Nathan Bridge, P.Geo., is Vice-President of Exploration with CanAlaska Uranium
Gems of Geoscience
November 1st, 2021
Nathan Bridge, P.Geo., is Vice-President of Exploration with CanAlaska Uranium
I grew up in southwestern Ontario about two hours southwest of Toronto in a small town (by Ontario standards) named St. Thomas.
In 2004, upon finishing high school, I attended the University of Windsor for two years working toward a general sciences degree. Like most students, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to study. I anticipated that I’d study law or be a doctor.
Then, I took an Introduction to Geology class as my elective in my first year and was instantly caught by the science. The different processes occurring throughout Earth’s history have always fascinated me. In addition, I came to recognize how important the geosciences are to the world’s growing population, providing sustainable long-term development for all corners of the globe.
During my undergraduate years, I spent my time working in the Abitibi Greenstone Belt in Quebec on research projects. I also spent a few weeks as a research assistant working in the Kapuskasing Uplift area near Chapleau, Ontario, which has by far the worst bugs that I’ve ever encountered in my career.
My favourite rock is from there. The Kapuskasing Uplift consists of deep crustal rocks uplifted from a lower crustal level of the Superior Province. I’ll admit, my knowledge of the Kapuskasing Uplift is limited, but I’ve always liked this rock because of the texture preserved within it. The sample has spectacular mineral coronas of hornblende around clinopyroxene preserved throughout. It always stood out to me as my favourite rock
because you can see the mineral relationships so clearly in the hand sample.
This rock is significant to me because it reminds me of my early career years. I spent several weeks slogging through bogs drilling back pack holes into outcrops. At night, we’d hang out around the fire and discuss the challenges that we faced during the day. I sometimes wonder how I made it through some of those days; but on frustrating days in my career now, this rock reminds me that the challenges I face in a day are temporary and they become fond memories for the future.
Bridge appreciates that this sample from Kapuskasing Uplift has spectacular mineral coronas of hornblende around clinopyroxene preserved throughout.
To complete my BSc in Geology, I transferred to the University of Western Ontario. From there, I spent two additional years at Western where I completed my MSc in Geology in 2010 studying the Lac Cinquante Uranium Deposit in Nunavut. I spent a considerable amount of time on the tundra in Nunavut at that time. Upon completing my MSc, I worked for Kivalliq Energy, the company that sponsored my project, for a few months in Nunavut.
From there, I ended up in Saskatchewan working for Cameco Exploration and got my P.Geo. in 2013.
I spent 11 years working for Cameco. For the first 10 years, I was part of the project teams in the exploration department spending the majority of my time on Cameco’s Read Lake project where we made the Fox Lake Deposit discovery in 2013. The team took Fox Lake through the delineation and inferred resource stage. I also worked on Cameco’s Millennium Deposit, Cigar Lake Extension Deposit, and various other greenfields exploration programs during that time.
In my last year at Cameco, I moved into a geoscience role. In this role, my job was to support the project teams on geoscience initiatives, targeting and long-term planning for projects.
In July of 2021 I left Cameco for a VP of Exploration role with a junior uranium company called CanAlaska Uranium. Since coming to CanAlaska, my life has gotten quite busy, but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the change and look forward to where this role will take me. We’ve got a great team at CanAlaska and I’m excited for the future.
I think what I appreciate the most about being a geoscientist is how much I get to travel Northern Saskatchewan and the rest of the world to look at interesting deposits and rocks. I’ve been able to see some of the most remote and beautiful parts of our country, places that many people will never touch foot on.
I’m also very thankful for all the opportunities that I’ve had to work with great geoscientists along the way. I’ve learned so much from my mentors and colleagues, and this has helped me to become a better geologist.
I also enjoy my time with my wife, Ashlee, and two children, Cohen, who is eight years old, and Ayden, who is five as well as our two dogs, Rosie and our newest addition, Molly.