Paul J. Lechler
Paul J. Lechler

Chief Geochemist
Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology
Mackay School of Earth Sciences and Engineering
University of Nevada, Reno

Business telephone: (775) 682-8774
FAX:(775) 784-1709
E-mail: plechler@unr.edu

 

Education

Ph.D. Geology/Geochemistry, University of Nevada, 1995
M.S. Geochemistry, Rutgers University, 1978
B.A. Geology, Montclair State College, 1974

 

Areas of Expertise

Analytical geochemistry
Environmental geochemistry
Geology/geochemistry of hydrothermal platinum
Exploration geochemistry

 

Professional Experience

Chief Chemist/Geochemist, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology (December 1983- present)
Company Geologist, Reed Rock Bit Company, Houston, Texas (September 1981- November 1983)
Research Geochemist, Bendix Field Engineering Grand Junction, Colorado (April 1980-September 1981)
Geochemist, Indiana Geological Survey Bloomington, Indiana (April 1977-April 1980)

 

Selected Publications

Lechler, P.J., 1998, Modern mercury contamination from historic amalgamation milling of silver-gold ores in the Carson River, Nevada and Jordan Creel, Idaho: Importance of speciation analysis in understanding the source, mobility, and fate of polluted materials, in Ebinghaus, R., Turner, R.R., Lacerda, L.D., Vasiliev, O. and Salomons, W., eds.:Mining Contaminated Sites: Risk Assessment and Remediation, Springer Environmental Science, Springer Verlag, Heidelberg, p. 337-355.

Lechler, P.J., and Jewett, D.G., 1998, Geochemical features of water-rock interactions at the Sulfur Bank Mercury Mine, Lake County, California: Clear Lake Science and Management Symposium, Lakeport, California, 7 p.

Lechler, P.J., 1997, Gold from water (and other mining scams): Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Special Publication 22, 17 p.

Lechler, P.J., 1997, Gold is where you find it: But, be sure you’ve really found it!: International California Mining Journal, May.

Lechler, P.J., Miller, J.R., Hsu, L.C., and Desilets, M.O., 1997, Mercury mobility at the Carson River Superfund Site, west-central Nevada, USA: Interpretation of mercury speciation data in mill tailings, soils, and sediments: Journal of Geochemical Exploration, v. 58, p. 259–267.

Lechler, P.J., Miller, J.R., Hsu, L.C., and Desilets, M.O., 1997, Mercury mobility at the Carson River Superfund Site, west-central Nevada, USA: Interpretation of mercury speciation data in mill tailings, soils, and sediments, in Allan, R.J. and Salomons, W., eds., Mining and metals in the environment: Elsevier, New York, 332 p.

Miller, J.R., Rowland, J., Lechler, P.J., Desilets, M.O., and Hsu, L.C., 1996, Dispersal of mercury-contaminated sediments by geomorphic processes, Sixmile Canyon, Nevada, USA: Implications to site characterization and remediation of fluvial environments: Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, v. 86, p. 373-388.

Dissertation 1995 - Solubility of palladium in chloride solutions and the distribution of platinum, palladium, and related elements in hydrothermal mineralization: University of Nevada, Reno. <

Miller, J.R., Lechler, P.J., Rowland, J., Desilets, M.O., and Hsu, L.C., 1995, An integrated approach to the determination of the quantity, distribution, and dispersal of mercury in Lahontan Reservoir, Nevada, USA: Journal of Geochemical Exploration, Special Issue, p.45-55.

Hsu, L.C., and Lechler, P.J., 1991, Hydrothermal solubility of palladium in chloride solutions from 300 to 700C: Preliminary experimental results: Economic Geology, v. 86, p. 422-427.

Lechler, P.J., and Hsu, L.C., 1990, Interpretation of soil nitrite-ammonium ratios with possible application to pedogeochemical exploration for platinum mineralization: Journal of Geochemical Exploration, v. 37, p. 37-50.

Lechler, P.J., and Desilets, M.O., 1990, Dissolution of native sulfur by the acid bomb digestion technique for the determination of trace elements and total sulfur: Chemical Geology, v. 85, p. 305-309.

Lechler, P.J. and Desilets, M.O., 1988, Effect of heating appliance type on Parr Bomb temperature response performance: Analyst, v. 113, p. 201-202.

Lechler, P.J., and Desilets, M.O., 1987, A review of the use of loss on ignition as a measurement of total volatiles in whole-rock analysis: Chemical Geology, v. 63, p. 341-344.

Lechler, P.J., Roy, W.R., and Leininger, R.K., 1980, Major and trace element analysis of 12 reference soils by inductively coupled plasma--atomic emission spectroscopy: Soil Science, v. 130, no. 5.

Lechler, P.J., Miller, J.R., Hsu, L.C., and Desilets, M.O., 1995, Understanding mercury mobility at the Carson River Superfund Site, western Nevada, USA: Interpretation of mercury speciation results from mill tailings, soils, and river and reservoir sediments: Proceedings 10th International Conference on Heavy Metals in the Environment, Hamburg, Germany.

Lechler, P.J., and Miller, J.R., 1993, The dispersion of mercury, gold, and silver from contaminated mill tailings at the Carson River Mercury Superfund Site, West-Central Nevada: Proceedings Perspectives for Environmental Geochemistry in Tropical Counties, Niteroi, Brazil.

Lechler, P.J., 1993, Mercury vapor sampling at the Carson River Superfund Site: Proceedings Heavy Metals in the Environment, Toronto.

Lechler, P.J., and Hsu, L.C., 1989, Review of hydrothermal platinum-group element deposits with new data from Nevada: Society of Mining Engineers Annual Meeting, Las Vegas, Preprint 89-55.

Lechler, P.J., and Desilets, M.O., 1986, Determination of anions by ion chromatography-- Application to pedogeochemical exploration for metallic mineralization, in Exploration in the North American Cordillera: Association of Exploration Geochemists Proceedings Volume.

Lechler, P.J., 1992, Mercury contamination of the Carson River: Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Newsletter, no. 17.

Lechler, P.J., and Desilets, M.O., 1991, The NBMG standard reference material project: Nevada Geology, no. 10.

Lechler, P.J., 1988, Platinum-group-element exploration in Nevada: Explore, no. 63, p. 10-12.

 

Awards

Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi

 

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