Dr. G. C. Monture on New Assignment

OTTAWA, July 6 - (CP) - Dr. Gilbert C. (Slim) Monture, a full-blooded Canadian Indian who became a world expert on base metals, has another country to add to his personal map showing far-off places where his mining knowledge has come in handy.

At 62, the man who has been called the "Mr. Canada" of mining is off on a new assignment. He's on his way to Ghana to make a six-week survey of marginal gold mines, the latest in a chain of mining studies that have taken him to Malaya, Indonesia, Israel and Bolivia as well to Washington, London, The Hague, Paris and Geneva.

Dr. Monture left Ottawa by air and is expected in Accra July 14.

"He was very excited about the trip," said his wife Elva, formerly of Kingston, Ont.

A native of Hagersville, Ont., Dr. Monture joined the Canadian government's Mines Department in 1923. He retired two years ago as chief of the department's mineral resources division to take a job with a private mining company, Stratmat Limited.

Dr. Monture is a great-grandson of Capt. Joseph Brant, famous chief of the Iroquois. It was through Capt. Brant that the Six Nations Indians helped British forces occupy Canada.

Last year, an organization of North American Indians chose Dr. Monture as the "most outstanding Indian" of the year, marking the first time in the award's 24-year history that a Canadian has received the honor.

When he retired, Dr. Monture's colleagues presented him with a special world map showing in bold relief the many foreign countries he had visited in his work. For many years he served with the international tin study group, travelling between Washington, London and Geneva.