Hans Lundberg: Canada’s (and possibly the World’s) first minerals geophysicist is inducted into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame

摘要

Hans Lundberg was a geoscientistwhose career spanned the first half ofthe 20th century. He was part IndianaJones, part Howard Hughes and partJules Verne. He was born in 1893 inMalmö, Sweden and died in 1971 inToronto, Canada. Early in his career, hediscovered significant extensions tothe Buchans ore body (NewfoundlandCanada) and finished with a ‘scorecard’ of being directly involved in thediscovery of mineral deposits worth$CAN5B in 29 countries, many of whichbecame mines. He developed the firstfunctioning airborne electromagnetic(EM) system for minerals prospecting andwas an early adaptor of aeromagneticsurvey techniques, including thefirst to apply helicopters to carryingmagnetic sensors. He fostered the earlydevelopment of airborne radiometrics,and experimented with an early versionof airborne gravity. His interests were notconfined to minerals and he providedconsulting services for the oil industry.Besides the pursuit of mineral and oildeposits, Lundberg successfully appliedgeophysical techniques to hunt forevidence of early humans in what is nowcentral Mexico, and to locating meteoritefragments inside a crater in the Arizonadesert. He was an early proponent ofthe value of petrophysics to help designand interpret survey results. While neverhis primary focus, Lundberg played acritical role in advocating the early useof exploration geochemistry in Canada,encouraging a number of key scientistswho were seen as laying the foundationsfor modern geochemical practice in NorthAmerica. Lunderg’s role was such that hehas been called the father of Canadiangeochemistry (Brummer, Gleeson, andHansuld 1987). He presented over 70papers on geophysical and geochemicaltechnology at meetings in North Americaand Europe. He developed what wewould now call ‘best practice’ as to howto conduct modern exploration, andhad a strong entrepreneurial flare thatallowed him to draw many investorsinto his projects. He shared a vision forthe future of exploration that in manyrespects was uncannily accurate indescribing the world fifty years aheadof the one in which he lived. Whilemany significant contributors cameafter Lundberg, he stands as a titan whotruly led the way. In 2020 Lundberg wasinducted into the Canadian Mining Hallof Fame in recognition of his enormouscontributions to the minerals industryand exploration in particular during itscritical formative era.