Parkite Bill Tafuri to speak about our history of early prospecting and discovering ore

Miners in a stope, ca.1900s. Photo: Park City Museum.

PARK CITY, Utah — Park City Museum and the Friends of Ski Mountain Mining History host an in-person lecture, Park City Geology and Mineralization, Early Prospecting and How the Rich Ore Deposits Were Discovered, given by Bill Tafuri on December 14 from 5-6 p.m. at the Park City Museum Education and Collections Center located at 2079 Sidewinder Drive. Register for the lecture here: www.parkcityhistory.org/events.

Tafuri is a long-time resident of Park City with an extensive background in exploration geology and mine development. He will talk about indicators early prospectors looked for to guide them to potentially undiscovered mineralized zones, how they collected and analyzed rock samples, and dug pits and shallow adits into the rock face.

The prospectors, usually men of limited means, often sold the claims to others who had the means to finance, design, and develop the underground mines. Tafuri will present the geological history of the Park City area as well as how mineralization occurred and the origins of the rich ore deposits.

Tafuri holds both a bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in geology from the University of Nevada, Reno, and a Ph.D. from the University of Utah. He has extensive exploration geology experience in the western US, overseas work in central Asia and Indonesia, as well as mine development activities in the US and overseas.

He is a committee member of FOSMMH and a serious amateur photographer.