Evan Draayers continued work on his PhD research project, aimed primarily at providing new insights into the petrogenesis of high-Ca boninite and related lavas from the Hunter Ridge, SW Pacific, largely through detailed investigation of phenocryst mineralogy and lava geochemistry.

During 2018, the work has focussed on establishing genetic relationships between spatial and temporal data on the lavas with variations in their isotope geochemistry, mineral chemistry and the degree of enrichment in incompatible trace elements. These results will be combined in a revised model of boninite petrogenesis.

Evan Draayers continued work on his PhD research project, aimed primarily at providing new insights into the petrogenesis of high-Ca boninite and related lavas from the Hunter Ridge, SW Pacific, largely through detailed investigation of phenocryst mineralogy and host-rock ‘groundmass’ geochemistry.

Evan was able to calibrate and use a relatively novel method for derivation of bulk compositional data for entire phenocryst populations (namely olivine and orthopyroxene) by combining BSE-mosaic imagery with EPMA and LA-ICP-MS data. Late 2017 saw the return of radiogenic isotope data for 12 samples (submitted for analysis in 2016), an invaluable tool for modelling of mantle components involved in magma genesis. Throughout 2017, Evan achieved comprehensive characterisation of geochemistry and mineralogy for most of his 24 chosen representative samples, allowing him to begin working on the various geochemical modelling techniques required to build an internally consistent petrogenetic model for the Hunter Ridge boninites and related rocks in early 2018.