Arctic Gemstones - Philippe Belley - The University of British Columbia

Philippe Belley is a Ph.D. candidate in the Geological Sciences program at the University of British Columbia. Supervised by Dr. Lee Groat, a renowned gem deposit researcher, he is studying gem sapphire and spinel occurrences associated with marble in southern Baffin Island, Nunavut. Philippe has been field collecting minerals and gems in his spare time for the last twelve years. Some of his specimens can be found in major museums. He has discovered numerous new occurrences in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia, including gem-quality garnet, diopside, and peridot, using his own geological exploration methods.