Sign in

Dr. Simon Jowitt

@thejow.bsky.social
748 followers 599 following 188 posts

Economic geologist, Nevada State Geologist and Director of the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology @unevadareno, formerly @UNLVGeoscience @MonashEAE, @GeologyLeics, @CambSchMines, @GeosciencesEd. Views are my own. From Shipley, WYorks, and a BCAFC fan.

PostsRepliesMedia
Dr. Simon Jowitt @thejow.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Got the chance to discuss the opportunities and challenges in the Nevada lithium sector with the Nevada Independent recently in an article that was published yesterday; more here: thenevadaindependent.com/article/neva...
thenevadaindependent.com
Nevada lithium mines forge ahead despite inflation, policy and legal headwinds - The Nevada Independent
Mining developers say Nevada will have three operating lithium mines by 2030, despite cost increases from federal tariffs, the conflict in Iran and other federal initiatives that are challenging the i...
100
Dr. Simon Jowitt @thejow.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
For more on the Öland stone fossil assemblages, including these rather spectacular orthoceras belemenites, see here (and other sources): www.lansstyrelsen.se/download/18....
lansstyrelsen.se
000
Dr. Simon Jowitt @thejow.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
If you are a paleontologist who happens to be passing through Stockholm Arlanda airport, make sure you look down at the flooring…
120
Dr. Simon Jowitt @thejow.bsky.social · 29/03/2026
Did this this week, was an interesting experience…
220
Reposted by Dr. Simon Jowitt
Kai Ryssdal @kairyssdal.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Honestly wtaf does this mean
8461848
Reposted by Dr. Simon Jowitt
Kai Ryssdal @kairyssdal.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Oh puh-leez
4157552
Reposted by Dr. Simon Jowitt
Elizabeth V @geolizzy.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
This is great for UNR but being able to donate land after your death to fund economic geology at a university is seriously badass (and I wish I were successful enough so I could do the same)
181
Dr. Simon Jowitt @thejow.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
Excellent boost for economic geology at the University of Nevada Reno… www.unr.edu/nevada-today...
unr.edu
Gift of land will support economic geology program
Over 6,000 acres of land were gifted to the CREG program to establish an endowment. The gift came from the families of an alumnus and his business partner.
180
Dr. Simon Jowitt @thejow.bsky.social · 01/01/2026
Some wildlife on the first walk of 2026…
020
Dr. Simon Jowitt @thejow.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
Positive affirmation is always welcome, even if it is from spam email. The fact they believe I’m doing wonderfully works for me.
020
Dr. Simon Jowitt @thejow.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
Nice to have the opportunity to contribute to this Vox piece on lithium and the challenges and opportunities in the sector for Nevada: www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYzm...
youtube.com
The "white gold rush"
YouTube video by Vox
000
Dr. Simon Jowitt @thejow.bsky.social · 13/10/2025
Just gone past 7,000 citations according to Google Scholar. Not bad given my first was apparently in 2012, and good to know my work is being read and used…
030
Dr. Simon Jowitt @thejow.bsky.social · 21/08/2025
Another day at the grindstone ahead 😆 🎂 🥳
020
Dr. Simon Jowitt @thejow.bsky.social · 01/08/2025
Not only is today Yorkshire Day but it is also apparently International Beer Day. What a Friday!
040
Dr. Simon Jowitt @thejow.bsky.social · 30/07/2025
Not sure how AGU can get away with charging $70 an abstract and then have a very problematic submission system. Yes, it is busy but who doesn’t wait until the last minute to submit?
020
Dr. Simon Jowitt @thejow.bsky.social · 30/07/2025
Some rather impressive bridgework…
270
Dr. Simon Jowitt @thejow.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
Hello Edinburgh… it’s been a while.
060
Dr. Simon Jowitt @thejow.bsky.social · 13/07/2025
Nice to be quoted in this article on challenges over lithium mine development in the Silver State: nevadacurrent.com/2025/07/11/n...
nevadacurrent.com
Nevada mine delayed amid lithium price plunge • Nevada Current
A proposed lithium-boron mine in Nevada has been delayed for a second time amid a lithium price crash caused by softer electric vehicle demand and an oversupply of the battery metal globally.
