Summer 2013 - Country Roads

Chris points out how the head of his chisel has ‘mushroomed’ after years of use, and emphasizes the importance ofprotective eyewear to deflect bits of flying rock. Photo: Michelle Annette Tremblayments with earthquakes. They discovered that ifthey injected large quantities of water into theearth’s crust, they could cause an earthquake inan area with low seismic activity. Chris thoughtthis was fascinating and couldn’t stop thinkingabout it. He explains to me that the earth’s tectonicplates are always in slight motion, movingat a rate of about 5cm per year.“If the plates just slid past each other, thatwould be fine, but they rub, and they get stuck,”says Chris.This is a problem in areas like the San AndreasFault because it results in a build-up of pressure.When the pressure mounts too much, suddenlyyou’ve got a catastrophic quake. But - and thisis what young Chris found so interesting - if youintroduce a lubricant, you can help the platesslide against each other, releasing pressure andresulting in a series of small quakes rather thanone big destructive one. This idea of exertingsome control over nature, for the common good,excited Chris, and ultimately drove him to pursuegeophysics at Western University. Once hegot there though, he ended up switching focusslightly and going into broad geology. There arejust so many cool applications for a broad geologybackground.“Geophysics is what lured me to university,”Fouts says. “Geology is what kept me there.”He tells me a story of a DEA agent that wentmissing in Mexico some years ago. After the USGovernment put pressure on the Mexican Governmentto find the agent, he suddenly turned up. Or,rather, was dug up. It was big news at the time, sothe exhumation of the body was broadcast on CNN.Chris’ eyes sparkle as he tells me the next bit.“A geologist watching it on TV noticed thatthe soil on the body didn’t match the dirt at thesite,” says Chris. “So he phoned the FBI andsaid, ‘Hey, you guys probably already know this,but just in case...’” Chris chuckles. “They calledhim in for an interview and hired him as a forensicgeology consultant.”Your Pets Ad_Layout 1 10/25/12 2:12 PM Page 1This is what Chris really loves about prospecting.He says he feels like a detective. No, hedoesn’t solve crimes, but he uses a lot of deductivereasoning. The outcrops he studies give himall kinds of clues about what’s underneath.“I read the history of every rock I pass by likeit’s a book,” he says. “And the more I look at it,the more it tells me.”With his prospector’s heart, and his geologist’smind, Chris can look at a mineral specimen andtell you what it is and where it came from. Heexamines the shapes of the crystals, and the othertrace minerals present. With his trusty tools hecan pick into an outcrop and tell you whetheryou’re likely to find copper deposits underneath.He knows which minerals like to “hang out together.”That’s because he has a deep understandingof how elements on the earth come togetherto form minerals, and how, over time, heavierelements sink deep into the earth.Don’t worry though, you don’t need all ofChris’ insight or experience to go prospecting.You may not discover the next big iron depositbut you could probably find yourself a prettychunk of sodalite or quartz.“You’ll need a buddy, first of all, in case youget sick or injured. That and good footwear, ahat, and a chisel,” Fouts says, as he pulls out hisknapsack to show me. It’s a Swiss Army one,WindoW Ledge StairS • CaSketSBed StairS • SpeCiaL requeStS and more!CaLL uS todaY!terry Bell613-473-1589 • llebgt@hotmail.com,Summer 2013 • Country Roads I33