13000_final3.ps, page 1-20 @ Normalize ( 13000_final.indd )

More documents

Recommendations

Info

16tion executive, and writing a monthly report for the BHPBExecutive Committee (I made sure that my name wasdifficult to find in case the results weren’t as stellar as we’dhoped!).After only 6 months in Melbourne the exploration executiveswere relocated to Singapore, and I went with them. Ididn’t spend much time in Singapore or Melbourne – withso much vacation time saved up during all my moving, Ispent tonnes of time doing even more travelling, to NewZealand, Hawaii (to make up for not going on the U of Tgeology Hawaii field trip back in 1996), and Indonesia.After just three months living in Singapore I realized thatI wanted to take on more responsibility in the health andsafety group and so took up the position of Health, Safety,Environment and Community (HSEC) Program DevelopmentAdvisor and relocated to Perth, Australia. And I stilllive in Perth after 9 months!Hard to believe I’ve done all of this in just 10 years! Needlessto say, with all the moving, my rock collection hasdwindeled considerably. If you’re ever in Perth and needan enthusiastic (albiet somewhat disoriented) tour guide,give me a shout! kimberley.scully@bhpbilliton.com .Matt Manson M.Sc.1990, Ph.D. 1996 (Halls Group).I view my time in the department with fondness. It startedwith a sense of mild horror, as I experienced for the firsttime the unique experience of field work with Henry Halls,and ended with much respect and friendship. I am particularlygrateful to Henry for the support he showed to avery green graduate student. In the Geology Departmentgenerally, it was always a humbling experience being in themidst of people so obviously capable in their work.I drifted into mineral exploration before I finished writingmy thesis, and spent time in the NWT with diamond explorationand Scotland with gold exploration before I madethe conscious and essential decision to focus on finishing.I had caught the bug of mineral exploration, however, andafter graduating I spent most of the next two years, from1996-1997, working for a junior called Ambrex in Brasil,exploring for diamonds then gold and later participating inthe discovery of the Aripuana Zn-Cu VMS in Mato Grosso.Then followed time as a freelance contractor in Brasil,Mexico, Canada and Venezuela. During this time I alsobegan consulting for Aber, which became a fulltime positionin 1999. Between 1999 and 2005 I had the enviabletask of working to set up Aber’s diamond marketing operationsahead of Diavik going into production in 2004, Withthe acquisition of Harry Winston, my career in diamondshad gone from primary exploration in Brazilian jungles toluxury retailing on New York’s 5th Avenue in the span of 6years.In 2005 I left Aber to join the Agnico-Eagle group and runa controlled subsidiary of theirs called Contact DiamondCorporation. Contact was one of the oldest companieson the TSX, and had been listed in the 1920s originallyas Sudbury Contact Mines Ltd. Agnico had re-focusedthe company towards diamonds with some success in theNew Liskeard region of Ontario. In addition to pursing anexploration agenda, my brief at Contact was to pursue agrowth agenda by way of an acquisition or similar corporatetransaction. The deal that emerged was a businesscombination between Contact and Stornoway, with Stornowaysimultaneously making an unsolicited offer for theoutstanding shares of Ashton. The Ashton takeover was asurprisingly bitter and public battle that included severalfirsts in Canadian securities law. This transaction occupiedour lives for most of 2006. The offer was ultimately successful,however, and the three companies have now beenfully amalgamated as one business. With Eira as CEO ofthe “new Stornoway” in Vancouver and myself as Presidentin Toronto, we are attempting to create a genuine mid-tierCanadian diamond exploration and development companywith Renard as the core asset. We expect the completion ofa pre-feasibility study at Renard by the spring, and we hopethe project will become Quebec’s first diamond mine with a10-15 year mine life.On the domestic side, I am married with three children.mmanson@stornowaydiamond.comChristine Norcross, B.Sc. (Geology and Chemistry) 1995,M.Sc. (Geology) 1997.Thomas Schuster, B.Sc. (Geology) 1996After graduation I moved to the west coast where I joinedITS Bondar Clegg and subsequently its successor ALSChemex. During my seven years with the labs I cultivateda business development role, maintaining a solid link betweenthe lab and the exploration community. I developedan extensive network of contacts both through work and byvolunteering with local mining organizations and in 2005 Idecided to rejoin the junior mining community. Since thenI have worked for both exploration and mining investmentcompanies in roles which include communications, investorrelations, project evaluation and sustainability initiatives.Thomas Schuster started his career as a contract geologistworking in Timmins, Ontario for Outokumpu Mines. From1997 until 2004 he covered the junior mining sector for TheNorthern Miner in Vancouver, where he reviewed projectsof interest to the mining and investment community. Thisincluded on-site geological reviews of projects locatedthroughout the world. In 2005 and 2006 Thomas workedin the sector as a freelance technical writer and marketing
of my M.Sc. And Steve, if you are reading this, the giantpancake restaurant is still going strong.Jun Cowan, Michelle Cote and Trevor Boyd at the 2007 AlumniReception at the Fairmont Royal Yorkconsultant, with his clients having included investmentnewsletters, junior and mid-tier mining corporations, andresource investment magazines. Thomas now works as amining analyst based in Vancouver for Fraser Mackenzie,an institutional brokerage firm headquartered in Toronto.Thomas and I married in 2001 and we have happily settledhere in Vancouver, where we enjoy many outdoor activitiesincluding sailing, kayaking and golf. We both still love totravel and continue to do so both for work and pleasure.Seeing many of our former classmates at the PDAC inMarch is still one of the highlights of our year!Greg Slater M.Sc. 96, Ph.D. 0T1 (Sherwood Lollar Group)After spending six years in the department of Geologycompleting two graduate degrees I moved on to new areaand undertook an NSERC PDF at Woods Hole OceanographicInstitution. I am now happy to be back in SouthernOntario at McMaster University where for the past fouryears I have been a Tier II Canada Research Chair in EnvironmentalIsotope Biogeochemistry in the Department ofGeography and Earth Sciences.My research is now split between environmental remediationand the application of compound specific isotopesto understand sources and biodegradation and researchinvestigating biosignatures associated with microbial communitiesliving in extreme environments. The former workis largely locally focused on location such as HamiltonHarbour. The major component of the latter is carried outat Pavilion Lake, BC (in collaboration with Dr. DarleneLim, another U of T alum), where we are investigating thebiological role in the formation of the unique freshwatermicrobialites (modern stromatolite analogues) found inthe lake This project is of particular significance to me asit also allows me to go back to the lakes of the Caribooplateau that I started my graduate career working on as partI have excellent memories of my time at U of T. It wasboth a great learning experience and an excellent community.I think that the sense of community at U of T isas strong or stronger than anywhere else in academia andthis is a strength that should be maintained. In particularRockfest is one of the best traditions I know of providingan opportunity both to learn about the research of otherdepartmental members via talks, and even more over refreshments.And while the tree in front of the GSU may begone and the new paintjob is terrible, I sincerely hope thatthe members of the geology department are continuing thegreat interactions and learning that I recall from my timethere.2000’sNurcahyo Basuki Ph.D. 2006 (Spooner Group) is currentlyworking on a post-doc on testing evidence for primary, seafloor deposition of ~3.2 Ga-old sulphate (barite) in the BarbertonGreenstone Belt, S.Africa using “hot cathode” CL,before returning to the Bandung Institute of Technology inIndonesia.Sergio Gelcich Ph.D. 2006 (Spooner group) is successfullybringing together a group of S.American geologists fromcountries such as Panama and Chile in a VMS explorationprogram in the Dominican Republic.Jake Hanley Ph.D. 2007 (Mungall Group) has been appointedto a tenure track position at St. Mary’s, Halifaxfollowing an NSERC post-doc at the ETH, Zurich wherehe worked on LA-ICP-MS analysis of single fluid and meltinclusions.Stefan Ioannou B.A.Sc. 1998, Ph.D 2004 (Spooner Group)is working as an Analyst with Haywood Securities herein Toronto and taking cruise ship holidays with his wifearound the Hawaiian islands.Lars Weiershaeuser Ph.D 2005 (Spooner Group) is workingas a consultant with SRK, also here in Toronto andclaims to be renovating the kitchen of his and his wife’shouse - other people are, apparently however, skeptical.Yannick Beaudoin M.Sc. 2001, Ph.D. 2006 (Scott Group)Following 6 years of exploration work with FalconbridgeLtd, including 3 with the International Exploration Group,Yannick found his dream job when he joined the UnitedNations Environmental Programme’s (UNEP) Shelf Programmein late 2006. The UNEP Shelf Programme wasdeveloped in response to a UN General Assembly mandate17
Page 1 and 2: Alumni NEWSIssue 17 February 2008A
Page 3 and 4: on our food sources, health, and cl
Page 5 and 6: career in both the executive and te
Page 7 and 8: Reginald Aldworth Daly(1871-1957)Di
Page 9 and 10: groundwater systems continues. It i
Page 11 and 12: Alumni Create a New Graduate Schola
Page 13 and 14: News of Former Students1960’s and
Page 15: Bill Sercombe B.A.Sc. 1978 (Geologi
Page 19 and 20: The Explorers FundAs announced in 2

13000_final3.ps, page 1-20 @ Normalize ( 13000_final.indd )

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?