010
Reposted by Dr. Simon Jowitt
Alistair Coleman @alistaircoleman.bsky.social · 11/07/2025
Age verification? Still waiting for my copper ingots.
Framed photo of Nanni’s complaint to Ea-Nasir.
1303
Dr. Simon Jowitt @thejow.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
Is Nevada the gold rather than silver state? Perhaps… www.reviewjournal.com/business/is-...
reviewjournal.com
Is Nevada really the gold state?
If Nevada was a country, it would be the fifth largest gold producer in the world, behind China, Russia, Australia and Canada.
020
Dr. Simon Jowitt @thejow.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
Well, there’s another $3 trillion added to the U.S. national debt to continue the record of Republican leadership moving the deficit in the wrong direction… www.bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
Fact-checking three key claims about Trump's mega-bill
Trump insists that the new bill will save the US billions, but it has been criticised by his old ally Elon Musk.
010
Dr. Simon Jowitt @thejow.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
Gave a pint or so today… or nearly an armful as Tony Hancock might have put it.
030
Reposted by Dr. Simon Jowitt
Alistair Coleman @alistaircoleman.bsky.social · 30/06/2025
I see Wimbledon have replaced line judges with robots, yet they still ignore my suggestion to replace all the ball boys and ball girls with a single Jack Russell terrier.
18484104
Dr. Simon Jowitt @thejow.bsky.social · 30/06/2025
More commentary on the funding situation where cuts would negatively impact exactly the work the federal government wants to do in mineral exploration and mining to support national, economic and energy security: www.kunr.org/local-storie... - precompetitive data is crucial…
kunr.org
Federal cuts could put state geological surveys on shaky ground in the Mountain West
The Trump administration’s proposed budget bill would cut funding to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) by nearly 40%, including grants to universities. That could affect funding relied on by survey of...
010
Dr. Simon Jowitt @thejow.bsky.social · 20/06/2025
Nice to get to talk to the New York Times @nytimes.com about funding challenges around publicly available precompetitive geoscience data acquisitions and geological mapping right when these data are more vital than ever for national and economic security: www.nytimes.com/2025/06/20/c...
nytimes.com
There Might Not Be a Map for That: Budget Cuts Threaten Geological Surveys
1178
Dr. Simon Jowitt @thejow.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
This journal “paper” seems to be doing the rounds but if you actually read it, it is very much an op-ed rather than anything focused on science. Any scientific papers with quotes in like these should ring alarm bells and some of the references seem a little worrying too… www.jmaj.jp/detail.php?i...
jmaj.jp
Significant Increase in Excess Deaths after Repeated COVID-19 Vaccination in Japan | JMA Journal
000
Dr. Simon Jowitt @thejow.bsky.social · 13/06/2025
One nice thing about flying out of Reno airport is the artwork by the check in desks, which incorporates geological maps of Nevada. Next stop (after two layovers!), Potsdam, Germany!
061
Reposted by Dr. Simon Jowitt
Alistair Coleman @alistaircoleman.bsky.social · 13/06/2025
Meanwhile in Turkmenistan, they’ve let President Serdar Berdimuhamedov out for his annual school trip to the middle of a field. “But I stood in a field last year!” he complains. “Shut up and stand in the field or no chippy tea tonight”, says his dad.
Turkmenistan President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and his unfeasibly smooth neck standing in a field, holding a sheaf of corn to demonstrate that his country is a land of plenty, and absolutely not the other thing.  He has the Ted Cruz “I like lasagne but it’s not what I ordered” face of a man who doesn’t do emotions.
8567
Dr. Simon Jowitt @thejow.bsky.social · 12/06/2025
Not every day you come across rather nice stibnite crystals like these. There’s antimony in them thar hills…
150
Dr. Simon Jowitt @thejow.bsky.social · 08/06/2025
So more money for athletics to the detriment of everything else? Will be watching to see how this pans out. Athletes should have fair payment, but will this drive to try and be competitive mean the rest of the university suffers? www.rgj.com/story/sports...
rgj.com
Rempe releases statement that Nevada athletics will opt in to the House settlement
Rempe releases statement that Nevada athletics will opt in to the House settlement; Judge approved settlement Friday night
010
Dr. Simon Jowitt @thejow.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
New geyser activity in Nevada; good to see the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology keeping the piblic informed about this geothermal activity. www.2news.com/news/too-dan...
