PhD opportunity in critical metals and sulfide remobilization
Sulphide minerals host numerous metals considered “critical” to the green energy transition, such as cobalt (used in rechargeable batteries and magnets) and germanium (in photovoltaic cells), along with precious metals like gold and silver. However, many massive sulphide deposits have been affected by deformation and metamorphism, remobilizing the sulphides… and we’re only just beginning to understand how this may affect the critical- and precious metals that they host. Does it concentrate them into specific areas? Into different minerals? Or are the critical metals dispersed, or locked away into refractory phases?
The project:
I’m looking for a PhD student to investigate how sulphide minerals respond to deformation and metamorphism over a range of different metamorphic grades, and what effect this has on sulphide-hosted critical- and precious metals. This research will be heavily lab-focused, primarily integrating petrography and microstructural mapping by EBSD with compositional mapping by LA-ICP-MS, with the option for some supporting fieldwork.
Investigations will focus on volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits of the Bathurst Mining Camp, New Brunswick, which were deformed at fairly high-pressure greenschist facies conditions. These case studies will be compared to other VMS deposits in Canada that experienced higher-grade metamorphism, and to my existing studies on the Windy Craggy VMS deposit (see the Current Research page), representing deformation at typical greenschist facies conditions.
Where and when:
The student will join my new group in September 2025, at the University of British Columbia Okanagan campus (UBCO), where they’ll have access to the fantastic facilities available in the FiLTER lab (as well as everything the beautiful Okanagan Valley has to offer!).
Requirements:
My main requirements are curiosity, enthusiasm, the ability to work independently, and a solid geological foundation (including an MSc in geology or a related field). I value diversity, and I encourage applications from students who have followed non-traditional career paths.
To apply:
Interested students should please reach out to me at [email protected] with any questions. To apply, please send me your CV, a short cover letter, the names and email addresses of two academic or industry references, and an unofficial university transcript by 1 December 2024.
Please note that the preferred candidate will need to apply to the UBCO Earth and Environmental Sciences graduate program (deadline 31 January 2025) – but only do this after being notified that you are the preferred candidate!