Thu

23 Aug

Special Issue of The Canadian Mineralogist edited by Andy McDonald

The 11th International Platinum Symposium (IPS) held at Laurentian University 21-24 June 2010 was successful on many fronts but none more than the scientific merits that were realized. One tangible piece of evidence for this is a recently published, special thematic issue The Canadian Mineralogist (vol 49, part 6) which drew heavily from some of the presentations made at the IPS, along with submissions received from international researchers conducting fundamental research into the origin, distribution and processing of platinum-group elements.

The special issue was edited by Drs. Andy McDonald (LU) and Michelle AE Huminicki (Brandon U, but MSc graduate from Laurentian) and dedicated to their fellow researcher and friend, Dr Louis J Cabri who, although retired, continues to remain highly active in the area of PGEs. The issue is a collection of 17 contributions focused on a variety of topics ranging from the occurrences of PGE in various ore-deposit settings (layered intrusions, ophiolites, etc.), to PGE isotopic systematics, PGE synthesis, new platinum-group minerals and the development of techniques applicable to quantifying PGE recoveries.

A spectacular image what may be the world’s best specimens of sperrylite crystals, collected at the Broken Hammer deposit in Sudbury by Wallbridge Ltd. adorns the cover. The photo was taken by Michael Bainbridge, a Canadian and one the world’s top up-and-coming mineral photographers. The senior editor of The Canadian Mineralogist, Prof Robert A Martin (McGill U) provided a wonderful historical perspective of Francis Lewis Sperry (a chemist employed by INCO from 1886 to 1891).