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Michael Burke
Acting Head Mineral Services
Mike is the Acting Head of Mineral Services which includes Yukon MINFILE, Placer Database and Yukon Minign Incentives Program (YMIP). He continues to liase with and monitor the hard rock mining and mineral exploration industry in Yukon. Mike visits active exploration sites during the field season, authors the annual Yukon Mining, Development and Exploration Overview and presents the overview at conferences such as the Yukon Geoscience Forum, Alaska Miners Conference, Cordilleran Roundup and the annual meeting of the Northwest Miners Association. Mike also reviews reports for assessment credit, maintains the assessment report library and manages the H.S. Bostock Core Library facility in Whitehorse. The H.S. Bostock Core Library houses over 128 000 metres of diamond drill core from over 200 Yukon mineral occurrences. Rock saws, core tables and other equipment are available to the public to use for viewing the existing collection or for processing core if on site facilities are not available. Confidentiality of the core is determined on the same basis as mineral assessment reports. Contact Mike for information on viewing or submitting core or any inquiries relating to the mineral industry in Yukon.
Mike has been involved in the mineral exploration industry since 1983 when he first worked in Yukon as a geological assistant for Canamax Resources exploring for gold, tungsten and base metals. While completing his B.Sc at the University of British Columbia he continued to return each summer with Canamax and was lucky enough to be involved in the discovery of two significant Yukon mines, the Ketza River Gold Mine and the Sa Dena Hes Zn-Pb-Ag (Mt. Hundere) Mine. Upon completing his B.Sc. in 1987 Mike moved to Yukon to become the mine geologist at the Ketza River Gold Mine which operated from 1987 to 1990. He joined the staff of the Exploration and Geological Services Division of the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs in 1991. In 1994 he began his current role as Staff Geologist responsible for liaising with the exploration industry, monitering hard rock mineral exploration, visiting active exploration sites, reviewing mineral assessment reports and managing the H.S. Bostock Core Library.