University of Wyoming & University of Utah Alumni Receive International Mineral Discovery Award
December 17, 2012 — UW alumnus
Mark A. Bronston (BS , 1979), alumnus
Paul J. Graff (PhD, 1978), and former Wyoming State Geologist and U of U alumnus
W. Dan Hausel (BS 1972, MS 1974)
recount how they were 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 Donlin Creek gold deposit is comparable in size to the Great Homestake mine and is considered to be one of the great gold discoveries of the 20th century.
The mine is currently in the final stages of permitting
