Citation by. Massimo Chiaradia delivered by Lluís Fontboté
Golden (CO), August 4th, 2025
Massimo Chiaradia's Citation (delivered by Lluís Fontboté) for the 2025 SGA Young Scientist award to Cyril Chelle-Michou
It is with great pleasure that I introduce Cyril Chelle-Michou as the recipient of the 2025 SGA Young Scientist award.
Professor Massimo Chiaradia could not make it to Golden and has asked me to present Cyril. A personal note as introduction: I met the first time Cyril in Luleå, in northern Sweden, when he was working in mineral exploration for Boliden after Bachelor in Nancy, France and Master in Luleå. At that time I could not imagine that after moving to New Caledonia to work as geologist in a Ni-Co laterite mine, a few years later Cyril would come to Geneva to start a thesis with Massimo Chiaradia.
To have Cyril in Geneva was great and his input was extremely positive, with dynamic discussions on the formation of porphyry deposits and other topics from which arose pioneer papers coauthored with other PhD students, his participation on teaching and also in the field. For example I remember a student chapter field trip in Peru that included a visit to the San Vicente MVT deposit, a deposit topic that, among others, he addresses during an invited lecture of this Conference on Wednesday.
I follow now Massimo Chiaradia's text.
After postdocs in Lyon and Bristol, Cyril is now assistant professor at ETH Zurich where he has constructed a remarkable team working on different metallogenetic aspects, ranging from porphyry Cu deposits to MVT deposits, and also on analytical developments. Cyril, is productive: according web of science, he has 70 publications with an h factor of 27, and with his group at ETH, only since 2023, have appeared 23 publications in high impact journals.
The research approach of Cyril is broad and original, and this makes him stand out as one of the most promising young scientists in the field of ore deposits. What makes Cyril rather unique are his varied interests and approaches to geological problematics, which are witnessed by his publications ranging from the field of geothermal energy, through granitic magmatism, to mineral chemistry, and large-scale processes, not to mention the main focus of his research, which are ore deposits and in particular porphyry systems. The broad approach of Cyril to Earth Sciences makes him a full-rounded ore geologist with an uncommon understanding of different metallogenetic processes which has resulted in seminal publications in the porphyry and epithermal ore deposit field.
Cyril has contributed to make significant advances in the understanding of the formation of porphyry systems through an elegant approach including fluid chemistry modeling and high-precision geochronology. Some of his and his coauthors’ publications are already seminal works, like the petrochronology zircon work on the Coroccohuayco deposit in Peru that he wrote during his PhD thesis This pioneer work on combined LA-ICP-MS and Chemical Abrasion-Isotope Dilution TIMS dating on the same zircon grains has opened the road to the adoption of this combined technique in the ore deposit community.
Main recent achievements include quantification of magmatic-hydrothermal fluxes in ore forming systems, the role of geological processes duration on the endowment of porphyry copper and MVT deposits, and development of high-precision geochronological methods.
In conclusion, Cyril Chelle Michou has already obtained very significant and innovative results both in terms of publications and in creating a productive team. He has successfully integrated his industry experience and broad geological experience in an original and multi-varied research approach to the geology of ore deposits. The nomination group consisting of Massimo Chiaradia, Georges Beaudoin, John Dilles, Jeff Hedenquist, and Peter Weiss, is deeply convinced that he deserves the SGA Young Scientist Award and very pleased that he is receiving the award today. And me, personally, very specially.
Letter of acceptance by Cyril Chelle-Michou
Golden (CO), August 4th, 2025
Dear friends and colleagues,
I’m honoured and humbled to accept the 2025 SGA Young Scientist Award. I would like express my gratitude to Massimo Chiaradia for nominating me, to Lluís Fontboté for reading the citation, to Georges Beaudoin, John Dilles, Jeffrey Hedenquist, and Philipp Weis for supporting this nomination and to all those who have encouraged and supported me throughout the years. And thank you to the SGA Council for this recognition. In the midst of my midlife crisis, it’s nice to know I still count as “young”!
My journey here has been anything but straight. It was never about pursuing a clear long-term goal, but it is largely a chain of lucky opportunities, encounters, and default choices that have brought me here today. As a kid I never dreamed of becoming a geologist. I wasn’t into mineral collecting. At university I began studying math, physics, and engineering, then switched to Earth Sciences for the outdoor work. When I started studying geology in Nancy, I promised myself I would never work on mineral resources, and few years later completed a Master’s in Exploration Geosciences from Luleå — with plans for an industry career. But the 2008 financial crisis eventually sent me to New Caledonia, and then back to Europe, where the first job I could find was a PhD in Geneva. Thanks, Massimo, for taking the risk (or maybe not appreciating the risk!) and giving me four fantastic years to grow scientifically.
Like many fresh PhDs, my first thought was to leave academia but an unforseen opportunity came up and eventually kept me in. This winding path ultimately shaped my curiosity not just about how mineral deposits form, but why their metal contents vary so dramatically across porphyry copper deposits first, and now across sediment-hosted base metal deposits. This journey also reflects my compromises with private life that, unfortunately, remain almost unavoidable in academia. This award reflects the work of many: mentors, colleagues, and students in Geneva, Saint-Étienne, Bristol, and now in Zurich with the MineRS group, as well as close collaborators from Chile, Peru, Italy, Morocco, the UK, and the US. You all share this honour with me.
I’d like to use this stage to share something more today. As the horizon darkens across the globe, I believe we, as mineral resource scientists, must step out of our comfort zones and engage far beyond our own community, far beyond the usual outreach. From politicians to farmers, from fellow Earth scientists to taxi drivers — people need to understand the full breadth of challenges we face if we are to secure resources responsibly and sustainably. This also means reflecting on our own community — recognising the need to broaden our perspectives, bring in voices from diverse backgrounds and disciplines, and building stronger bridges between the geological, economic, and social sciences, so that our work addresses not just the rocks beneath our feet, but the people who live with them.
Thank you to the SGA for being such a vibrant and supportive community — and to my Family, and Massimo, Lluís, Bertrand, Vincent, Anders and all those who have challenged, inspired, and cheered me on.
I wish you all a good conference.
Cyril Chelle-Michou