Richard graduated from London University where he went on to earn a Ph.D. degree in 1968. After three years with the Geological Survey of Chile and a Shell postdoctoral research fellowship at the Royal School of Mines in London, he has operated for nearly five decades as an independent consultant to mining companies, international agencies, and foreign governments. He has worked on a wide variety of mineral deposits and prospects in 100 countries worldwide but focuses on the epithermal gold and porphyry copper environments. Published research has earned him awards in Europe, Australia, and North and South America, including the SGA-Newmont Gold Medal and the Penrose Gold Medal of the Society of Economic Geologists, of which he was President in 1999-2000.
Richard received his BS in geology from Bucknell U., MSc in hydrogeology at University of Nevada-MacKay School of Mines, and his PhD in geology at the University of Colorado. He was a research geologist at the U.S. Geological Survey for 36 years. His studies have focused on global metallogeny, geology of ore deposits in the North American Cordillera with emphasis on orogenic gold, lode gold deposits in China, and geochemical applications to the understanding of ore genesis. Rich has authored more than 250 papers on mineral resources, which have received more than 14,000 citations, with many recognized as the authoritative research work on gold in metamorphic terranes and on aspects of regional metallogeny. He is a past-president of the Society of Economic Geologists and past chief editor of Mineralium Deposita. In 2001, he was awarded the Silver Medal, and in 2011, the Marsden Medal, both by the Society of Economic Geologists. Presently, Rich is a research professor at Colorado School of Mines and China University of Geosciences Beijing, serves on the Board of Golden Predator Mining Corp, and is an independent consultant to the exploration and mining industry.
François holds a degree in Geological Engineering from Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal, where he also obtained MSc and PhD degrees. His PhD focused on the classic orogenic Sigma gold-quartz vein system at Val d’Or, Quebec. This was followed by a post-doctorate at the University of Michigan.
He joined the Geological Survey of Canada in 1985 as a research scientist where he carried out applied research on gold deposits in Canada and abroad. In late 1997, he moved to Barrick Gold Corporation where he occupied various exploration positions in Canada, Australia, and South America, expanding his experience to most types of gold deposits. From 2006, he was Chief Geologist - Global Exploration until retiring at the end of 2019. He is currently independent part-time consultant, sharing his experience on selected projects.
He has published numerous papers in scientific journals and volumes, and served on many committees of scientific organizations, including Presidency of SEG in 2015. He received multiple awards, including SEG’s Lindgren, Silver Medal, and Ralph Marsden awards
Stuart received his Masters and PhD degrees in Geology at the University Minnesota. He is a consulting geologist (Hot Solutions Ltd, New Zealand) and a research professor (University of Utah), and he is primarily known for his work on epithermal and geothermal resources. His assessments are directed at understanding the geological, hydrological, and geochemical controls of hydrothermal ore-forming environments, having examined a number of deposits and prospects around the Pacific Rim. He has published over 70 refereed papers and technical reports in a wide range of journals, and he is the former Chair of the SEG Publications Board. In 2014, he was awarded the Silver Medal, and in 2018, the Marsden Medal, both by the Society of Economic Geologists.
Moderator
Halley is an economic geologist who will soon be starting a new role as a project geologist at Anglo American. For the past two years she has been working as a project geologist at KoBold Metals, where she works with data scientists to combine machine learning with core geoscience to target new sources of battery minerals. Halley has been previously employed by both major and junior mining companies to work on greenfields exploration projects across Canada. She also spent a field season working for the Yukon Geological Survey, where she ran a two-person fly camp and conducted regional geologic mapping. Before her passion for physical sciences and the outdoors turned into a career, she spent summers working at a canoe tripping camp in northern Ontario, guiding canoe trips for teenage girls.
Halley has an honour’s B.Sc in geology from the University of British Columbia and a master’s degree from the University of Cambridge, funded by a Gates Cambridge Scholarship. She completed her Ph.D in economic geology from the Colorado School of Mines in 2019, where she developed a genetic model for a sedimentary rock-hosted gold deposit in northeastern China. She believes in a multifaceted approach to exploration that combines fundamental geoscience principles with new technologies and computing techniques.