Walt Humphries
Northern News Services
Published Friday, December 14, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - As a field geologist, Brian Weir saw a lot of changes in his lifetime. He went from using a map and compass to a GPS, from unreliable short-wave radios to satellite phones and from a slide rule to a calculator.

He saw a lot of changes in technology and to life in the North.

As a field geologist, Brian Weir explored much of the North. In this 1977 picture, Weir was cooking trout while out on the Barrens looking for uranium. - photo courtesy of Walt Humphries

Brian passed away at the age of 68 on Dec. 6 at a hospice in Vernon, BC. He was surrounded by his family and friends.

That was the way he wanted it because he loved his family, he loved his friends and he loved to socialize. Brian had moved into the hospice the Friday before. Every night his wife Penny would give him a back rub, which meant that Brian's bum was elevated and facing the door. On the second night the nurse walked in and said it was the same position she had seen him in the night before. Brian turned his head and said "You had better get use to it, this is the traditional northern greeting."

That was Brian: funny, witty and at times a bit of an impish but lovable rascal.

Brian was born in British Columbia and graduated from UBC in 1964 with a BSc in math and geology. During the summers he worked for survey and exploration companies in B.C. and upon graduation worked as a mine geologist at Red Lake, Ont. and then at Consolidated Faraday Mine in Werner Lake, Ont. While there, he was responsible for putting the Dumbarton Mine in Manitoba into production.

Brian often said that all field geologists should spend some time at a mine so that they could learn just what a mineable ore body really looked like.

In 1973, Brian spent a year at Terra Mine at Great Bear Lake and then in 1974 he moved to Yellowknife and worked for Precambrian Mining Services for a year with Shorty Brown and Bill Knutsen. His wife Penny and their kids Brenda, Laurie and Derek, joined him and they moved into a house just off of School Draw Avenue, which soon became a social centre for local and visiting geologists, prospectors and miners. At a moment's notice, Brian could rustle up a delicious meal for a dozen and their Christmas get-togethers were always large with family, friends and anyone they knew or met who was spending Christmas alone.

Brian started his own contract and consulting company, Barrenlands Exploration Services. He worked across the North and what is now Nunavut.He did work for some of the largest and smallest outfits working in the North. He was a great person to work for in the bush or in town because he was always fair and honest. He believed in working hard and providing a good camp and working conditions for the crew but he also knew how to take a break and have a party.

He staked the world's oldest known rocks, the Acasta Gneiss, with me. At cost, samples were sent to museums and universities around the world. He was actively involved with Spirit YK when they did the outdoor display at the Yellowknife Airport and he helped to administer the Walter Gibbins trust fund and build the Gibbins Mineral Display Case.

In 1987, he teamed up with Mike Magrum and Max Braden to form Northern Geophysics. When the diamond rush started in 1991, Brian was one of the first to get crews out into the field staking claims. He did staking for De Beers and countless other companies.

He was one of the major players in the rush and as a result of this, he also became a director of Dentonia Mining. Brian loved the adventure, excitement, secrecy and logistics of a good staking rush. He could multi-task better then most.

When in town he was a regular at the Miner's Mess and when it got torn down, the Diner. He and his family were socially very active in town.

He was also politically active, supporting various candidates, and he was one of the people who took the city to court for holding secret meetings. He liked to cut through the BS of politics, bureaucracy and regulations and get to the "meat of the matter." He could often do it with a witty or pithy comment that woke people up to the reality of the situation.

When Brian was at university he had a 1938 Packard, which he sold after he graduated and had a family to support. Years later he tracked it down, bought it back, fixed it up and brought it up to Yellowknife for a few years. He also bought a Shark convertible, which he drove in Vernon. Brian loved his old automobiles.

Brian was one of those people who had a love and lust for life. He was known and respected across the North and Canada.

He semi-retired to Vernon B.C. in the mid-1990s but returned to Yellowknife regularly until his health began to fail. On one trip he pointed out that the road fill used between Yellowknife and Rae was composed of rather "hot" granites and this lead to quite a bureaucratic scramble.

Brian always liked to point out inconsistencies in government policies. He did a lot for the North and for mineral exploration. He also left a lasting impression on the majority of the people he met. He was loved, he was respected and for all who knew him, he will be missed.