Mega-conference To Consider Everything From Tsunami Risk And Water Exploration To Climate Change

Media release
Embargoed until first editions/bulletins, Monday 19 May 2008
(pre-interviews also available today, Sunday)

Mega-conference to consider everything from
tsunami risk and water exploration to climate change

More than 1000 geoscience experts from across the globe are expected to converge on Perth
this July for a global Earth Sciences conference, to hear the latest research on major
challenges affecting life on Earth.

The 2008 Australian Earth Sciences Convention will be held from 20-24 July 2008 and hosted by
the Geological Society of Australia and the Australian Institute of Geoscientists. It will feature more
than 135 Australian and international presenters, 450 papers and a wide-ranging program of
workshops and field trips.

"This major conference is considered a must-attend event for leading geoscientists from across the
world and many others from industry, government, research and academia" said Dr Jon Hronsky,
the Convention's Program Director and Director of the consulting group Western Mining Services.

"Its cutting-edge program will feature everything from Australia's future energy mix to what parts
of Australia (and what infrastructure assets) are most likely to be affected by tsunamis, from
groundwater exploration in Australia to groundwater contamination in the Himalayas, from climate
change to food traceability.

"The conference will also focus on a diverse range of topics including asteroids and their impact
with Earth, the geological history and future of Earth and the solar system, marine eco-systems,
major fossil finds and what they can tell us, how recent missions to Mars can help us better
understand the Earth, international hydrocarbon prospects, geo-tourism and even the geochemistry
of termite mounds!

"In focusing on critical topics such as tsunami and earthquake risks, climate change, carbon
sequestration, clean coal technologies, water contamination, water exploration, salinity, uranium
deposits and their production in a global context, and alternative energy sources like geothermal
energy, this conference really sets the agenda for scientific thinking on some of the biggest issues
being faced by Australia and indeed the planet.

"Australia is recognised as a world-leader in geoscientific research, a critical area of research when
you consider it covers many of the issues that pose the greatest threat to mankind and quality of life
resource depletion, geohazards like earthquakes and tsunamis, global warming, environmental
degradation, risks to food production, and food and water safety.



"In bringing together all the diverse areas of geoscience under one roof, the Australian Earth
Sciences Convention is a critical international forum for highlighting the latest research on these
and many other issues."

Effectively several major conferences wrapped into one, the Convention boasts five key themes:

Geoscience in the service of society
Resources foundation for our future
The evolution of life and the solar system
Earth's environments past, present and future
The dynamic Earth from crust to core

With the Convention being held in Perth for the first time since 1994, there is also a strong focus on
mineral exploration and potential discoveries in Western Australia itself, at a time when the
resources sector in that state is booming. Just some of the many topics focusing on WA include:

the prospects of frontier exploration areas onshore and offshore WA
WA's pre-competitive geoscience program underpinning exploration
the re-interpretation of old mining camps leading to surprising new discoveries
case studies of many minerals discoveries and provinces in WA

The Convention program will also look at the business end of exploration, such as:

the psychology of decision-making in exploration improving return on investment
cutting-edge technologies in resource imaging and exploration
Australian junior exploration floats and their implications for IPOs
initiatives to attract exploration investment
multiple papers on mining company exploration strategies

"For many geoscientists, the 2008 Australian Earth Sciences Convention is one they can't afford to
miss" Dr Hronsky said. "Put simply, it's a critical conference on the global geoscience calendar,
and one highlighting the big issues that could have a huge impact on life on Earth."


What: 2008 Australian Earth Sciences Convention
Where: Perth Convention & Exhibition Centre, Perth
When: Sunday 20 - Thursday 24 July 2008

Program info: The full program for the 2008 Australian Earth Sciences Convention
can be found at www.iceaustralia/aesc2008. Media can also access
an overview of the program at www.gsa.org.au/aesc_media-1.html.

Interested in attending? Please phone Patrick Daley or Sue Fletcher on the numbers below.

Available for interview: Dr Jon Hronsky (Convention Program Director), Professor Peter
Cawood (Vice President, Geological Society of Australia and
Convention Organising Committee member), and Sue Fletcher
(Executive Director of the Geological Society of Australia).

Media contacts: Patrick Daley (Patrick Daley Public Relations) on 0408 004 890 and
Sue Fletcher (Geological Society of Australia) on (02) 9290 2194 bh.