Department of Geology and Geophysics

News

Alumni Receive International Mineral Discovery Award

December 17, 2012 — Alumnus Mark A. Bronston (BS , 1979), alumnus Paul J. Graff (PhD, 1978), and former Wyoming State Geologist Dan Hausel, recount how they were all members of the mineral (gold) exploration team that was awarded the Thayer Lindsley Award for an International Mineral Discovery by the Prospector’s and Developer’s Association of Canada in 2009. They discovered the Donlin Creek gold deposit in central Alaska in the late 1980’s working for WestGold, a subsidiary of Anglo-American and DeBeers.

The Donlin Creek deposit is currently the largest unexploited gold deposit in the world (37 million ounces proved and probable reserves). The mine is currently in the final stages of permitting.