John V. Tully

OBITUARY

John V. Tully, principal of John V. Tully & Associates, president of Buffalo Gold Mines, and a director of First Narrows Resources, has died of cancer.

Tully studied geology at Mount Allison University in New Brunswick, where during the summer, he explored for VMS deposits in the famous Bathurst mining camp.

Following graduation in 1965, John and his wife, Pat, moved to Chibougamau where his career as a mine geologist began at the Copper Rand copper-gold mine. Two years later, after graduating from the so-called “Copper Rand School of Mining,” Tully headed west and spent time in Salmo, B.C., as chief mine engineer at the Jersey lead-zinc mine.

In the 1970s, Tully returned to New Brunswick, where he worked tirelessly on the Mount Pleasant tin deposit for the Sullivan Mining Group. Tully published a number of papers on the deposit.

From 1985-1991, Tully was an independent consultant to clients in Canada, the U.S., and South America. Some of his clients included Esso Minerals at the Cochenour project in Red Lake, Ont.; Noranda Minerals at its Harker Holloway project; and Amax Gold at Ketza River.

From 1991-1998, Tully served as manager of mining with engineering firm Fluor Daniel. Some of the noteworthy projects he worked on include the AJ project in Alaska with Echo Bay Mines; the Andacollo copper project in Argentina; the McWatters project in Val d’Or, Que.; and the Galore Creek feasibility study for Kennecott in B.C.

Peter Gummer, president of First Narrows, describes Tully as having a “give me the facts, not an interpretation” approach to project and resource evaluations. And Terry Mersereau of Northeast Exploration Services says, “In addition to being one of the best evaluation and assessment geologists I have ever met, John was a genuinely nice person.”

Tully is survived by Pat, his two children, Fran and Victor, as well as several grandchildren.