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Geology

Riches From The Earth

The mining industry is cyclical, and while gold is always a hot commodity, this year the market darling might be uranium and next year it could be nickel and copper.

Every summer, Geologists with the Department of Natural Resources are out in the field doing what they love: gathering data they will later turn into maps that exploration and mining companies need to find economic deposits of minerals. This work is spread across the province but the bulk of expenditure tends to be in Labrador where much remains to be discovered. The principal goal is to provide the exploration roadmaps that help lead the mineral exploration industry to discoveries.

The work also has implications in developing protected areas, regional planning and in providing baseline information on metals in the environment. Geologists also analyze the never-ending stream of core samples and data that pour in from exploration programs around the province. Even if a hole doesn’t turn up what the market wants right now, there is still valuable information on subsurface geology to be gleaned from the cores.

Perhaps the greatest reward of geology is picking up a rock that leads to a mineral discovery.

WE ARE Geologists.