Biography:
Rebecca is currently working on her Ph.D. at the University of Victoria under the supervision of Dr. Dante Canil. She received her B.Sc. degree in applied geology at the University of Calgary, where she completed an honors thesis focused on aqueous geochemistry under Dr. Cathy Ryan. Post B.Sc., Rebecca worked as a hydrogeologist in Calgary, AB for 4+ years before heading out west for graduate studies. She completed her M.Sc. (Geology) at Western Washington University under Dr. Susan DeBari, where she studied the plutonic-volcanic connection of the Cretaceous Alisitos Arc (Baja California, Mexico). She is looking forward to continuing her studies in understanding paleo-arc related processes by studying the Jurassic Bonanza arc on Vancouver Island.
Project: Skarn Mineralization Along Pluton-Carbonate Wallrock Contacts in the Wrangellia Terrane, Vancouver Island (NTS 92L034, 92F083)
The Wrangellia Terrane hosts nearly half of the skarn deposits in the Canadian Cordillera. These skarns were historically mined for economically significant Cu-Au-Co-Ag, and Fe. The majority of skarns occurring on Vancouver Island occur at contacts between Jurassic Bonanza arc plutons and upper Triassic carbonates. Though not the focus of previous prospecting efforts, attributes such as intrusion geometry, heat content, bulk composition, and cooling history of the magma and country rock may influence the extent and type of skarn mineralization and resultant metal endowment. This project aims to quantify how these magma attributes influenced wallrock reaction extent and skarn mineralization at pluton-carbonate contacts in two contrasting magma systems: the Iron Hill (lower temperature, felsic pluton) and Merry Widow (higher temperature, mafic pluton). These previously mined skarns provide excellent 3-D exposures to study the reaction volume and mineralization process.
View Rebecca’s 2020 Scholarship Page
