacama coughs me up.
The endless Chilean desert has claimed me this week. Five days tooling around the Atacama with 2 fellow geologists is a great way to avoid the zombie-mark… Read More
2020-03-03 21:16
Mexican Beer Edition
Isn’t Toronto lovely this time of year. Parks, the lake, pretty girls in outdoor cafes…the early spring sun breaking through. A sense of rebirth lurking… Read More
2020-02-18 02:55
Useless Undergraduate Studies.
If you’re reading the urbancrows blog, there’s an above average chance that you might be a trained geologist, you poor soul. Which means you spe… Read More
2020-01-21 23:34
Marketing.
Listen up, all you young whippersnapper geologists out there. Yes, you at the back, the spotty one staring down the microscope. Are you looking to forge a career in the junior… Read More
2020-01-14 01:17
An upfront PS
I started this post on the weekend. I was already feeling slightly pensive tapping away at my keyboard, as I knew that my beautiful, warm-hearted dog, Toffee, was heading to… Read More
2020-01-04 00:57
A real haiku. Honest.The Final Results For 2019.
First: The Rules
It’s time for the year-end results of the Hys and Lows resource stock picking club, where world’s greatest… Read More
2019-12-30 06:36
A couple of years back, I was walking with a friend through the Christmas market on the southern end of Hungerford Bridge in London. It’s an interesting, brutalist spot for a market, t… Read More
2019-12-19 06:15
For Sure.
I’ve made no secret here at urbancrows about my love of classical music, particularly the canon of music that’s been composed for the guitar. In a previous piece I s… Read More
2019-12-17 04:02
Things Geologists Do. Part Something.
Mine geologists –whatever their species, open pit or underground- will eventually end up supervising drill machines.
Open pit mine geologis… Read More
2019-12-06 01:22
With Christmas just around the corner, towns and cities around the UK -and Canada too for that matter- begin to sprout outdoor Christmas markets like mushrooms on a cowpat. They pop up anywh… Read More
2019-12-03 01:13
Warning. This blog post/rant contains black humour about various things including my dad who’s not very well. If that’s not your thing, look away now.
The Rules
It’s… Read More
2019-11-15 02:06
Months back I went on a bit of a rant about my contempt for the myriad metaphysical powers that some people ascribe to crystals. Kundalini tickling, energizing chakras, transporting you to a… Read More
2019-11-03 18:52
I’m currently enjoying some southern hospitality in the Big Easy. Last night’s adventures involved a rather nice plate of smoked beef short rib. Normal service will be resumed wh… Read More
2019-10-19 18:56
Sex, lies and phone calls.
Geologists aren’t born deviant. We usually start out as normal people. But prolonged isolation – weeks and weeks in the field without a break- can d… Read More
2019-10-12 18:58
Buying Rugs In Pakistan
The city of Quetta is a dump. It’s the provincial capital of Baluchistan, the western most province of Pakistan. It sticks out like a nasty looking spike, wi… Read More
2019-10-03 21:09
More from the world’s greatest stock picking club!
Greeting
Stockpickers,
It’s time for another look at how Hys and Lows, the world’s greatest mining stock picking cl… Read More
2019-09-24 01:39
Where’d The Sunshine Go?
It’s that time of the year in BC. The weather’s gone all autumnal and
rainy – the fine, misty, miserable drizzle that gets in through any… Read More
2019-09-17 02:59
Some people are accident prone. It’s a fact. They have a higher predisposition to kitchen injuries, car crashes and the like and it’s a bloody miracle that some of them mak… Read More
2019-09-08 22:03
A Walk Along The Edge Of The Roman Empire
Two thousand years before Donald Trump’s underfunded (and, as yet, fruitless) efforts at walling in the US, the Romans were busy building w… Read More
2019-09-02 22:15
Greeting
Stockpickers,
With summer slipping away and September upon us, it’s time for another look at how the world’s greatest mining stock picking club (Hys and Lows) is fari… Read More
2019-08-29 01:12
Of Sticks and Stone
(I hadn’t
planned on a Part 2 to my recent Yemeni post, but this story climbed out of my distant
memories and seemed to fit.)
Western-style mineral exploratio… Read More
2019-08-17 22:11
The Tethyan Belt Is Calling
After the collapse of the Iron Curtain, Eastern Europe was a rich hunting ground for mineral exploration companies. In the mid-1990s I was part of a small, ent… Read More
2019-08-14 00:53
I Love Pain.
