Seminar Lab Presenter 1:

Seminar Lab Subject:
Fall Banquet; Annual Meeting; Mountains to Metal

Seminar Lab Location:

Fall Banquet in the hall of Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 436 N Roy St, St Paul, MN (Midway area near I-94 & Snelling)

The first meeting of the Geological Society of Minnesota for 2026-2027 is the Fall Banquet at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 436 N Roy St, St Paul, MN (Midway area near I-94 & Snelling). This is the same location as the Spring Banquet held in May, 2026. 

Banquet: We will start gathering at 5 PM and a catered buffet will arrive at 5:30. As in the spring, the buffet dinner is being catered by nearby Black Sea Restaurant ( https://blacksearestaurant.com/). The selections will include vegetarian and gluten-free dishes; dessert will be choice of baklava or rice pudding. The cost is $15/person, payable in cash at the banquet (exact change if possible).

If you are not a member of GSM and wish to attend this banquet, register as soon as possible: Go to the Contact menu above and select “Ask GSM”. In the form that appears, enter your name and e-mail address. Enter “Sep 14 banquet” and the number of persons in the subject line. We ask this so that we may order sufficient food for all attendees.

Following the banquet, around 6:30 PM will be our Annual Meeting, during which the membership will elect new Board members to replace those leaving the Board. Starting around 7 PM, will be our first lecture of 2026-2027. As with all GSM lectures, this lecture is free and open to the public.

Summary: “Mountains to Metal” will be an informal talk that will give a broad overview of the entire mining process and take you behind the scenes to see what it really takes to mine in 2026. We’ll explore modern prospecting, developments in geological modeling, ore processing, and why you have to meticulously plan for mine closure before processing a single gram of ore. Beyond the pie charts and scatterplots, I’ll be weaving in stories, legends, a bit of humor, and plenty of geology. I’ll see you there!

Biography: I’m currently working as an exploration geologist with Dakota Gold in the Black Hills of South Dakota. I grew up outside the Twin Cities in Afton, MN and have always enjoyed the natural sciences but earned my Bachelor’s in Industrial Design from North Carolina State University in 2024. Since then I’ve pivoted back to science and worked for North Carolina Parks and the Freshwater Society before taking a big leap into exploration geology last year, where I’ve gotten to learn a tremendous amount of geology and technical skills. Outside of work I enjoy writing, picking mushrooms, documenting state tri-points, and taking trains around Europe.