The Society of Economic Geologists 2004 Awards R.A.F. Penrose Gold Medal for 2004 Citation of Richard W. Hutchinson

Abstract

Mr. President, Society members, and guests: It is an honor to introduce this year’s winner of the Penrose Gold Medal, Richard W. Hutchinson. I am humbled by introducing a man who has shaped our global community through his research and teaching. As Dick’s last student (for the record, I did not drive him out of academia) I would like to highlight the unique contributions Dick has made through the more than 75 graduate students he supervised from 17 countries on five continents, the countless geologists he has inspired in his classrooms, in short courses around the world, and on the mine-face during his legendary field trips to the great ore deposits of the world. Dick humbly credits his mentors Gordon Suffel and Eugene Cameron for laying the foundation of his scientific philosophy and sparking his fascination with the earth processes that form ore deposits. Dick’s geologic career began in his hometown, London, Ontario, at the University of Western Ontario, under Gordon Suffel, and he graduated at the top of the class in geology (B.Sc. 1950). His passion for the mining industry began during summer field exploration for various Canadian mining companies. Graduate work at the University of Wisconsin (M.Sc, 1951; Ph.D., 1954) under Eugene Cameron combined regional mapping in the Northwest Territories for the Geological Survey of Canada with chemical and mineralogic zoning of pegmatites. This work led to a series of publications that increased understanding of the links between silicate melts and hydrothermal fluids and launched his industry career mapping rare-element pegmatites for Union Carbide in Mozambique. This led to a job with American Metal Company/AMAX, exploring for massive sulfides in the Bathurst district in New Brunswick. Dick quickly climbed the ranks at AMAX and he began managing global exploration for base metal sulfides, carbonatites, pegmatites, and …