August 7, 1936 – January 26, 2019

Richard Garnett passed away peacefully at his home in Oakville, Ontario, surrounded by his family on Saturday January 26 ^, 2019.

During his 55-year career as a mining engineer and geologist, Richard was instrumental in the discovery and expansion of several deposits, including Voisey's Bay, Donlin Creek and the Geevor Tin Mine in Cornwall.

At age 10, he was awarded a scholarship to Hymers College, Hull, a success which he later claimed, opened career opportunities he would not otherwise have dreamt of.  On leaving Hymers College in 1954, Richard entered the Royal School of Mines, part of Imperial College, London, on a state scholarship to study Mining Engineering.  He graduated with first class honors in 1957, aged 20.

His newly acquired degree exempted Richard from two years of otherwise compulsory national military service.  Richard decided to put that time to good use by gaining a further degree in Mineral Exploration and, finally, in 1962, his Ph.D. in Economic Geological Engineering.  Simultaneously, he rose through the ranks of the Student's Union to become President of the Union in 1958/59.

In 1961, Richard  married Valerie, whom he met while working at Geevor Tin Mine, Cornwall. Shortly thereafter, they moved to Malaysia, where Sarah was born.

His continual relocation around the world meant that Jane was born 4 years later in Cornwall and Alison 4 years thereafter back in Malaysia.

His impressive 55-year career included employment with Rio Tinto, Anglo American, Hudson Bay Mining and Diamond Field Resources, as well as becoming a sought-after industry consultant until the age of 79.  During his career he worked on five continents, spending five years in South East Asia, two in Spain, two in the United Kingdom, 12 in Southern Africa and the remainder of his career in North America.  He began as a geologist and rose through the mining industry ranks to join a number of corporate Boards as a director.

1n 1987, Richard and Valerie moved to Alaska with responsibilities centred on Anglo American's gold interests in Canada and the USA.  In 1988, he  applied his experienced intuition to the successful guidance of his team in the Donlin Creek deposit in Alaska.  He was recognized internationally for his role in this successful venture.

In the early nineties, Richard settled in Canada and became an independent consultant.  As the Technical Director of Diamond Field Resources, he was instrumental in the early recognition and exploration of the Voisey's Bay nickel deposit.

Richard's approach to life, and to business, was to gain a full understanding of any problem before making a major decision.  He employed this approach with great success in the practical search for mineral deposits but also in his personal life.

Richard fully embraced his chosen career and was enormously successful and well respected by his colleagues in the mining industry.  He had a breadth of knowledge that spanned asbestos to zinc and became a valuable source of knowledge and experience to many younger professionals joining the industry.  His core values of integrity, fairness, dedication and pure hard work were manifest wherever he was employed.

As a result of ill health Richard retired in 2016.

Richard loved his work and the travel involved but he also made time for fishing, gardening, home renovation projects, vacations in Mexico and his family. He always enjoyed a family get together and to savour a  glass of full bodied red wine over scintillating conversation.

Richard leaves his beloved wife, Valerie, daughters Sarah, Jane and Alison, his doting grandchildren Nicola, Laura, Gavin, Jake, Leah and Mae and his sons-in-law Bruce, Ian and Bob.

If desired, remembrances to the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada would be appreciated.