62 Mineral Exploration | amebc.ca
PHOTO: COURTESY MDRU
Hart admits that the job of a geologist
is "far more complicated" than when he
graduated in 1986. Today, in addition to
the core skills – such as petrology, field
mapping, structural geology – graduates
need to be digitally savvy, able to collect,
manipulate and interpret large volumes of
data, but also be financially and socially
aware, ready to converse with investors and
communities. He feels that undergraduate
programs don't equip students with these
necessary skills and he tries to include
them in his graduate-level training.
Together with his respected
predecessors in the MDRU director role
and an impressive team of past and present
MDRU senior researchers, Hart has created
a mineral exploration "alumni army" like
no other. All AME members are likely to
be, or work with, an MDRU alum. Of the
200 graduates to date, many have now
taken on senior management positions
at major mining houses, started their own
junior exploration companies or become
successful industry consultants.
Hart's ongoing satisfaction is seeing his
graduates using the skills they developed
during their time at MDRU to continue learning
and evolving. He is always pleasantly surprised
to hear from graduates who call after
years working in industry, o"er to support
a current project or a student and give
back to the industry that supported them,
starting the cycle at MDRU all over again.
Craig Hart (front row, far left) poses with a group
of short course participants, including academic
researchers, students and industry members, at the
Bingham Canyon Copper Mine, Utah, in 2014. Hart has
organised and taught about 35 short courses during
his 10-year tenure as MDRU director.
