Ralph J. Roberts (geologist)
Encyclopedia
Geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...
and research scientist with the USGS
United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology,...
. He is credited with the discovery of the Carlin and Battle Mountain
Battle Mountain, Nevada
Battle Mountain is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Lander County, Nevada, United States. The population was 2,871 at the 2000 census. Though it has no legal status as a municipality, it still functions as the county seat of Lander County...
Gold Belts, which make up the richest gold-mining region in Nevada as well as the United States.
Early life
Roberts grew up in eastern Washington, and earned his bachelor'sBachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
and master's
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
degrees from the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
in Seattle. His PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
research, which he conducted at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, defined the Antler orogeny
Antler orogeny
The Antler orogeny is a mountain-building episode that is named for Antler Peak, at Battle Mountain, Nevada. The orogeny extensively deformed Paleozoic rocks of the Great Basin in Nevada and western Utah during Late Devonian and Early Mississippian time...
, a major mountain-building episode in the late Paleozoic
Paleozoic
The Paleozoic era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic eon, spanning from roughly...
.
USGS work
During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Roberts lived in Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
, where he had been sent to discover and conduct fundamental research on strategic minerals. After the war he returned to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
; for the next 40 years he worked in Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
and Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, deciphering the geologic history of major mountain ranges and exploring mineral deposits.
In 1960, Roberts published a lengthy paper that predicted the existence of important mineral-bearing rocks in Nevada. Roberts' research led to the discovery of the Carlin and Cortez-Battle Mountain gold belts. These two mining districts now represent the richest gold region in the United States, and one of the leading gold producing regions of the world.
During the 1970s he spent six years in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, mapping ore
Ore
An ore is a type of rock that contains minerals with important elements including metals. The ores are extracted through mining; these are then refined to extract the valuable element....
deposits and contributing to the development of the Arabian mining industry. He retired from the USGS in 1981, but continued his mineral exploration in Nevada for over two decades.
Honors and awards
- Distinguished Service Award from the US Department of the Interior
- Medal of Merit from the American Mining Hall of Fame
- Distinguished Service to the Minerals Industry Award from the Northwest Mining Association
- The Ralph J. Roberts Center for Research in Economic GeologyEconomic geologyEconomic geology is concerned with earth materials that can be used for economic and/or industrial purposes. These materials include precious and base metals, nonmetallic minerals, construction-grade stone, petroleum minerals, coal, and water. The term commonly refers to metallic mineral deposits...
at the University of NevadaUniversity of Nevada, RenoThe University of Nevada, Reno , is a teaching and research university established in 1874 and located in Reno, Nevada, USA...
was named in his honor.
Publications
- Roberts, Ralph Jackson "Iron sulfide deposits at Wadi Wassat, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia" USGS Open-File Report No. 82-176 (1981)
- Roberts, Ralph Jackson "Quicksilver deposits of the Bottle Creek District, Humboldt County, Nevada" USGS Bulletin No. 922-A (1940)
- Roberts, Ralph Jackson "Quicksilver deposit at Buckskin Peak National mining district, Humboldt County, Nevada" USGS Bulletin No. 922-E (1940)
- Roberts, Ralph Jackson "The genesis of disseminated and massive sulfide deposits in Saudi Arabia" USGS Open-File Report No. 76-602 (1976)
- Luce, Robert W., Bagdady, A., Roberts, R.J. "Geology and ore deposits of the Mahd adh Dhahab district, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia" USGS Open-File Report No. 76-865 (1976)
- Roberts, Ralph Jackson, Rye, R.O., Mawad, M.M. "Preliminary sulfur isotope investigations of mineral deposits in the Precambrian shield, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia" USGS Open-File Report No. 78-776 (1978)
- Roberts, Ralph Jackson, Bagdady, A., Luce, R.W. "Geochemical investigations in the Mahd Adh Dhahab District, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia" USGS Open-File Report No. 78-777 (1978)
- Bagdady, A.Y., Whitlow, J.W., Roberts, R.J. "Placer gold deposits in the Mahd Adh Dhahab district, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia" USGS Open-File Report No. 78-1074 (1978)
- Martin, Conrad, Roberts, R.J., Stoeser, D.B. "Titaniferous magnetite in the layered intrusive complex at Lakathah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia" USGS Open-File Report No. 79-1210 (1979)
- Roberts, Ralph Jackson "Manganese deposits in Costa Rica" USGS Bulletin No. 935-H (1944)
- Roberts, Ralph Jackson, Irving, E.M. "Mineral deposits of Central America" USGS Bulletin No. 1034 (1957)
Later life
In 2002, he published his autobiographyAutobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
, entitled A Passion for Gold. ISBN 087417502X
See also
- Carlin Trend
- John LivermoreJohn LivermoreJohn Sealy Livermore is an American geologist who has discovered or helped to discover four major gold deposits in northern Nevada. The Carlin deposit, from which the current Nevada gold-mining industry grew, was his first discovery. In 1961, after reading an article by Ralph J...
, co-discoverer of the Carlin Mine - Gold mining in NevadaGold mining in NevadaGold mining in Nevada, a state of the United States, is a major industry, and one of the largest sources of gold in the world. Nevada currently mines 79% of all the gold in the United States, which is equivalent to in 2009. Total gold production from Nevada recorded from 1835 to 2008 totals ,...
External links
- Roberts' obituary in The News Tribune, Tacoma, WashingtonTacoma, WashingtonTacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
, published August 13, 2007 - IN MEMORIAM Dr. Ralph J. Roberts 1911-2007
- Ralph J. Roberts Center for Research in Economic Geology at the University of Nevada, RenoUniversity of Nevada, RenoThe University of Nevada, Reno , is a teaching and research university established in 1874 and located in Reno, Nevada, USA...