A world-renowned expert in metallogeny and isotope geochemistry, Professor Beaudoin, from the Department of Geology and Geological Engineering, develops exploration methodologies based on indicator minerals in his various research projects. The Chairholder’s scientific leadership is already well established, having set up the Centre de recherche sur la géologie et l’ingénierie des ressources minérales (E4m), which he directed from 2015 to 2022.
Understanding the formation of gold deposits
An excellent electrical and thermal conductor, gold is a highly sought-after metal due to its resistance to oxidation, a feature that is extremely useful in many industries, including electronics and jewelry. However, many regions in Canada have reached a stage of maturity in terms of mining, while others are little-explored frontier regions.Launched in 2012, the Chair aims to study the processes that lead to the formation of gold resources, with a view to designing exploration methods using indicator minerals to discover new gold deposits.
With the support of Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd , Eldorado Gold Québec and the Ministère des Ressources naturelles et des Forêts du Québec as partners, the team is focusing on the exploration of areas with gold potential, notably Nunavut, where it is currently conducting research. In particular, it will be working on the precise dating of gold mineralization in order to set it in the context of geological processes, which will enable it to understand the origin of hydrothermal fluids that transport gold in solution, as well as the processes that lead to gold precipitation. The team will build on its world-renowned expertise in indicator minerals. It will create tools to identify the source of these minerals, which are collected in sediments eroded from deposits by glaciers or streams, as well as the vectors that will enable gold mineralized zones to be targeted. The development of new exploration methodologies using handheld devices is an objective that will be pursued with this third mandate, presenting significant gains for research teams, including a reduction in environmental footprint and analysis time, as well as increased agility during exploration activities.
The team is made up of professors Carl Guilmette and Bertrand Rottier, as well as Crystal LaFlamme from the Department of Geology and Geological Engineering, and Renaud Soucy La Roche from the Institut national de la recherche scientifique. Reflecting the multidisciplinary nature of the field, the team collaborates with several universities, including those of Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick and Western Australia, as well as Université du Québec à Chicoutimi and Université Laurentienne.
The AEM-ELD Chair is once again counting on the support of Agnico-Eagle as a partner in its activities. This renewal also marks the addition of Eldorado Gold Québec as a partner: "We are delighted to be associated with the Department of Geology and Geological Engineering for the Agnico Eagle - Eldorado Research Chair in Mineral Exploration, and to contribute to the development of new exploration methods. Gold exploration is a complex science, and the discovery of an economic deposit increasingly requires sophisticated tools to guide us towards mineralization. These new methods can improve the efficiency of exploration activities and reduce our environmental footprint," says Jacques Simoneau, Exploration Manager, Eastern Canada, Eldorado Gold Québec.
Training highly qualified personnel
The Chair will continue to mentor the next generation of researchers, as was the case for the first iteration of the Chair, when 8 master’s and 7 doctoral students were able to gain research experience. This third mandate will follow the same objective, training 3 master’s students, 12 doctoral students, one post-doctoral student and 15 bachelor’s students in geology and geological engineering. The vast majority will carry out case-study-based projects and go out into the field to make observations and collect samples, which they will analyze for the rest of the year.Solidifying Université Laval’s position in the field
As a partner in several major Canadian programs, including Metal Earth , a research project funded by Apogee Canada, Université Laval enjoys an excellent reputation in the field of mineral resource geology. Professor Beaudoin attributes this to the presence of the E4m Centre, the expertise of the research community that spans the entire mineral resources value chain, and the quality training offered to the next generation of researchers.ULaval news
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