Areas of Interest:

My current areas of interest in geology include:

• Igneous Petrology as a tool for describing the mechanisms and development of the COAB (Central Asian Orogenic Belt) in Mongolia, China, Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation.

• Tertiary Volcanism and related plutons of the Western Cascade sub-province of SW Washington and Oregon, USA. Two published works on this research include: Curless, John M., Field, Cyrus W., and Vaughan, Matthew W., 1989, Hydrothermal Mineralization in the Vicinity of Rocky Top, Western Cascades, Oregon; GSA  Abstracts with Programs, v. 21, no. 5, p.71 and Curless, J.M., Vaughan, M.W. and Field, C. W., 1990, Plutonism and Hydrothermal Mineralization associated with the Detroit Stock, Western Cascades, Oregon: GSA  Abstracts with Programs, no. 3, p. 16. This paper was also printed in Oregon Geology, Volume 52, No. 6, November 1990, P. 137-138. A  re-draft/update of an original manuscript written in 1987 with insights as a result of subsequent research and the benefits of current technology is currently in progress.

• Understanding the geology of Taiwan and the results of previous and on-going collision of continental crust with ancient sections of oceanic crust in terms of chemistry, structure, economic mineralization and petrogenesis.

• Associations of elements and mineralogy related to Au, Ag, Cu, Mo, Pb and Zn mineralization and their genetic relationships, spatially and chronologically plus the transference of these models and relationships to the concentration of REE's in North and South America.

• Application and understanding of structural geology as it pertains to source rock permeability/metasomatism and host rock mineralization, alteration plus fluid control.

• Understanding of macroeconomic cycles and the allocation of capital in the mining sector; Leading indicators of failures and wild success.

Geologic Experience:

Carlin Trend, Central Nevada, USA: As a young man fresh out of school, I earned the opportunity to work for Atlas Precious Metals as an Exploration Geologist primarily in the Roberts Mountains - although the experience led me all over the state of Nevada, SE Oregon and slightly into California. In Central Nevada, the Roberts Mountains are the result/expression of the Late Devonian to Early Mississipian Antler Orogeny; the first orogenic event to effect the cordilleran margin of Laurentia. The resulting Roberts Mountain Thrust is a regional feature which juxtaposes coeval Cambrian to Devonian silliclastic rocks atop an autochthonous series of miogeosynclinal or shallow water carbonate rocks. The displacement of the Roberts Mountain Thrust Fault across different sections of Nevada ranges anywhere from 60 to 120 miles of eastward movement depending on location. At Atlas Precious Metals our focus was on the sequence of lower plate Ordovician to Devonian dolomites and lime mudstones that underwent Oligocene to Miocene Basin and Range extension and epithermal mineralization. The intrusive rocks affiliated with this extension are believed to be the heat engine responsible driving meteoric and connate waters as the primary agent of alteration and mineralization. At the Gold Bar and Gold Bar II properties, Au concentration was usually associated with a cap of highly silicified limestone over which were anomalous concentrations of Hg, As and Sb. Following the silicified zones to depth, there was a gradation from silicification to de-calcification of limestones leaving a clay enriched, deeply iron stained altered limestone. Often times this sequence of Silicification followed by iron stained de-calcification was repeated several times in a down hole sequence of drilling. Some of the duties I performed with Atlas Precious Metals included:

• Exploration looking for geochemical anomalies while using basic geological skills to defines structures, stratigraphy and variances in petrography for the purpose of defining areas of likely precious metal deposition/concentration and recognition of the alteration patterns frequently associated with such concentration.

• Application of geobotanical prospecting techniques with subsequent assays and mapping to define localized anomalies of Hg, As, Sb, Cu, Pb, Zn, Ag and Au.

• Mapping the alteration and extent of "fossilized hot springs" with geochemical sampling.

• Implementation of a regional geophysical exploration program performing gravity measurements and density contrast modeling to locate buried horsts in basins filled by quaternary sediments. These blocks were in areas of likely Au mineralization and often in close proximity to existing Au properties in production. The results of these surveys led to the drilling of likely shallow blocks to test our hypothesis.

• Reconnaissance mapping and sediment surveys of likely areas of mineralization with the goal of identifying element anomalies associated with Au/Ag deposits.

• Staking/filing mining claims in rapid sequence to prevent encroachment with supervision of subsequent boundary surveys and infilling of claim staking errors.

• Supervision and logging of recirculation and diamond drill core drilling on the Gold Bar II and Gold Ridge properties.

• Crude grade and volume determinations to move property from exploration to development phase.

Western Cascades subprovince, Oregon, USA: The Cascade Range of Western North America is a North-South trending magmatic arc that extends roughly 1100 km from Mt. Garibaldi in SW British Columbia to Mt. Lassen in Northern California. The Cascade Range is the result of convergence of the North American and Juan De Fuca tectonic plates. In Oregon, the Cascade Range is divided into two parallel physiographic provinces: The older Western Cascades which range in age from late Eocene to late Miocene in age and the younger High Cascasdes which range in age from late Miocene to present. The High Cascades are positioned east of the Western Cascades. The High Cascades are a 20 km to 30 km wide graben bound series of basaltic sheild volcanoes that range in age from 5 to 8 Ma topped by a series of prominent andesitic stratovolcanoes, most of which are younger than 3 Ma in age. The Western Cascades are composed of series of basaltic to rhyolitic volcanic flows, pyroclastics and sedimentary rocks derived from numerous volcanic centers. These Western Cascade rocks are spacially and temporally associated with plutons from which they were derived. The rocks are folded by a series of NE trending anticlines and synclines, faulted by regional NW trending structures, uplifted and deeply disected by streams and the effects of past glaciation.

Blue Mountain Province, Eastern Oregon, USA: The Blue Mountain Province of Eastern Oregon is a diverse accretionary terraine of Paleozoic to Mesozoic metasediments and metavolcanic rocks capped by Tertiary volcanics. My early training as a geologist includes Oregon State University's Geologic Field Camp (Go Beavers!) in the Cretaceous Mitchell Inlier. This area is capped by Tertiary Clarno and John Day Volcanics then the mostly Miocene Columbia River Basalt Group.