Lakehead University Geology - Journal Yearbook (Thunder Bay, Ontario Canada)

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Dr. Roger H. Mitchell, B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D. Academic Background; Lecturer in Isotope Geochemistry, University of Oslo, Norway, 1971-72. Assistant Professor of Geology, Lakehead University, 1972-76. Associate Professor of Geology, Lakehead University, since 1976. Field work this year commenced with a visit to the Moonshine Hills of Kentucky in search of the type locality of mica peridotite. The search was not a resounding success as the peridotite dikes are intruded into faults occupied by flourite veins which weather to a persistant glutinous red mud, thus hiding the igneous rocks. Six months later I still have some of the mud on my boots. Samples were found with the aid of gophers, despite such hazards as flourite mud, bloodsucking ticks, snakes, fields of poison ivy and a local populace remeniscent of characters from Deliverance . Never do field work in Kentucky unless you really have to I Springtime found myself as 100% of the crew of the notorious Captain Platt and involved in a study of the igneous rocks found in the Lake Superior Islands and of the nepheline syenites found on the Marathon Riviera - field work not to be missed if you ever get the chance - one of the most beautiful parts of Lake Superior. July found Dr. Platt and myself encamped upon some awfully stoney ground in the permafrost desert called Bathurst Island. Our work there sponsored by the Federal Polar Continental Shelf Project, was to make a de- tailed study of the Freeman ' s Cove volcanic rocks, these are the second only known occurrence of nephelinite in North America. During the work Dr. Platt did an excellent job as gunbearer, wreaking havoc amongst the oil drums with the 30-06, but failed abyssmally in attracting any polar bears. In fact, the fiercest beast we came across was a long-tailed jaegar. The fall saw me once more in the desert, but this time in the very hot Arizona desert. As a part of the Second International Kimberlite Conference field trips were organized in the U.S„ southwest. Here I collected kimberlites, minettes and pieces of mantle to compliment my studies of Canadian and South African upper mantle material. Much of the field work involved such activities as pushing rubber rafts down the San Juan River Canyon, climbing mountains under the blistering hot sun or coughing ones way around sagebrush and cactus in sandstorms. All very enjoyable and some 70 petrologists were kept on the liquidus by consuming some 5000 cans of beer over ten days. In all this was the most Interesting field work of the year as I saw recent volcanism, the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, the Rio Grande Rift, and a wide variety of igneous rocks.

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Dr. M.W« Bartley, M.Sc., Ph.D. Backgroundj Lecturer University of Toronto 1938-40 Iron Ore Exploration since 1938 Steep Rock Iron Mines development 1940-48 Principal, Lakehead Technical Institute 1948-52 Honary Professor Lakehead University since 1971 President C.I.M. 1976 I am one of the fortunate people who has had a very rewarding ex- perience being involved with mineral exploration, mine development, mine operations and academic endeavours for almost forty-five years. My greatest reward has been the accumulation of many close friends and professional peers, young and old in many parts of the world. Nothing can take the place of friends in one ' s chosen field of endeavour because they are always a source of enjoyment and a limitless fund of information. I maintain that whatever success I may have had is not the result of what I know but rather who I know and can turn to for advice. After graduation from the University of Manitoba in 1934 and during subsequent post-graduate work I was employed by the Ontario Department of Mines during the field seasons and lectured at the University of Toronto during the academic year. During my final year of post-graduate work at Toronto I enlisted in the R.C.A.F. but was seconded to Steep Rock Iron Mines Limited to develop an iron mine in support of the war effort. I have remained in the field of iron ore exploration and development since that time. Interspersed was a brief period, 1948 to 1952 as Principal, Lakehead Technical Institute. My, involvement in the consulting field has been very pleasant and educational. My work has taken me to every Province except Prince Edward Island, to many of the United States, to the high Arctic and to several countries in South America, Asia, Europe and Africa. Each has been a new experience and I can recommend the life and the role to all graduates in geology. Since I have lost the desire to attempt fifteen to twenty mile daily mapping traverses my present endeavours are directed towards economic appraisals and evaluations of mineral deposits and mine de- velopment. These are exacting assignments, often fraut with frustration because of the vast bureaucratic maze which must be negotiated. I find that my few hours per week devoted to Instruction at Lakehead University is a welcome respite. I enjoy sharing my experiences with students who are so eager to learn and are so appreciative of assistance. I heartily recommend that all prospective geologists and those in allied sciences become members of professional associations. It is through these affiliations that you will gain professional stature and lasting personal satisfaction. I wish you success, satisfaction and many years of productive life after graduation.

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Dr. R. Garth Platt, B.Sc.. Ph.D. Academic Background; Visiting Professor, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, 1969-70 NRC Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Western Ontario, 1970-71. N.E.R.C. Research Fellow and Staff member. University of Edinburgh, Scotland, 1971-74. Assistant Professor, Lakehead University, since 1974 The summer season began and ended with organized field trips to the Coldwell Alkaline Complex in N.W. Ontario. The early summer field trip was organized for the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Institute on Lake Superior Geology. A guide book was prepared for the occasion. The late summer trip saw a group of hardy students (some students claimed it snowed - fertile imaginations), studying the complexities of North America ' s largest alkaline complex and the rigours of life on the North Shore of Lake Superior. In between these events, serious research was continued on the pet- rology of the Coldwell Alkaline Complex with particular emphasis on the neph- eline syenites and the dike rocks associated with the intrusion. In addition, preliminary investigations of the Keweenawan Osier Volcanics of Northwestern Ontario were undertaken. The department ' s research boat was often seen braving the waters of Lake Superior with Dr. Platt in command and Dr. Mitchell navig- ating. Dr. Mitchell ' s navigation was so bad that the beginning of July saw us both on Bathurst Island in N.W.T.. This trip, under the auspices of the Polar Continental Shelf Project, was made to initiate studies into the geology and petrology of the Freeman ' s Cove Alkaline Volcanic Suite. This suite, con- taining as it does, nephellnites, basanites and phonolites is unique to the Canadian Arctic and its study will provide us with valuable information about the geological history of the area.