Laurence has spent most of his career working as an economic geologist, focusing his research on the diverse ore deposits of the African continent. He is the author of the text book, published by Blackwell, Introduction to Ore Forming Processes. He consults widely for industry and he is an Honorary Professor in the School of Geosciences at the University of the Witwatersrand, and Visiting Research Fellow in the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford.