Welcome to the Mineral Deposit Research Unit
The Mineral Deposit Research Unit (MDRU) is a collaborative venture between the mining industry and The University of British Columbia (UBC). The unit, which was established in 1989 with support and financial assistance from the mining industry and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), is an important part of the Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences and an internationally recognized research group devoted to solving mineral exploration-related problems. (read more)
New Project Opportunity - Carbonate Alteration Footprints
Carbonate-hosted mineral deposits generally have relatively narrow and poorly-developed alteration footprints. However, interactions between hydrothermal fluids and carbonate rocks are recorded by carbon and oxygen isotopes within the carbonate host rocks and veins. This isotopic alteration footprint tends to extend well beyond the limits of ore and visible alteration, as well as geochemical anomalies.
MDRU has initiated a three-year, industry-sponsored research project to test the application of stable carbon and oxygen isotope ratios in carbonate rocks. In order to maximize potential application to exploration, this project will utilize a new, field-portable instrument that MDRU has developed. This project is of benefit to companies exploring for carbonate-hosted deposits, who recognize the potential to apply new technology and new approaches to improve targeting and vectoring towards mineralization. (read more)
New Project Opportunity - Western Tethyan Metallogeny Project
Kisladag Mine, Turkey
The diversity of mineral exploration opportunities in the Tethyan region is vast; the deposits can be large, the rewards enormous. The Western Tethyan Metallogeny Project will provide industry with knowledge of the district to deposit scale controls on the distribution and siting of large-tonnage porphyry Cu (±Au-Mo) and epith0ermal Au-Ag deposits, with consideration for carbonate-replacement, VMS and skarn-related deposit types. The project will generate new geochronological, geochemical, structural and mineral deposit data that will be integrated with newly compiled data to provide a new maps and a new generation of metallogenic interpretations, constraints and targeting opportunities. (read more)
Colombia Gold & Porphyry Project
Panoramic view of Cerro Vetas, Titiribí, middle Cauca belt
Colombia is one of Latin America's most important historic gold producers and in recent times has received a tremendous exploration upsurge due to improved in-country security and recognition of its untapped exploration potential. Primary exploration targets are gold rich porphyry and epithermal as well as orogenic gold deposits. The MDRU Colombia Gold and Porphyry Project concentrates on the metallogenetic framework as well as deposit and district scale characteristics of two major gold belts in Colombia. (read more)
View of the Dawson Range from Prospector Mountain
The Yukon Gold Project is a collaborative venture between MDRU and industry to improve the regional geological and metallogenic knowledge base in the Yukon's Dawson Range and White Gold districts, where exciting exploration developments include the discovery of the Golden Saddle deposit (Underworld/Kinross), Revenue/Nucleus (Northern Freegold), Coffee (Kaminak), and Sonora Gulch (Northern Tiger). Project sponsors include Aldrin Resources, Barrick, Full Metal Minerals, Gold Fields, Kinross, Northern Freegold, Radius Gold, Silver Quest, Taku Gold, Teck, and Underworld. The Yukon Gold Project is partly funded through a NSERC Collaborative Research and Development grant. (read more)
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