This week I’m diving head-first into the murk, to take an unpleasant look at the slimy underbelly of the junior mining world. Yes, I’m talking about an ugly hidde… Read More
2019-08-10 01:48
Love this.
No wonder my projects never worked out. They were lemons.
The post Know Your Minerals. Gold. appeared first on The Urban Crows Blog Read More
2019-08-08 17:24
& The Art Of Thinking On Your Feet
Eleven out of ten mining and exploration professionals, particularly geostatisticians, agree that the science of sampling is crucial to the discove… Read More
2019-08-04 18:35
A Tale Of Equipment Lost
Production is everything in mining. Sorry, I meant to say that safe production is everything. You can’t make money from a big hole in the ground if nothing… Read More
2019-07-24 03:10
I spent last weekend lolling around in the sunshine at the Vancouver folk music festival, down at Vancouver’s dusty Jericho Beach Park. It’s a wonderfully scenic spot for a fun w… Read More
2019-07-17 01:30
Things Geologists Do. Part 2.
Earth scientists are a well-educated bunch, although we don’t always come across as clever when we’re 5 beers in to our cups. Most geologists &nd&hell…Read More
2019-07-02 21:30
at the end of Hadrian’s Wall
For the next week, give or take a day, my wife and I will be hobbling along the full 135km length of Hadrian’s Wall in northern England, pork pie… Read More
2019-06-26 21:40
Have A Look. Over There —>—>—>
Blogging is
a lonely business. I sit in the urbancrows eRookery (my home office), writing and
posting, day in, day out with only… Read More
2019-06-26 05:06
Serious Advice For Resource Investors
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of be… Read More
2019-06-18 01:27
Geology students are trained to identify the commonest rock- and ore-forming minerals. It’s a vital skill for professional geologist. Sulphides, silicates, oxides, phosphates; we slog… Read More
2019-06-16 00:39
A Musical Interlude
If you asked me to list my Top 10 “go to” classical music pieces, I’d start by opening up iTunes and taking a gander at what I’ve listened to t… Read More
2019-06-11 21:12
The Northern Miner’s Got It In For me*.
Despite my lonely role as the solitary occupant of the urbancrows e-rookery, from time to time I do get to celebrate a small win; some minor… Read More
2019-06-08 18:32
A Thames Odyssey
Billy Beefeater. He’s funny and he knows it.
A good tour guide who can educate, amuse and engage all at once is a rare beast. Take Billy Beefeater, for example… Read More
2019-06-06 21:35
Report Writing.
In an earlier blog post, I took an unpleasant but necessary dive into the murky waters of earth science to ask the question “What Is A Geologist?” All very use… Read More
2019-06-03 00:02
Stock picking club update
What follows is an edited version of my monthly junior mining update to the members of the carnivorous stock picking club informally known (for this month anyway… Read More
2019-05-29 20:55
Crows are smart. How smart? Pretty bloody clever if you ask me. Their ingenuity never fails to impress.
Crows on my fridge.
Last weekend I hosted a boozy dads’ weekend at our cab… Read More
2019-05-22 03:24
All The Rules You Need To Know.
Over the weekend, I was perusing archived computer files from my days with Anglo American PLC in London, 20 years ago. It was a bit of a lost cause- I was… Read More
2019-05-15 04:05
Going my way?
Hands up if you’ve ever hitch hiked anywhere? You know, the old-fashioned thumb up, side-of-the-road-have-back-pack-will-travel way? We’ve all thumbed a last-min… Read More
2019-05-09 20:59
Last week, a regular Urbancrows reader emailed me to suggest I write about what minerals geologists actually do. Not a bad idea thinks I, from up high on my perch in the Urbancrows e-rookery… Read More
2019-05-07 22:55
My friend Brent posted a link on Twitter today to an article about the inexorable growth in wind power capacity in the US. It reminded me that I’d been sitting on this piece about wind… Read More
2019-05-04 17:35
A Cheese Primer for Investors
There’s
nothing like a cheesy marketing cliché in a news release to make you immediately
buy a bucket-load of a company’s stock, right? Sp… Read More
2019-05-01 18:38
Stock picking club update.
What follows is an edited version of my monthly junior mining update to the members of the steak-eating-red-wine-drinking stock picking club informally known as… Read More
2019-04-26 00:54
I’m a wannabe classical guitar player. The trouble is, I’m too bloody old to practice enough to get to the standard I’d like to reach. So, I lied. I’m not really a gu… Read More
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