Daniel Franks

Experience:

• 9 months experience working as a Petrographer, specialising in engineering and construction applications, through thin section evaluation using a polarized microscope and national/international standards
• 1.5 years’ research into the geochemistry and geochronology of volcanic intrusions in coal seams in the Bowen Basin QLD, including finding a potential source and mechanism of phosphorus contamination.
• Extensive field experience in a range of geological environments, including Bowen Basin QLD, New England Orogen QLD, Flinders Rangers SA, and Sydney Basin NSW

Geology consultancy work includes:

Petrographic examination with vol% count of minerals of quarry products (igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks and sands) for various construction applications through thin section evaluation using a polarizing microscope in accordance with international/Australian standards.  Includes comments on suitability for construction uses as well as free silica and asbestiform content.

Determination of secondary mineral content (or soft, weak minerals) by detailed counting under a petrological microscopic and visual counts of unsound fragments in an aggregate sample by Australian standards.

Analysis of frictional ignition potential of sediments in underground coal mines using Ward’s classification.  Involves petrographic identification and categorisation of minerals into grouping largely based on hardness of minerals plotted onto a ternary diagram.

Education:

• Bachelor of Science with Distinction (Geology), Queensland University of Technology.
  Awarded 2015
• Master of Mineral Resources, The University of Queensland Thesis:  Magmatic events in the South Walker Creek area and their relationship to coal mineralogy. Submitted 2020