Carl Michael Lesher (born 1951) is an American geologist. He is an authority on the geology and origin of nickel-copper-platinum group element deposits, especially those associated with komatiites, their physical volcanology and localization, the geochemistry and petrology of associated rocks, and controls on their composition.
Lesher has authored or co-authored over 500 scientific publications, and has served on the editorial boards of Mineralogical Abstracts (1987-1988), The Canadian Mineralogist (1989-1991), Reviews in Economic Geology (1993-1998), and Mineralium Deposita (2010–2016). In addition to his research, he has consulted for mining companies in Australia, Canada, Finland, and the USA.
2022, Wang Y, Lesher CM, Lightfoot PC, Pattison EF, Golightly JP, 2022, Genesis of Sublayer in the Sudbury Igneous Complex, Canada, Economic Geology, https://doi.org/10.5382/econgeo.4948
2019, Lesher CM, Up, down, or sideways: Emplacement of magmatic Ni-Cu ± PGE sulfide melts in Large Igneous Provinces, Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences (Special Issue on Large Igneous Provinces) v. 56: p. 756–773, http://doi.org/10.1139/cjes-2018-0177
2019, Lesher CM, Carson HJE, Houlé M, Genesis of chromite deposits by dynamic upgrading of Fe ± Ti oxide xenocrysts, Geology v. 47 (3): p. 207-210, https://doi.org/10.1130/G45448.1
2017, Lesher CM, Roles of residues/skarns, xenoliths, xenocrysts, xenomelts, and xenovolatiles in the genesis, transport, and localization of magmatic Fe-Ni-Cu-PGE sulfides and chromite, Ore Geology Reviews v. 90: p. 464-485, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oregeorev.2017.08.008
2011, Houlé M, Lesher CM, Komatiite-associated Ni-Cu-(PGE) mineralization in the Abitibi Greenstone Belt, Ontario. Reviews in Economic Geology v. 17, p. 89-121
2011, Layton-Matthews DM, Lesher CM, Liwanag J, Halden N, Burnham OM, Hulbert L, Peck DC, Keays RR, Mineralogy, geochemistry, and genesis of komatiite-associated Ni-Cu-(PGE) mineralization in the Thompson Nickel Belt, Manitoba. Reviews in Economic Geology v. 17, p. 123–143
2009, Lesher CM, Barnes SJ, Komatiite-Associated Ni-Cu-(PGE) Deposits, in C Li and EM Ripley (Editors), Magmatic Ni-Cu-PGE Deposits: Genetic Models and Exploration, Geological Publishing House of China, p. 27-101
2008, Arndt NT, Lesher CM, Barnes SJ, Komatiite, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 488 pp., ISBN978-0-521-87474-8
2007, Lesher CM, Ni-Cu-(PGE) Deposits in the Raglan Area, Cape Smith Belt, New Québec, in Goodfellow, W.D. (Editor), Mineral Resources of Canada: A Synthesis of Major Deposit-types, District Metallogeny, the Evolution of Geological Provinces, and Exploration Methods, Geological Survey of Canada and Mineral Deposits Division of the Geological Association of Canada Special Publication, p. 351-386
2005, Arndt NT, Lesher CM, Czamanske GK, Mantle-derived magmas and magmatic Ni-Cu-(PGE) deposits, 100th Anniversary Volume, Society of Economic Geologists, p. 5-23
2002, Lesher CM, Keays RR, Komatiite-Associated Ni-Cu-(PGE) Deposits: Mineralogy, Geochemistry, and Genesis, in LJ Cabri (Editor), The Geology, Geochemistry, Mineralogy, and Mineral Beneficiation of the Platinum-Group Elements, Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum, Special Volume 54, p. 579-617
2001, Lesher CM, Burnham OM, Multicomponent elemental and isotopic mixing in Ni-Cu-(PGE) ores at Kambalda, Western Australia. Canadian Mineralogist, v. 39, p. 421-446
1996, Stowell HH, Lesher CM, Green NL, Sha P, Sinha, K, Metamorphism and gold mineralization in the Blue Ridge, southernmost Appalachians. Economic Geology, v. 91, p. 1115-1144
1989, Lesher CM, 1989, Komatiite-associated nickel sulfide deposits, Reviews in Economic Geology v. 4, p. 45-101
1986, Lesher CM, Goodwin AM, Campbell IH, Gorton MP, Trace element geochemistry of ore-associated and barren felsic metavolcanic rocks in Superior Province, Canada. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, v. 23, p. 222-237