Stephen Piercey is a native of Newfoundland and Labrador and completed a B.Sc. (Hons) and M.Sc. degrees at Memorial University, and a PhD at the University of British Columbia. Following his PhD, he was an assistant professor (2001-2004) and associate professor (2004-2008) in the Department of Earth Sciences and Mineral Exploration Research Centre at Laurentian University. From 2008-2009 he was the principal of SJPGeoConsulting, a St. John’s-based mineral exploration consulting firm.

Since December 2009, he has been an associate professor and professor (2014-present) and the NSERC-Altius Industrial Research Chair in the metallogeny of ores in volcanic and sedimentary basins in the Department of Earth Sciences at Memorial University. He has mentored numerous graduate students at both Laurentian and Memorial universities, many of whom have gone on to successful careers in industry and research.

Piercey has been a volunteer in numerous societies that are related to mineral deposits and mineral exploration, including CIM, and has been particularly active in student affairs, student mentorship and education. He is particularly interested the training and mentorship of young geologists and professionals in the mining and mineral exploration sector.

Piercey currently serves as the chair of the Graduate Student Fellowship Committee of the Society of Economic Geologists Foundation, the examination board of the Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Newfoundland and Labrador, and is an associate editor of the journal Economic Geology. He has previously been awarded the Lindgren Medal by the Society of Economic Geologists, the William Harvey Gross Medal by the Mineral Deposits Division of the Geological Association of Canada, and is a previous winner of CIM’s President’s Medal and Student Essay Contest.