Ralph J. Roberts (geologist)

He is credited with the discovery of the Carlin and Battle Mountain Gold Belts, which make up the richest gold-mining region in Nevada as well as the United States.

His PhD research, which he conducted at Yale University, defined the Antler orogeny,[1] a major mountain-building episode in the late Paleozoic.

During World War II Roberts lived in Central America, where he had been sent to discover and conduct fundamental research on strategic minerals.

After the war he returned to the United States; for the next 40 years he worked in Nevada and Utah, deciphering the geologic history of major mountain ranges and exploring mineral deposits.

During the 1970s he spent six years in Saudi Arabia, mapping ore deposits and contributing to the development of the Arabian mining industry.