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Introduction to the thematic issue on exploration for global uranium deposits: in memory of T. Kurtis Kyser

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Abstract

This thematic issue is in memory of Thomas Kurtis Kyser who died tragically in 2017. Kurt’s contribution to our understanding of the geochemistry of uranium deposits and the application of stable and radiogenic isotope studies to uranium ore systems is incalculable. His research on uranium deposits included the world-class unconformity-related uranium deposits from Canada, Australia, and Russia, and several other major types of uranium deposits worldwide such as Na-metasomatic deposit of Kurupung (Guyana) and Valhalla (Australia), volcanic-hosted deposits of Peru (Macusani), and vein-type uranium deposits from Beaverlodge district (Canada). He was the first to develop methods to use secondary dispersion of pathfinder elements to vector towards deeply buried uranium ore systems. These new geochemical and isotopic approaches are still successfully applied today. Kurt has been a pioneer in applying stable isotopic systems to characterize the paleofluid events associated with ore systems and to distinguish between barren and mineralized fluid pathways. Kurt was a prolific author with over 400 publications and over a hundred articles on uranium deposits. Kurt wrote three short courses for the Mineralogical Association of Canada dedicated to uranium deposits: Fluids and Basin Evolution (2000), Recent and not-so-Recent Developments in Uranium Deposits and Implications for Exploration (2008, in partnership with SGA), and Geology and Geochemistry of Uranium and Thorium Deposits (2015). However, his true legacy is the large number of undergraduate and graduate students, post-docs, and researchers that he taught, supervised, and mentored; most of whom are now working in industry, academia, and government institutions across the globe. He will be missed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Earth Sciences, University of Manitoba, MB, R3T2N2, Winnipeg, Canada

    Mostafa Fayek

  2. Université de Lorraine, CNRS, CREGU, Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, France

    Michel Cuney & Julien Mercadier

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  1. Mostafa Fayek
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  2. Michel Cuney
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  3. Julien Mercadier
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Correspondence to Mostafa Fayek.

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Fayek, M., Cuney, M. & Mercadier, J. Introduction to the thematic issue on exploration for global uranium deposits: in memory of T. Kurtis Kyser. Miner Deposita 56, 1239–1244 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00126-021-01072-1

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