Short Course
Prospector Short Course - Prospecting With Modern Digital Tools: GPS, Spreadsheets, Google Earth, Geoscience Atlas, & More
FULL DAY – November 4 | 09:00 – 16:30
Description:
This full day short course will focus on all things Digital that can be used when prospecting to better the data quality including: GPS Units, Coordinate Systems, GPX files, Online Coordinate Conversions, Station Data and Tables, Google Earth and KMZ files, the NL Geoscience Atlas, QGIS and Open-source Mapping Software, and Avenza Maps.
The short course will include both a lecture and a hands-on component. Bring your GPS! Laptops are optional.
The morning will be divided into sessions on:
- Discussing GPS Units and Sourcing them. Pros and Cons.
- Coordinate Systems used for Mineral Exploration in the province.
- GPX files on your GPS and Garmin Basecamp.
- Online Coordinate Conversions.
- Building and Maintaining Sample Data Sheets
The afternoon will be divided into sessions on:
- Using Google Earth and KMZ files
- QGIS and Open-Sourced Mapping Software
- Avenza Maps and Making Project Maps
- Show and Tell – Questions
Facilitators:

Kiley Billard
Project Geologist, New Found Gold Corp.

Mike Regular
P. Geo.
Senior project geologist, New Found Gold Corp.
Career Summary
Kiley earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Earth Science/Geology from Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John’s, NL. He is currently a Project Geologist with New Found Gold Corp. and has been working on the Queensway Gold Project since 2022.
A Geoscientist-in-Training, Kiley has been working in Newfoundland since 2019. He began his career as a soil sampler and prospector before progressing to mapping, core logging, and supervisory roles. Over this time, he has developed a strong understanding of GIS, geospatial data workflows, and data organization, and has gained experience using a variety of data collection applications.
Kiley currently plays a leading role on New Found Gold Corp.’s regional exploration team and assists Mike Regular in his work.
Career Summary
Mike received his bachelor’s degree in Earth Science/Geology from Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John’s, NL. He is currently a Sr. Project Geologist with New Found Gold Corp. and has worked on the Queensway Gold Project since 2016.
Mike is a Professional Geoscientist registered with PEGNL since 2005 with over 30 years experience conducting mineral exploration in Newfoundland and Labrador, Northern Quebec, Manitoba, and the Northwest Territories. He is also an executive of the Newfoundland and Labrador Prospectors Association where he mentors new and existing prospectors and geologists as their Central Representative, an assessor of new P.Geo. entrants with PEGNL, and a member of the NL Mineral Rights Adjudication Board.
With 30 years of exploration experience, Mike has been a part of many exploration plays starting as a prospector and mapping geologist, logging core, conducting project evaluation, resource estimation thru to mining. Mike has worked on a variety of deposit types including Archean Lode Gold and Orogenic Gold, VMS Base Metals, Magmatic Ni-Cu-PGE, Igneous Rare Earths, Iron Formations, and Dimension Stone, among other commodities. This exploration has seen him work around the Labrador Trough and the Ashuanipi Complex, the Raglan Belt in northern Quebec, north of Voisey’s Bay, central Newfoundland VMS deposits, the Yellowknife Greenstone Belt, Glover Island in Grand Lake, and many more areas before coming to the Queensway Project in his backyard 90km from his hometown of Botwood.
Mike has a strong leadership ability and combines this with a solid knowledge of geological environments, ore genesis models, and current exploration methodologies towards generating efficient modern exploration teams. Currently he fills a number of roles with New Found Gold including permitting, assessment and technical reporting, land management, geoscience mentoring, and project logistics, among others.
Pricing
Full day Prospector Short course
Price includes two coffee breaks, lunch and course notes
