Harold Courtright had a life-long interest and career in mining and geology in the Cordillera of North and South America. His field mapping skills and exploration expertise led to the discovery of well-known porphyry copper deposits in Arizona and Peru. The scholarship fund, set up after his death in 1986, is designed to promote graduate research in the Cordillera and, while the Society may support exciting studies in any geologic discipline, we do place special emphasis on field geology, economic geology, and the study of ore deposits.

For more details about this scholarship visit our Student Outreach Page.

Guido Merino

2024 Courtright Scholarship Recipient

Guido earned an Honors Degree in Geological Sciences from the University of Buenos Aires in July 2017, before beginning his geological career in the mining industry, where he worked as an exploration geologist on the Josemaria and Nacimiento projects, prior to becoming the Project Chief Geologist on the Filo deo Sol project in Argentina in 2021.  As a result of this work, he co-authored a paper with José Perelló and Richard H. Sillitoe titled “Geology of Porphyry Cu-Au and Epithermal Cu-Au-Ag Mineralization at Filo del Sol, Argentina-Chile: Extreme Telescoping During Andean Uplift.”

Guido resumed his education at the University of Arizona in August 2024, where he is pursuing a Master of Science Degree in Geology.  His current research is focused on the Bonita and Maranceles zones of the Filo del Sol deposit, an extensive magmatic-hydrothermal system situated along the Argentina-Chilean border.  Located along Vicuña Belt, it represents a large, highly telescoped, Cu-Au porphyry and high-sulphidation epithermal system, outcropping along an 8.5-km long north-northeast trending zone.

This research will focus on ore assemblages and geochemical characterization of the three different styles of mineralization (i.e., porphyry Cu, high sulphidation, and intermediate sulphidation/sub-epithermal veins) observed in the Bonita and Maranceles zones in an effort to understand how this portion of the hydrothermal system evolved northward from the central Aurora zone.  To achieve these goals, research will involve a combination of field observations, core logging, petrography, mineral chemistry and geochronology.