Edited by Lynda Bloom and Owen Lavin
Writing Geochemical Reports: Guidelines for surficial geochemical surveys was first conceived and written by Dr. Stan Hoffman and was published in 1986 by the Association of Exploration Geochemists as Special Volume No. 12. Stan was an energetic and passionate geochemist working for a large mining and exploration company based in British Columbia, Canada. In his job, he saw a lot of reports about surficial geochemical surveys and he recognized the need for rigour and standardization in this relatively young field of exploration geochemistry. During this time, geochemical reports were confined to hardcopy black-and-white documents.
Fifteen years later, advances in the science of exploration geochemistry necessitated a modernization of the original guidelines. Lynda Bloom, together with several co-contributors, produced the second edition in 2001.
Twenty years hence, advances in technology have again made some of the earlier recommendations obsolete. Importantly, electronic publication of reports has become the norm, enhanced by the ability to bundle text, tables, figures, images, and oversized maps into one electronic file.
This third edition expands the original mandate of surficial geochemical reports to include multiple types of geochemical surveys with survey-specific recommendations.