At Northparkes - Early on the following morning, Tuesday 5 November, the group checked out from their Parkes motel and drove to the CMOC Northparkes porphyry copper-gold deposit. Northparkes is an efficient, highly automated underground block cave operation. On site the group was given an excellent, detailed and insightful presentation on the geology, alteration and mineralisation at the deposit with plenty of scope for questions and discussion. This was followed by a study of core from selected representative drill holes through the deposits of the cluster. The presentation and drill core study was led by senior CMOC geological staff who also pointed out textures, rock, mineralogical and vein relationships in core and their implications for the occurrence, formation and controls of mineralisation. In the mid afternoon, after what had been an impressive visit, the group departed and drove north to Dubbo to catch the 5 pm Rex flight to Sydney. Members of the initial group left the tour at this stage, with the first of the new group joining in Sydney after having flown in from Canada a little earlier in the day. The continuing group flew south to Melbourne on an 8:00 pm flight to stay overnight at a hotel at Melbourne Airport in readiness for an early start next morning. Other new members joined the group at the same hotel that evening. The background to this image is bornite-rich vein and disseminated, potassic altered, quartz-feldspar porphyry from Northparkes.     Images by Mike Porter.