Purebase Corporation (OTCQB: PUBC), a natural resource development company headquartered in Ione, California, in conjunction with US Mine Corporation, hosted an educational guided field tour of US Mine Corp’s mineral reserve for the UC Davis Soil Genesis, Morphology & Classification Course (SSC 120).

Dr. Rebecca Lybrand, an Associate Professor in the Department of Land, Air, & Water Resources at UC Davis, teaches the Soil Genesis course that centers on students recognizing and describing soils in the field and identifying the chemical, biological, and physical processes of soil formation in diverse ecosystems. The field tour led by the US Mine Corp focused on introducing students to the economic and societal importance of the Ione Formation, with an emphasis on kaolinite clay deposits, the highly weathered Ione soils, and the formation of ironstone. Students learned about the formation of the geologic units, the age of the deposits as well as the industrial uses and applications of such clay minerals following extraction from the field.

With the tour guided by CEO Scott Dockter, US Mine Corp Senior Geologist, Chris Strong, and Purebase Director of Sales and Corporate Development, David Harvey, the students were able to witness the operations related to the extraction of kaolinite clay in the mining process while also learning about the societal uses of the silica sand and heavy mineral concentrate sands that also inhabit the property.

“These guided tours provide a great deal of insight on just how massive the scale of these mineral operations are,” said CEO Scott Dockter. “Attendees can physically gauge the vast quantity of resources we have here in Ione by seeing it in-person. What we have here is quite remarkable and we are proud that it is put towards an incredibly important cause of future sustainability by decarbonizing the large industry cement and concrete sectors.”

“This field trip provided our class with the unique and exciting opportunity to observe kaolinite clay mineral deposits and soils formed in a tropical paleoclimate right here in California! We had a great time spending the afternoon out in the field with the team,” Professor Lybrand said. “It is incredibly important for students to see first-hand the direct relevance and applications of concepts we cover in class. Many thanks to Purebase Corporation and US Mine Corp for making this opportunity possible!”