Ernest Henry Nickel

Ernest Henry Nickel named Ernie, (* as Ernst Heinrich Nickel 31 August 1925 in Louth, Ontario, † 18 July 2009) was a Canadian- Australian mineralogist who later worked in Australia.

Life and work

Nickel grew up on a farm and his interest in mineralogy awoke on a school visit to the Royal Ontario Museum. He graduated from McMaster University with a master's degree in 1951 and in 1953 received his doctorate at the University of Chicago. Then he was on the mineralogical laboratory of the Mining Division ( Mines Branch) of the Canadian Departments and Technical Surveys ( CANMET ).

In 1971 he became head of the mineralogy of the Department of Energy, Mines and Resources. Since he was heavily involved in doing administrative tasks and wanted to deal specifically with nickel minerals, he went to the Department of Mineralogy of the Australian research organization CSIRO ( Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization ) in Perth. At the time there was a boom in the exploration of nickel deposits in Australia. Nickel has published several reports on the deposits and also discovered some new minerals. He was a senior scientist at the lab, went in 1985 to retire early (around the employment of young scientists allow ), but then worked on as an Honorary Fellow of the CSIRO.

1970/71 he was president of the Mineralogical Association of Canada. From 1974 he was the Australian representative in the Commission for mineral names ( CNMMN ) of the International Mineralogical Association and later alongside Joseph Anthony Mandarino deputy chairman ( 1983-1994 ). For the IMA, he developed with Monte C. Nichols minerals database. In 2001 he published the 9th edition of the Mineralogical Tables by Karl Hugo Strunz.

He was editor of the Australian Journal of Mineralogy.

Nickel was married twice and had three daughters.

Plants and mineral descriptions

Along with Monte C. Nichols he wrote the Mineralogical Reference Manual ( Springer Verlag 1991 ).

Nickel is considered describer of a total of 24 minerals, so among other things Niocalit (1956 ), Wodginit (1963 along with Rowland and McAdam ), Cuprospinell (1973 ), Carrboydit (1976, together with Clarke), Nickelblödit (1977 together with Bridge ), Otwayit ( 1977, together with Robinson, Davis and MacDonald ), Nullaginit (1981, together with Berry ) and Kambaldait (1985, together with Robinson).

Honors

In 1994, the mineral Ernienickelit was named after him.

In 2008 he was made an honorary member of the Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland.