Obituary
No Colours. Gone Fishing
A tribute to Jackson Lum, geologist
Many an exploration geologist after a long toil in the sun looking for gold up the creeks on our Pacific Islands knows well the meaning of "no colours". The frustration of finding no sign of a new gold prospect. It might well be softened at the thought of going fishing.
Jackson Lum, an exploration geologist by profession, gave up a long toil with cancer when he passed away peacefully at his home in Suva at the young age of 47. Jack has gone fishing. To many who knew him, outside of his private family life, Jack had two passions, one was his work and the second fishing.
- ADVERTISEMENT -
His work involved an all too short a career during which he spent over half as a servant of the region. Born in Ba, Fiji, Jack was educated at Xavier College and the University of the South Pacific before joining the Fiji Mineral Resources Department.
Subsequently, at the University of Leeds he gained a Masters degree in geochemistry. Following further work back in Fiji, Jack began his regional career first at the East-West Centre at the University of Hawaii and then to the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) where he had been Head of the Mineral Resources Unit for the past nearly nine years.
His career had taken him into the field in many Pacific island countries, notably in Melanesia. During these times in "the bush" Jack honed his knowledge of the region, about its geology and its people. For sure during bush-life with local field assistants he developed his deep desire to pass on his skills to other nationals from the region. He was a good teacher.
His geological knowledge of the region extended from the islands themselves and their contained mineral resources to the deep ocean floor. Whilst at SOPAC he was responsible for the overall coordination of all deep ocean mineral exploration in the region, most notably the multi-million dollar intergovernmental Japan/SOPAC Deepsea Mineral Exploration Program which is now in its 17th year. It has included work in waters of Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. This potential seabed wealth includes the polymetallic manganese nodules, the cobalt-enriched manganese crusts as well as the hydrothermal vent massive sulphide ores together with their unique biota.
Only a few years ago, Jack like many others, did not consider that licences to private companies for seabed exploration would be issued before the turn of the century. When Papua New Guinea did so, all were proved wrong, and legislation was left wanting. At the time of his death Jack had been assisting Papua New Guinea and other countries of the region with potential seabed mineral wealth, develop guidelines to assist them with developing their offshore mining potential.
The "Madang Guidelines..." produced in 1999 will live as testimony to Jack¹s efforts in this regard. Back "on island" Jack's regional knowledge of mineral potential was second to none. He provided ongoing advice to Kiribati with work on the phosphate deposit on Banaba as well as the much lesser known gypsum deposit on Malden. But inevitably it was the islands of Melanesia that dominate the "Pacific Ring of Fire" in the south and west Pacific that commanded much of Jack¹s time. When Solomon Islands was moving forward to reopen Gold Ridge, Jack was recruited as an adviser to government. When Vanuatu wanted an education program for landowners about mineral exploration they turned to Jack. In Fiji following on from his earlier career days with Mineral Resources, Jack spent his last days in the field looking for the gold "colours" in the Nasivi River delta draining across the Tavua Volcano which contains the Vatukoala Gold Mine. These "colours" maybe leading the way to alluvial gold dredging in the future.
Throughout his working life Jack was fascinated by the potential for alluvial (placer) gold potential around the high islands of Melanesia. In his paper "Placer Gold Potential of Fiji, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu", published in 1995 Jack's words expressed clearly his passionate belief.
"Although most of the South Pacific gold deposits were discovered by following colours in the respective rivers and coastline, there is so far no major discovery of a large economic placer occurrence. Why? Simply there has been little or no explorations.".
Jack's other passion, fishing, brought with it all and more of the usual fishing stories about the one that got away. Whatever the yarn about what happened fishing there was never any doubt about Jack's passion for fishing left in the mind of a person who had the privilege to watch him prepare the sashimi from the unfortunate tuna that didn¹t get away.
As the sun sets over Dogowale, the evening shadows are cast on the peace and tranquility of Yarawa Bay and Serua Reef, a favourite fishing area of Jack¹s along the southern Viti Levu coast. Jack is now at rest, gone fishing, after an all too short a career looking for "colours".
Sadly, the region has lost a sincere and faithful servant. To Norah and family members, we extend to you our deepest sympathies.
-Russell Howorth Program Manager , South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC). based in Suva, Fiji.
