Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

The long-term, overarching goal of my research program is to develop a comprehensive understanding of coloured gemstone (i.e., non-diamond gems) genesis, chemistry, erosion/transport and sedimentation, from which new predictive and field-based exploration methods will be developed for future deployment within Canada and abroad. In the scope of the present Discovery Grant award period, my research program focuses on corundum (e.g., ruby and sapphire), one of the most economically important coloured stones, in three themes: (1) Corundum in the sedimentary environment (placer deposits, indicator mineralogy, detrital corundum chemistry); (2) trace element and oxygen isotope composition of corundum from hard-rock sources; and (3) ruby/sapphire occurrence genetic models. The research projects offer students excellent training opportunities (including both field- and lab-based components) which will help them develop skills that are in demand by government, industry, and the academic sector. Laboratory facilities available within the host institution are ideal for undertaking the proposed research, and include all key equipment (petrographic microscopes, heavy mineral separation lab, and the necessary advanced analytical instruments) required to bring the research to completion. Much remains to be known about the unusual geological conditions responsible for gem corundum genesis, the formation of placer gem deposits, and their mineralogical and geochemical indicators. The coloured gemstone business is a global multi-billion-dollar-per-year industry, and yet new coloured gemstone deposits are largely discovered by chance due to a paucity of reliable geoscience-based exploration methods. The outcomes of this research will lead to the development of novel, scientifically grounded exploration methods for ruby and sapphire, which has important economic implications for various stakeholders in Canada and around the world (geological surveys, governments, non-governmental organizations, mining industry, artisanal mining communities, remote Indigenous communities, and prospectors).