James (Jim) Mortensen grew up on a ranch near Smithers, BC. He obtained BASc and MASc degrees in Geological Engineering at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and a PhD in Geological Sciences at the University of California, Santa Barbara. After completing his PhD, he taught mineral deposits at UBC for two years before taking a position as a research scientist with the Geological Survey of Canada in Ottawa in 1985. He moved back to UBC as a research professor in 1992.

Jim has more than 40 years of field experience focused on regional tectonic and metallogenic studies, which have focused mainly in the northern Cordillera and the Canadian Shield, as well as Spain, Portugal, New Zealand, Australia, China, Mexico, and Tibet. His main expertise includes orogenic and intrusion-related gold and VHMS deposits and the application of geochronology and radiogenic isotopes in tectonic and mineral deposit research.