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Survey of Canada, several federal, pro-
vincial and territorial government bod-
ies, and other organizations such as
Geoscience BC. Bob was a vital member
of the group that administered the Rocks
to Riches geoscience grants through
AME BC, an effort that ultimately led to
the formation of Geoscience BC.
A careful researcher and "data miner,"
Bob played a leading role in the 1972 cre-
ation of, and annual updates to, Archer
Cathro's Northern Cordillera Mineral
Inventory. Through the 1970s and 1980s,
the Inventory, a private publication
financed through annual subscriptions
from resource companies, was the most
comprehensive file on mineral explora-
tion history and property data in Canada.
It was sold to the Yukon Government in
1990 to become the foundation for the
current Yukon
MINFILE database.
Bob was a prolific technical writer
and editor, having authored numerous
articles on subjects as diverse as Yukon
tungsten deposits, the metallogeny of
the Canadian Cordillera, supergene
copper mineralization and
SEDEX lead-
zinc deposits. He served on the editorial
boards of several notable compendiums
of mineral deposit geolog y, includ-
ing both of the
CIM Special Volumes
on Porphyry Deposits of the Canadian
Cordillera (No. 15, 1976 and No. 46,
1995), and Mineral Deposits Division
of the Geological Association of Canada
Publication No. 2 (2000) on
VMS deposits
of Latin America.
His passion for research and his-
tory flourished in retirement when he
authored nearly 50 articles on the evolu-
tion of the science of economic geology
(CIM
Magazine) and edited a series on
the great mining camps of Canada for
Geoscience Canada. He also contributed
to several books including Bowen Island:
Reflections, a pictorial history, and Into the
Mountains, a history of the first 100 years
of
AME BC.
Bob always felt that he was a very
lucky person: lucky to be raised in a
family that valued honesty and integrity
above all else; lucky to work with great
mentors early in his career; lucky to meet
a great wife in Pat; lucky to raise three
independent boys; and lucky in business,
where he worked with many fine part-
ners, clients, associates and employees.
In lieu of flowers, the family would
prefer a donation to a charity of your
choice, or to the Robert Cathro Fund for
Geology at
UBC (visit memorial.supporting.
ubc.ca/robert-cathro).
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