SEGF Ronald E. Seavoy Student Field Trip Program
Date: July 8-17, 2026
Location: Northwest United States
Participant Capacity: 18
Application Opens: March 9, 2026
Application Deadline*: April 6, 2026, at 3:00pm MDT
Reference Appraisal Deadline*: April 6, 2026, at 3:00pm MDT
Selected Participant Notification: April 17, 2026
* The Submission Deadline is the same for both applications and appraisals. Late submissions for either one will not be accepted. It is each applicant's responsibility for the appraisal being submitted on time. No exceptions can be made.
Eligibility
- Have not attended any prior SFT.
- Any full-time geoscience students who are actively enrolled at a recognized university with no gap years within their current degree program.
- Preference will be given to active SEG Student Members. Join/Renew
- SEG is not permitted to award grants or scholarships to students or institutions located in U.S. Sanctioned countries. Students from U.S. Sanctioned countries are therefore ineligible to receive grants and scholarships from SEG. ofac.treasury.gov
Description
This trip will study the diverse ore deposits, prospects and mineralization styles in the Northwest US. This course departs from Bozeman, Montana, and over the course of ten days traveling the Northwest, ends in Rapid City, South Dakota, after visiting porphyry Cu-Mo, Breccia Au, and sediment-hosted stratiform and stratabound SEDEX base-metal (±Ag) occurrences in the Belt-Purcell Basin. A visit to Yellowstone National Park will provide an opportunity to discuss active hot-springs hydrothermal systems, water chemistry and metals carrying capacity. The trip will continue east discussing Cretaceous coal deposits and visit the Paleocene aged laccoliths hosting the Bear Lodge alkaline-carbonatite complexes. The final district visited will be the Black Hills, South Dakota, gold systems.
Specific sites to be visited include (subject to final invitations): Continental Mine (Montana Resources); Golden Sunlight (American Pacific or Barrick); Black Butte – Sheep Creek (Sandfire Resources); Stillwater Complex (Sibanye-Stillwater); Bear Lodge Alkaline Complex around Sundance, Wyoming, and lastly, the Wharf breccia-hosted gold deposits (Coeur) of the Black Hills.
At each site, presentations and discussions will provide students with an overview of how the mineral district relates to the regional geologic and tectonic framework. At the deposit scale, topics such as ore controls, alteration patterns, and mineralization paragenesis will be addressed. While the main focus will be on the geology of the deposits – through examination of surface outcrops, drill core reviews, and mine visits – students will also learn the multidisciplinary aspects of economic geology. These include exploration strategies, the development and maintenance of reliable project databases, resource estimation based on those datasets, mining and processing methods and permitting and remediation, all of which are essential for evaluating the financial viability of mining projects.
Resources
Coming soon...
Trip Leader
William Chávez, Jr.
New Mexico School of Mines
SEG Fellow since 1990
Organizing Committee
William Chávez, Jr.
Supported by the SFT Committee
Call for Mentors
We aim to have the capacity to include two (only) economic geologist SEG members experienced in the types of mineral systems being visited. Our focus in the SFT Program is on providing first access to the maximum number of student attendees. Selected mentors will pay a fee of US$2,500 (non-member) or US$1,750 (SEG Professional Member or Fellow) to support the program. This covers accommodation and in-country travel during the trip. In addition, some meals will be included with the lodging arrangements. Travel to and from the trip is each mentor's responsibility.
Interested professionals must submit a letter of interest and CV to Andrea Sandoval at [email protected] by April 6, 2026, at 3:00pm MST.
Application
Application Opens: March 9, 2026
Application Deadline*: April 6, 2026, at 3:00pm MDT
Reference Appraisal Deadline*: April 6, 2026, at 3:00pm MDT
Selected Participant Notification: April 17, 2026
* The Submission Deadline is the same for both applications and appraisals. Late submissions for either one will not be accepted. It is each applicant's responsibility for the appraisal being submitted on time. No exceptions can be made.
Complete the application below and prepare to enter one reference. A copy of your submission will be sent to the email provided in the application.
To avoid losing your work it is recommended to complete responses in a text file and then copy/paste into the application.