Robert “Bob” Cathro (1935 – 2014)
Bob Cathro was a pioneering western Canadian mineral exploration geologist, mining industry leader and amateur historian. He was raised in Winnipeg and Chilliwack. He graduated from the University of British Columbia in Geological Engineering in 1959 and worked as a mine geologist at the Eldorado uranium mine at Port Radium, NWT, Verna uranium mine in Saskatchewan, Giant Yellowknife gold mine, and United Keno Hill mine in Yukon. In 1966, he and Alan Archer, a fellow Keno Hill geologist, founded Archer, Cathro and Associates Ltd. specializing in Yukon mineral exploration. Bob was president of Archer Cathro until his retirement in 1989 and during that time the company found important mineral deposits including Casino (copper-gold-molybdenum), Wolverine (zinc-silver-lead-copper-gold), Mactung (tungsten) and Williams Creek (Carmacks Copper).1)
The company launched hundreds of students into careers as geologists, prospectors, engineers, mining executives, professors and helicopter pilots. Bob Cathro received many awards over his career and served in many capacities with the BC and Yukon Chamber of Mines. In 1984, he was a founder with Jack Patterson and Nick Carter of the Cordilleran Roundup conference. He served on numerous committees and gave policy and program advice to governments. He was a critical member of a group that formed Geoscience BC. He played a leading role in creating Archer Cathro's Northern Cordilleran Mineral Inventory in 1972. It was sold to the Yukon government in 1990 to become the Yukon MINFILE database. After his retirement, he authored nearly fifty articles on the evolution of economic geology and contributed to several books. He was known for his honesty, integrity, community service and great sense of humour.2)
Archer Cathro and Associates Ltd. was saluted in 2002 for their role in Yukon prospecting history.3)