Johannes Brummer, an exloration geologist who discovered the Manibridge nickel deposit in Manitoba and the McClean uranium deposits in northern Saskatchewan, has died. He was 83.
Born in South Africa, Brummer attended Witwatersrand University in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he obtained a bachelor of science degree in mining and a subsequent masters in geology. In 1955, he was awarded his doctorate in geology from McGill University.
He gained experience in mining engineering in the gold mines of the Witwatersrand Basin from 1943 to 1947, and later learned the ins and outs of geology as he explored the Congo Copperbelt from 1947 to 1953. He moved to Canada in the early 1950s and began to explore for mineral deposits with the Quebec Department of Natural Resources. He later explored throughout Canada with Kennco Explorations, Falconbridge Nickel Mines (1961-70), Occidental Mineral Petroleum (1970-72), and Canadian Occidental Petroleum.
In 1984, he formed the consulting firm J.J. Brummer Management, over which he presided until 2000. During his years in Canada, he organized exploration projects and introduced stream-sediment geochemical exploration techniques.
Most of his time with Falconbridge was spent in the Thompson nickel belt in Manitoba. It was during this time that he found the Manibridge nickel deposit and the Rod copper-zinc-gold deposit near Snow Lake, in the Wabowden area, as well as the George Lake zinc deposit in the Wollaston Lake belt of Saskatchewan.
During his years with Canadian Occidental (now known as Nexen), he searched for base metals and uranium. When Inco signed on as a partner, they started searching for new unconformity-type uranium deposits and were rewarded with the discovery of the McClean deposits.
Brummer wrote numerous papers and on three occasions won the Harlow Memorial Medal for the best geological paper published by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM).
He was also awarded the Duncan R. Derry Medal in 1984, for contributing to the science of economic geology in Canada.
Brummer was a member of the Professional Engineers of Ontario, the Geological Society of Canada, the Geological Society of America, the Society of Economic Geologists, the Geological Society of South Africa, the CIM, the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada, the Canadian Gemological Association, the Royal Ontario Museum, the Gardiner Museum, and the Ontario Club.
Brummer is survived by his wife Eve, sons Douglas and William, and two grandchildren.
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