This fonds consists of material from Dr. Duncan R. Derry, a Canadian economic geologist. The material includes: Derry's working and project-related documents, such as reports, addresses, lectures and notes; various correspondence, office and miscellaneous files; documents related to Derry's businesses; as well as personal documents.
Some photographs, maps and technical drawings are also included.
Majority of the material in this fonds is related to Derry's work as an economic geologist - this includes various diaries, papers, correspondence, reports and notes related to mining exploration and development.
Derry, Duncan R., 1906-1987 : Duncan Ramsay Derry was born in Croydon, England in 1906. He received an Honours science degree from the University of Cambridge in 1927 and then immigrated to Canada. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in geology from the University of Toronto in 1928 and 1931, respectively. In 1935 he began working with Thayer Lindsley at Ventures Ltd. (Falconbridge), supervising many exploration and mining programs in Canada (including northern regions like the Uranium City area of Saskatchewan, and Baffin Island) and throughout the world (including South Africa, Greece, Guyana, Chile, Peru, and Greenland). He was responsible for several large mapping operations such as Canadian Malartic (La Vallée-de-l'Or municipality, Quebec), Matachewan Consolidated (Timiskaming, Northeastern Ontario), Coniaurum (Timmins area, Ontario), Guysborough Gold (Nova Scotia), and Opemiska (Chapais, Quebec).
Derry also completed 5 years of service in the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War. In 1954, he went on to become President of Riocanex (Rio Tinto Company Limited) where he was responsible for acquiring Rio Algom's uranium mines in the Elliot Lake area of Ontario as well as discovering the Mines of Poirier zinc-copper deposit in Northern Quebec (by the city of Joutel, in the former municipality of Baie-James). In 1960, he went on to form his own consulting firm (later known as Derry Michener Booth & Wahl). Dr. Derry also formed Dejour Mines Limited in 1968.
In addition to his professional work, Dr. Derry was an active and contributing member of the geoscientific, geological and mining community. He served as President of the Society of Economic Geologists in 1960 (the first non-American to do so); he helped to launch the Canadian Geological Foundation in 1969 as well as the Canadian Geoscience Council; he published many papers and addresses to Canadian and international audiences; and he was active in many academic geology departments (Toronto, Queen's, Western, Harvard, Princeton). One of his most notable published works is his 1980 "A Concise World Atlas of Geology and Mineral Deposits".
Since 1980, the Geological Association of Canada has awarded The Duncan R. Derry Medal annually "to the outstanding economic geologist who has made significant contributions to the science of economic geology in Canada." Dr. Derry passed away on January 26, 1987. He was inducted into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame in 1989.
