Spora's Explorers Fund

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The Spora's Explorers Fund has been established by the SEG Foundation at the request of Peter Spora's friends, family and colleagues.

Peter worked as an exploration geologist for more than 25 years and was involved in the generation, discovery, and definition of significant gold deposits in Australia and Africa. In more recent years, he was Exploration Manager Africa for Barrick Gold Corporation, VP Exploration for Acacia Mining, and EVP Growth & Discovery for Golden Star Resources. He was a strong role model and despite always being in a rush to get to the next deposit, he was never too busy to provide professional or personal advice, to share his experience, to help others grow in their role and beyond, and to provide them with hands on experience. Peter acted as a mentor to so many young geologists and professionals and he firmly believed that every geologist should have the opportunity to be exposed to as many deposits and geological structures as possible.

Peter died suddenly in December 2020 with so much still to offer those around him and the industry more broadly. The Spora's Explorers Fund will allow young African geologists to benefit from the areas about which Peter was so passionate — field experience and deposits exposure.

Peter Spora (1969-2020)

During his 25-year career in the mining and exploration industry, Peter Spora became a well-respected economic geologist specializing in exploration, particularly in Africa. He had worked initially for Esso but found his place in gold mining, commencing employment with Plutonic Operations in 1995, after graduating from the University of Technology Sydney with a Bachelor of Applied Sciences in Geology degree that same year.

He gained extensive experience in project management of large exploration programs, gold exploration in Archean and Proterozoic greenstone terrains, and a wide variety of styles and types of mineral deposits in diverse geological environments around the world. In addition to overseeing and developing exploration programs and projects, Peter also worked extensively on the technical side of corporate development and in project generation for greenfield and brownfield projects. During this time, he was involved in the generation, discovery, and definition of a number of significant gold deposits.

He worked in his early career in Western Australia with Plutonic, which became Homestake Gold and, finally, Barrick Gold Corporation. It was in 2006 that Peter began working in Africa, initially in Tanzania, where he lived for many years with his family as members of the lively expatriate community in Dar es Salaam. In 2008 he became Exploration Manager Africa for Barrick Gold and in 2010 he was appointed Vice President Exploration for African Barrick Gold, which became Acacia Mining, until his departure in 2017. After this he joined La Mancha as Head of Discovery. His final appointment was as Executive Vice President of Exploration and Growth for Golden Star Resources.

Peter is survived by his wife of 30 years, Amanda, and their son, Jameson, of whom he was immensely proud to see commence his studies at Kings College London. Peter had a "joie de vivre," which was infectious for all who met him, whether sharing a seat on a plane for a few hours or as any of his family, friends, colleagues, and companions with whom he shared his life will testify. He had a strong belief in encouraging and supporting people to reach their full potential and was passionate about creating and supporting such opportunities. The purpose of Spora's Explorers Fund is to honor and perpetuate Peter’s legacy and belief in supporting and promoting the talents of others.

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