Activities of the Chapter during the PDAC! Warm-up with our Industry Sponsor - François Robert. We had the opportunity to get tips on how to best enjoy the event. We had poster presentations and oral presentations from our members Kevin, Duncan and Evan.

Last week, SEG UQAM organised a mine visit with Niobec and our students participated in the trip. Niobec is the largest Nb mine in America. It was a great opportunity to understand their mining operation and the geology of Niobium-bearing minerals.

We started the Mexico trip last week. The first mine visit was Cerro Los Gatos located south of Chihuahua, owned by Gatos Silver. The main commodities are Ag+Zn+Pb hosted in an epithermal system. We had the privilege to be the first international student group to visit the mine.

Last Thursday, we met over a beer with the UQAM SEG Chapter and our advisor, François Robert. This meeting was a great opportunity to connect with students in Montréal, but also an occasion for François to share his experience and his knowledge, which is always very appreciated.

Hello, kicking off a series of posts on our field trip to Mexico in 2023. Our chapter members visited Chihuahua, Sonora, and Baja California Sur deposits. Our visits focused on “porphyry-epithermal spectrum” deposits and “basin-hosted” deposits.

During the Chihuahua leg, we visited deposits on the porphyry-epithermal spectrum, including (from distal to proximal wrt an intrusion) Cerro Los Gatos (Ag-Pb-Zn epithermal), Santa Eulalia & Naica (Ag-Pb-Zn CRD), & Terrazas (Cu skarn). Thanks to IMDEX for their financial support!

Our second stop was Naica, a globally known Ag-Pb-Zn CRD. It is also well known for its caves, which contain enormous gypsum crystals reaching lengths of 11 m. We were fortunate to view core displaying a large variety of CRD textures. Shout out to sponsor Prismo Metals!

Hello! Last Wednesday our Chapter had the pleasure to receive Jean-Félix Lepage, VP of Projects - O3 Mining, for a presentation on the Marban project. It was a very meaningful talk, as it gave us insights into the economic and technical cycle of an exploration project. Stay tuned

Our next visit was to the Santa Eulalia Ag-Pb-Zn CRD district. We were treated to many stops, incl. skarn outcrops @ Mina San Antonio & extensive AMOM @ Mina Bustillos, as well as the core shed for Reyna Silver’s Guigui Project. Shout out to sponsor MAG Silver for their support!

We Co-organized the annual SEG Student Chapters workshop on ore deposits at the Québec Mines + Energy Congress with UQAM, UQAC, Laval, and McGill. Over 60 attendees & 6 expert speakers discussed lithium-bearing pegmatites. Great networking & fundraising for our SEG trip!

In our Sonora Leg, we further examined the porphyry-epithermal spectrum, w/ visits to La Colorada, an epithermal Au deposit at the distal end of the spectrum, and, most proximal, the Buenavista del Cobre (Cananea) Cu-Mo porphyry. Thanks to sponsor Reyna Silver for their support!

Our first stop in Sonora was La Colorada. It lies S of the orogenic Au deposit-bearing Caborca Gold Belt but is an epithermal Au deposit, displaying key epithermal textures superimposed onto older orogenic structures. Thanks goes to our host Argonaut Gold & sponsor Reyna Gold!

Next up was the Buenavista del Cobre (Cananea) Cu-Mo porphyry, a giant with 7140 Mt at 0.42 % Cu. Hypogene ore is assoc. w/ potassic + quartz-sericite alteration and has undergone extensive supergene enrichment. Shout out to host Grupo México and sponsor Dynacor!

For our last leg, we visited basin-hosted deposits in Baja California Sur. Rifting tied to the Gulf of California’s opening exposed the San Juan de la Costa phosphorites. The El Boleo sed-hosted Cu-Co-Zn-Mn & San Marcos gypsum deposits formed in an early rift-related sub-basin.

For our first stop in Baja California Sur, we visited the phosphorite deposit at San Juan de la Costa. It consists of a 10 km striking, ~1.2 m thick bed, which we were lucky to investigate underground. Thanks go to our host Rofomex II and sponsor Major Drilling!

Our next stop was to the Isla San Marcos gypsum mine, Mexico’s largest gypsum producer. Annual production can reach 3 Mt/yr, with gypsum shipped across the Americas for use in agriculture, wallboard, and cement. Thanks goes to host COMSA and sponsor Laurentia Exploration!

Our last stop was El Boleo, a sed-hosted Cu-Co-Zn-Mn deposit formed in an early rift-related sub-basin tied to the Gulf of California’s opening. Mantos hosting Cu sulfides & Mn oxides constitute ore. Thanks to host Minera y Metalúrgica del Boleo and sponsor Midland Exploration!

A group of students from McGill University attended the PDAC Convention 2024 last month. It was an amazing occasion to network and refresh ourselves with the cutting-edge technology from the industry. Thank you for the sponsorship by our EPS department and PDAC!

On March 13, members of Chapter attended a workshop given by Ludovick Bigot (ALS Goldspot) on Spectral Geology Remote Sensing and Field spectroscopy applied to mineral exploration. The workshop was organized by the UQAM SEG Student Chapter in collaboration with OGQ.