The younger generation may be interested to learn that the late Ernie Nickel was a Canadian export to Australia. Born in Ontario, he was a graduate of McMaster University, in Hamilton. Ernie's mineralogical career developed between 1953 and 1971 at what was first known as the Mines Branch in the federal Department of Energy Mines and Resources. He rapidly gained recognition as one of Canada's leading mineralogists and developed and headed a mineralogical team at what had by then become known as the Canada Centre for Mineral and Energy Technology (CANMET), now a branch in the re-named Natural Resources Canada. Among the many mineralogical contributions that can be attributed to Ernie was the Sulphide Research Program. This sought to investigate fundamental properties of sulphide minerals and attracted solid state physicists and crystallographers (including Australian Syd Hall).

Ernie was a friend, colleague and mentor to many in Canada before being attracted by CSIRO's offer of a non-administrative research position, an offer he could not refuse as at that time he was actively being groomed for a higher administrative position at CANMET and there were rumblings of introducing “cost-recovery” and all that this entailed. Ernie foresaw at least ten years clear sailing in research before this philosophy reached Australia. In typical Ernie style, he prepared himself for the move by learning to use the microprobe, which was usually the realm of our capable technicians. Ernie also had a large impact on the international scene including, for many years, an important rôle in the International Mineralogical Association's Commission on New Minerals and Mineral Names. Ernie continued working on many fronts after his ‘retirement' 15 years ago. Among these activities was his collaboration with Dorian Smith in examining and cataloguing incompletely described, “unnamed” minerals. In fact, a few weeks prior to his death, he had been discussing with Dorian some unnamed minerals in a recent paper that I was involved with­ and that was how I learned the sad news. One of my treasured possessions is his gift to me of his 1991 “Mineral Reference Manual” (with Monte Nichols). In spite of now being quite out of date, it is my most used book because of its handy size in soft-cover, and inclusion of mineral densities.

Louis J. Cabri
Ottawa