PhD student Darius Kamal awarded the 2023 Mary-Claire Ward Geoscience Award

Darius Kamal, a Ph.D. student in EOAS under the supervision of Ken Hickey, has been awarded the annual Mary-Claire Ward Geoscience Award for 2023. Each year this award is given to a graduate student in Canada whose thesis embodies the objective of increasing our knowledge of Canada’s geological history through field mapping. 

Darius’ Ph.D. research aims to establish how rock deformation during tectonic collision events, which have led to the formation of western Canadian mountain ranges, impacts the distribution, preservation, and grade of sulfide-rich ore deposits. Darius’ research is focused on the region of the Selwyn basin around and between Howard’s Pass and Macmillan Pass deposits in eastern Yukon. Darius’s uses a number of geoscience methods to characterize the rock layers of the basin, integrating kinematic and microstructural analysis, Uranium-lead (U-Pb) carbonate dating of veins, whole rock and mineral geochemistry, micro- X-ray fluorometry, scanning electron microscopy, and Electron Backscatter Diffusion (EBSD) mapping. Darius’s research will not only significantly contribute to our understanding of the structural development of the Selwyn basin and the tectonic evolution of the Canadian western mountain ranges, but will also expand our knowledge of mineral system science of similar such deposits. 

The Mary-Claire Ward Geoscience Award is administered by the Geological Association of Canada (GAC), the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), the National Geological Surveys Committee, the Canadian Geological Foundation, and Watts, Griffis and McOuat Ltd.