Justin Drummond

Justin Drummond completed his BSc (2012) and MSc (2014) in Earth and Environmental Science at Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia. His MSc research integrated sedimentology and multi-technique petrography to constrain the depositional environment of phosphorus accumulation in Neoproterozoic phosphatic sediments of the ca. 610 Ma Sete Lagoas Formation of central Brazil. The study provided further insight into phosphorus cycling in the Precambrian ocean during the Late Neoproterozoic, just before the ventilation of Earth's deep oceans. After completing his MSc, Justin moved to Kingston, Ontario to begin his PhD in geochemistry under the supervision of Dr. Kurt Kyser and Dr. Noel James in September, 2014.

Justin’s PhD project focuses on characterizing groundwater calcretes and calcrete-hosted uranium deposits in Western Australia and assessing whether there are potential U deposits in the calcretes of the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB). This study integrates petrography, mineralogy, sedimentology, and isotope geochemistry to constrain the primary factors influencing uranium accumulation. The data from this study will be used to refine oregenesis models, and aid in determining where in the WCSB these factors may have conspired to produce uranium deposits. Additionally, this information will provide context for the application of novel exploration techniques, such as the use of trace-elements in vegetation as vectors to ore.