Gems, Minerals & Rocks of Wyoming: A Guide for Rock Hounds, Prospectors & Collectors
It is extremely rare for a person to find a world-class mineral deposit, after all, only a few such deposits are found each decade. W. Dan Hausel (geologist, prospector, and author) discovered more than one world-class mineral deposit, a few major gold, diamond and gemstone deposits and made more than a hundred other significant mineral discoveries.  Professor Hausel was a member of a 7-man discovery team of the Donlin Creek gold deposit in Alaska in 1988. This deposit hosts at least 40 million ounces: essentially an equivalent amount of gold that has been mined in all of Alaska since gold was discovered in 1848. He also discovered the Rattlesnake Hills gold district in Wyoming: a district that is currently being explored for both Kalgoorlie- and Cripple Creek-type gold deposits. He found the Palmer Canyon, Grizzly Creek and the Sherman Mountains colored gemstone deposits. Two of which are likely world class gem deposits with giant iolite gemstones. Hausel, sees things others overlook. Where others walked & saw nothing, he found gold, platinum, palladium, opal, diamonds, rubies, sapphires, iolite, peridot, agate, jasper & some of the largest gemstones on earth and some of the larger gold deposits in North America. Spending summers alone in wilderness, he mapped >1000 km2 of complex geologic terrain, historic mines, rare volcanic rocks with diamonds & other gems & wrote about these in more than 700 papers, maps and books as a research geologist for Wyoming and as a private consultant for several international gold, base metal, gemstone and diamond mining companies.  He was presented more than a hundred regional, national and international awards for his work including President's Award by the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, the Prospector's Best Friend Award by the Rocky Mountain Prospectors, the Distinguished Service Award by the Wyoming Geological Association, the Archimedes Award of Geological Sciences by the International Biographical Institute and the Thayer Lindsley Award for a Major International Gold Discovery by the Prospectors & Developers in Canada. Elected to the National Rock Hound & Lapidary Hall of Fame & Millennium Hall of Fame for contributions to the geological sciences. His achievements highlight dozens of Who’s Who compendiums: Who's Who in Science & Engineering, Who's Who in the West, Who's Who in America, Who's Who in the World, 2000 Outstanding Scientists of the 20th Century & others.