📣 Member Spotlight: Meet Findlay
We’re continuing our Monthly Member Spotlight series to highlight the people and expertise that make this community so valuable.
This month, we’re spotlighting @findlayfraser - Principal Structural Geologist at Equilibrium Mining.
Findlay is an experienced structural geologist, geological modeller, and resource geologist based in Vancouver, BC.
What he works on
Creating realistic, sustainable 3D geological models that support stakeholders across engineering, exploration, and hydrogeology.
Findlay is passionate about improving industry standards in geological modelling and has led many training sessions over the years - including developing a short course for university students in Vancouver focused on modelling and structural geology.
Tools he uses
Leapfrog Geo - his primary tool for building auditable, updatable workflows and models that clients can confidently maintain long after project handover.
Central - essential for enabling data sharing and simultaneous collaboration across project teams.
What he finds most interesting
Integrated litho-structural modelling.
Resolving lithological geometries within the context of a deposit’s deformational history is a challenge he particularly enjoys - especially when structural offsets begin to make sense and the model truly comes together.
A tip for fellow community members
Use different topographies for different purposes:
- Low-resolution regional topography for big-picture context
- High-resolution deposit-scale topography for detailed interpretation
- Moderate-resolution project-scale topography for rapid modelling
- Separate pre-mining, depletion, and planned topographies for analysis
A little planning upfront can make modelling easier, improve communication, and help teams clearly demonstrate how geology interacts with topography and mine planning.
What sparked his interest in geoscience
An early interest in physical geography and visualizing real-world processes led him to geology - particularly sedimentary geology while growing up near the North Sea oil and gas fields.
Fun fact
In his spare time, Findlay paints Warhammer models - a hobby that mirrors geological modelling with its focus on attention to detail, structured workflows, and patience.
