The University of British Columbia

My thesis research is characterizing the geology of the Golden Saddle deposit.  Golden Saddle is a recently discovered gold deposit located in the White Gold district, approximately 90 miles south of Dawson City, Yukon Territory.  Golden Saddle is an auriferous quartz vein and disseminated sulfide deposit with structural and lithological controls on the distribution of mineralization.  The deposit is hosted in metamorphic and intrusive rocks of the Yukon Tanana terrane.  Pre-existing faults, shear zones, fold axes, and lithologic contacts, as well as rheology and relative competency of host rocks, control the distribution of mineralization.  Golden Saddle has a published indicated and inferred resource of ~1.4 Moz Au at ~ 3 g/t Au.  The discovery of Golden Saddle was the catalyst for the staking rush in the White Gold district and has renewed interest in gold exploration in the region.

My research is focused on characterizing the Golden Saddle deposit. This characterization includes documenting the geology and constraining the timing of deformation and mineralization.  The core of the thesis is two summers of field work focusing on core logging and regional mapping, supplemented by analytical work at UBC.  Analytical work for my project includes petrography, U-Pb, Re-Os, and Ar-Ar geochronology, stable isotope analysis of sulfides and vein minerals, SWIR characterization of alteration minerals, and geochemical characterization of alteration and host rocks. 

This thesis is part of a larger MDRU-industry project called the Yukon Gold project.  The Yukon Gold project area encompasses a large portion of the Dawson Range and the Yukon Tanana terrane in western Yukon and eastern Alaska between the Tintina and Denali Faults.  The project goal is to increase understanding of mineral deposits, tectonics and metallogeny within the project area.  The project supports four MSc students, several BSc students, and a PhD student.  The  project will increase the understanding of mineral deposits, tectonics and metallogeny of western Yukon and eastern Alaska.  The project recieves financial support from eleven mineral exploration companies, as well as from NSERC and the CRD.  The project website is: http://www.mdru.ubc.ca/home/research/yg/yg.php   I greatfully thank Kinross and all the other sponsors for their support of my research.

My previous experience includes work on gold exploration projects in Alaska and Nevada at various stages of development including target generation, early grassroots exploration, and prefeasibility and feasibility studies.  Deposits I've spent time with include the world-class Donlin Creek deposit in SW Alaska, the Rock Creek gold mine near Nome, Alaska, and the Pinson gold mine in Nevada.

In my spare time I enjoy running, hiking, living in Vancouver, and consuming all things related to geology.