2news.com
Too dangerous to visit: 30-foot boiling water ‘geyser’ erupts in South Reno
Geologists don't know why it's erupting, or how long it will last, but they're cautioning the community to stay away from the boiling hot water.
061
Dr. Simon Jowitt @thejow.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
Last day in the office for a short while before heading to Baton Rouge and humidity tomorrow…
010
Reposted by Dr. Simon Jowitt
Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 28/05/2025
It blew up. The last sentence means the Trump admin has lifted all restrictions.
3162762614
Dr. Simon Jowitt @thejow.bsky.social · 16/05/2025
Good overview of mining and exploration activity in Nevada in Engineering & Mining Journal: www.e-mj.com/flipbooks/ma...
e-mj.com
May 2025 - E & MJ
000
Reposted by Dr. Simon Jowitt
Kai Ryssdal @kairyssdal.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
I’m wasting my life
3267833
Dr. Simon Jowitt @thejow.bsky.social · 10/05/2025
Not a bad memento from giving a talk to the Arizona Geological Society a couple of days ago…
050
Reposted by Dr. Simon Jowitt
Kai Ryssdal @kairyssdal.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
Rightly…
366077
Reposted by Dr. Simon Jowitt
Josh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · 27/04/2025
It’s only getting much play in the trade/transport niche press. But pretty real product shortages beginning in mid-May or so are already locked in. They’re maybe a thousand miles out in the Pacific Ocean. Modern trade takes place in gargantuan container ships. There are very detailed records …
17458981881
Reposted by Dr. Simon Jowitt
Kai Ryssdal @kairyssdal.bsky.social · 27/04/2025
This is a key point. Shortages are already baked.
20626118
Reposted by Dr. Simon Jowitt
WeRateDogs @weratedogs.com · 24/04/2025
This is Tuna. You have once again taken him to the vet instead of the park. Fool him once, shame on you. Fool him twice, even more shame on you. 13/10 (IG: tunathekahuna)
a brown and white bulldog puppy sits on a counter. the computer monitor, pamphlets and model of an animal skull in the background tell us he's in a vet's office. the puppy is hunched over and begrudgingly looking over at you with an expression of disdain.
778340992302
Dr. Simon Jowitt @thejow.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
Annual group photo for the Ralph J. Roberts Center for Research in Economic Geology at the University of Nevada Reno @unevadareno.bsky.social. Undertaking impactful research and training the next economic geologists for the Silver State and far beyond…
070
Reposted by Dr. Simon Jowitt
Kai Ryssdal @kairyssdal.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
Yup
843362
Dr. Simon Jowitt @thejow.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
Nice to get a mention in this article on the rare earth elements in @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-...
scientificamerican.com
Why are the rare earths China is withholding so precious?
China is blocking exports of these vital minerals. What makes them so special?
073
Dr. Simon Jowitt @thejow.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
Interesting that the US has applied tariffs to the Heard and McDonald Islands, where no one lives and there are no imports or exports. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heard_I...
031
Reposted by Dr. Simon Jowitt
CEEFAUX @ceefaux.bsky.social · 18/03/2025
2332
Reposted by Dr. Simon Jowitt
CEEFAUX @ceefaux.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
Viewer's competition entry from @tobyhallwriter.bsky.social
410410
Reposted by Dr. Simon Jowitt
Kai Ryssdal @kairyssdal.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
Memorandum for Fox News, Congressman Comer, and the White House -- this is how you deal with a public radio microphone hitting you.
3275194
Dr. Simon Jowitt @thejow.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
Nice to be featured in this discussion of the importance of precompetitive data and the good work that the US Geological Survey is doing with state geological surveys through the Earth MRI program: grist.org/energy/criti...
grist.org
Why Biden and Trump both support this federal mineral mapping project
A U.S. Geological Survey effort to find underground deposits of clean energy metals has gotten bipartisan support.
030
Dr. Simon Jowitt @thejow.bsky.social · 18/03/2025
Good morning Reno!
040