Wed

2 Feb

An homage to Dr. Anthony Naldrett

Harquail School of Earth Sciences’ Professor Andy McDonald was the lead editor of a recent special issue of The Canadian Mineralogist dedicated to the late, great, Anthony (‘Tony’) Naldrett. 

Dr. Naldrett was an internationally renowned researcher of the geology, origin, and exploration of magmatic Ni-Cu-PGE ores.  

“His ideas revolutionized our understanding of these ores,” McDonald explained. “Professor Naldrett is considered one of the most important influencers in ore-deposit modelling in the 20th century, having played a pivotal role in the training of dozens of leading researchers in Canada and abroad,” McDonald continued.

The Canadian Mineralogist Naldrett issue includes 25 papers from a truly international cadre of contributors, including those from Canada, the U.S., South Africa, Russia, Italy, Spain, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Japan.  

The diversity of contributors and the breadth of topics presented, along with the sheer size of the special issue (spanning more than 600 pages), speaks to Prof. Naldrett's impact on so many careers and research programs.  

Prof. McDonald is based at the Harquail School of Earth Sciences at Laurentian University, in the heart of the Sudbury basin, the same place where Prof. Naldrett initiated his forty-year career focused on magmatic Ni-Cu-PGE ores.

This linkage to the rocks that surround us and the stories they tell emphasize how important Prof. Naldrett’s influence has been (and continues to be) on the nature of the research being conducted in the area of magmatic ores and in the training of the next generation of geoscientists.  

Publication of the Naldrett issue was under the auspices of the Mineralogical Association of Canada, where Prof. McDonald serves as Past President.  It began during the challenging times of the COVID-19 shutdown and was a collaborative effort involving himself and Co-Editors Drs. Malte Junge (Mineralogical State Collection, Munich) and Fred Ford (Vale Canada).  

Recollections of stories, images and a summary of the most important contributions from Prof. Naldrett from Prof. Mike Lesher (HES) and Dr. Louis J. Cabri (ret.) serve to round out the special issue. 

The Harquail School of Earth Sciences has directly (and indirectly) benefitted from the ideas and interactions with Prof. Naldrett, so it is with profound pleasure that the School has been able to contribute to recognizing him in a manner that is most befitting.

Access The Canadian Mineralogist Naldrett issue at: https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/canmin/issue/59/6.