PROFILE Parduhn pioneers bacterial prospecting

In the late 1950s, the Soviets were the first to study the viability of using soil bacteria to locate ore. Since then others have followed suit. Nancy Parduhn, president of Cereus Exploration Technologies, participated in developing such a technique when she was still in graduate school. Based in Sparks, Nev., her company provides exploration services using soil bacteria. At 33, Parduhn holds a B.Sc. in geology from the University of Wisconsin (1981) and a Ph.D. in geochemistry from the Colorado School of Mines (1987). She founded Cereus Exploration in May, 1987.

“Our success in showing that Bacillus cereus can be used to locate buried precious and base metal deposits has caused a stir in the exploration community,” says Parduhn in a recent interview with The Northern Miner.

Bacillus cereus, she explains, is a soil bacterium that increases over mineralized bedrock. A geologist collects a soil sample and analyses it for Bacillus cereus concentrations. He must, however, appreciate the variables — vegetation, for example — that affect the bacterium’s distribution.

Parduhn’s clients are mostly companies that “have properties where conventional exploration techniques have not proven successful: deeply buried bedrock where surface geochemistry is not effective in targeting orebody extensions,” she says.

Whether this method can be applied to a particular property depends on a few factors, Parduhn adds. “There must be oil present, the area must be relatively undisturbed by previous mining activity or roads, and extremely moist terrains such as swamps are not suitable for this method.”

A number of her clients have used the method for prospecting. They include N e w m o n t Gold, Amax Gold, Noranda Inc., Hecla Mining, Homestake Mining, Cyprus Minerals and Minnova Inc. in Nevada; Noble Peak in Utah; and British Geological Survey in northern Wales and in Botswana, Africa.

As well, pilot studies have been conducted at projects worldwide, including Ontario’s Hemlo gold mine, the Mesquite gold deposit at Yuma, Calif., the Kalgoorlie gold-nickel district in Australia and the Reid mine in Redding, Calif.

Born in Buffalo, N.Y., Parduhn as a teenager excelled in gymnastics. She loves skiing in winter and hiking in summer.

She is married to Philip Jackson, a geologist for Teck Resources, a U.S. unit of Teck Corp. The couple has one son, Peter. “So far I have managed to be a full-time mom and work,” she says. “I currently have a crib in my office, and a playpen in the computer room. It is not uncommon to trip among the toys.