New Economic Geologist at NBMG – Dr. Mike Ressel
Dr. Mike Ressel is joining the faculty of the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology and is filling a new tenure-track faculty position in Economic Geology. Mike will be responsible for studying and assessing mineral resources in the region, including analysis of the processes that make Nevada one of the world’s richest regions in gold deposits. This position will allow NBMG to better fulfill its core mission of studying mineral deposits and distributing that information through published geologic maps, papers, and reports to the public.
Mike has a B.S. in Geology from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (1989) and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Geology (1996 and 2005, respectively) from the University of Nevada, Reno. His graduate studies were Nevada-focused and broadly covered aspects of Tertiary volcanic geology, igneous petrology, regional magmatism, ore deposits, and tectonics. A major focus of his Ph.D. work was on the relationships between magmatism and Carlin-type gold mineralization on the Carlin Trend, Nevada. His work experience includes five years prior to graduate school working for a consulting firm specializing in geotechnical engineering, GIS, hazardous materials, and hydrogeology throughout the U.S. Since 2000, Mike worked in mining and exploration for gold and copper across North America but also in Africa, Australia, and South America for several companies and involving a variety of deposit styles. His industry experience includes several Nevada underground and open-pit mines where he did ore control, mine mapping, resource modeling and near-mine development. He has conducted exploration for mineral deposits over a range of scales from reconnaissance-level through district- and mine-scales, which included the assembly of regional framework and prospectivity studies, project generation and management, mapping and sampling, target generation, and property evaluation for acquisitions and auditing. He most recently served as Chief Geologist for North America for Newmont Mining Corp., where he contributed to evaluations of grassroots through advanced exploration projects, helped guide regional and global exploration focus, was involved in developing training and mentoring programs in both mines and exploration, and liaised with university-sponsored research, including advisement for several M.S. and Ph.D. studies.
Mike has served on several academic research boards including the Precambrian Research Center at the University of Minnesota, Duluth, the Lowell Institute for Mineral Resources at the University of Arizona, and the Center for Research in Economic Geology at the University of Nevada, Reno as well as being an industry liaison for advisory boards of NBMG and the Geological Sciences Department at UNR. He is a past president of the Geological Society of Nevada and currently serves on its Foundation. He is a fellow with the Society of Economic Geologists.
Mike is excited about joining the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, a group that he has been closely involved with for many years. His plans are to advance understanding of mineral deposits, igneous geology, and tectonics in Nevada and the Great Basin through field studies that include mapping and geochronology. He hopes to join with industry and other researchers in strengthening the economic geology program at UNR.