The Yukon Prospectors Association has named Ryan Burke as the recipient of the Prospector of the Year Award.
Per a statement by the association, Burke, an exploration geologist with Victoria Gold Corp., has “worked across many facets of the Yukon’s mining industry since 2010 and has been involved in all stages of exploration, from the idea-stage early prospecting and discovery, advanced exploration and resource definition through production geology and grade control.”
Burke was previously an exploration geologist at Archer, Cathro and Associates, an independent geological consulting firm. He was also an exploration geologist at Groundtruth Exploration Inc., and as a university student, he worked as a field mapping assistant at the Yukon Geological Survey.
The statement noted that Burke has been working on developing grassroots exploration projects within the territory through boots-on-the-ground prospecting.
“His work has resulted in the brand-new discovery of the Catch property southeast of Carmacks, which is now being explored by Cascadia Minerals (formerly ATC Resources) for copper and gold mineralization. His other property, Pike/Warden, is currently being explored for copper, gold and silver east of Carcross by Transition Metals, a project generator based out of Sudbury, Ontario.”
The association gives the award each year to a prospector in the territory. Burke said it’s a big honour to be considered a recipient.
“Past recipients are all well-respected prospectors up in the Yukon. So, it’s humbling, and I feel pretty happy to be chosen and nominated to receive it,” he said. “They’ve all gone on to do great things up in the Yukon with respect to geology and prospecting.”
He told the News that the impact of receiving the award is the motivation to continue his work.
“I guess now that I’m included in that list of names, the expectation is there, and it’s definitely extra motivation to continue working out here.”
He said that without a funding program called the Yukon Mineral Exploration Program (YMEP), it would be impossible to do his work on prospecting.
“It’s a grant system to help early-stage exploration, and I just wanted to thank the existence of that program. Because without it, I really would have never been able to pursue this dream or passion of mine. Like I love doing this, and without that program put in place by the Yukon government, it wouldn’t be possible.”
Burke obtained a bachelor of science in geology — with honours — from Memorial University of Newfoundland in 2018 and is a Geologist in Training, with the professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Newfoundland and Labrador, a member of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) and a Society of Economic Geologists Member.
Contact Patrick Egwu at patrick.egwu@yukon-news.com