To attend, please respond to megcalgary@gmail.com or membership@megcalgary.com. The only reason we ask for a response is to judge the approximate attendance so we have enough food. We don’t sell tickets, although our seating capacity is limited to about 60. You’re welcome to just show up, but we do appreciate an RSVP.
Date: Friday, January 12, 2018
Location: Kerby Centre downtown Calgary (1133 – 7th Ave. SW)
Doors open at 11:30 am.
Talk starts at noon
Members: $20
Non-members: $25
UCalgary, MRU, UA, SAIT, NAIT Students: free with student ID
Abstract:
While China has had a 7,000+ year long history of Nephrite Jade use and tradition, the nephrite jade market has been of very limited scope during the 20th century, with small worldwide production and consumption due to the absence of Jade’s largest market, China, during the period following the fall of the last Chinese Dynasty (Qing), and the resurgence of China as a global economic power in the late 1990’s.
Due to limited worldwide market sizes as well as relatively low prices realized for raw materials, the sector has remained the realm of prospectors and relatively artisanal to semi-industrial type of exploitations with little technical or advanced scientific research into formational models and relatively poorly documented deposits to date. As mainland China is now voraciously returning to their roots and traditional love of Nephrite Jade with a much larger population as well as considerable financial resources, the scarcity of known jade deposits due to lack of exploration has driven prices for both raw materials and finished products multiple folds in the last 2 decades.
The talk will outline a short summary of today’s Jade space, reasons for lack of investment over the last century, rationale for Manson Creek’s involvement in the Jade space and a summary of Manson Creek’s progress on its current lead project, the DJ Jade project.
Presenter Bio:
Jean-Pierre Jutras, B.Sc Hons Geology, P.Geol. has been a self-employed Professional Geologist from 1991 to date, with over 26 years of world wide experience. JP is currently the President, CEO and a Director of Manson Creek and a Director and Vice-President of Canex Metals Inc. He was the President and Director of Tyler Resources Inc. from 2001 until March 2008 when Tyler was taken over by Jinchuan Group Ltd. for Cdn $214 million. JP then remained as Feasibility Study Coordinator 2008 to 2010 for Tyler Resources Inc., post-takeover transaction. He was President of Guatavita Gold Corporation from 2010 to 2014.
As part of one of his first summers working with Placer Dome in Northern British Columbia in the late 1980’s, JP had the opportunity to visit the project which was to become the Polar Jade Mine, BC’s most recognized Jade deposit for its higher grade material. The project at the time was in its early stages and being developed at surface by the prospecting team of Jerry Skopky and partner Sue. An opportunity to take some jade samples home for this young geologist became the beginning of an avocation now spanning almost 30 years as a Jade cutter and carver, student and collector of jades from all over the world, gemstone carver and faceter and metalsmith. It was this parallel path which led to JP being invited to participate and compete for the first time as an International carver at the Zi Gang Bei Jade and Gemstone carving exhibition, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province in November of 2017, where he received a silver medal for one of his competition entries.
While in China, the scale of the changes in the Jade industry became obvious, leading to a one month research Journey to some of the major jade carving centers and markets in China, leading to Manson Creek’s current efforts to enter the Jade space as a leader in Jade exploration.