OBITUARY — W.L. Brown

William Lester (Bill) Brown, a keen field geologist who rose to become general manager of Noranda Exploration and a vice-president of Noranda Mines, died recently in Toronto. He was 81.

Born in Brantford, Ont., in 1910, he received a PhD in geology from the University of Toronto in 1937. He spent his entire career after graduation with Mining Corporation of Canada which, in 1967, merged with Noranda Exploration.

Early in his career he completed an evaluation of the Normetal property in Quebec before it was purchased by Mining Corp. Normetal operated for 38 years and paid $30 million in dividends. He was also involved in the early exploration that led to the discovery of the Quemont mine which operated for 25 years and paid $43 million in dividends. He played a significant role in the acquisition by Mining Corp. and Noranda in 1954 of the Geco mine in Ontario which is still operating.

Brown retired in 1975, but continued with his lifelong interest in ornithology and photography and in 1986 published an award-winning reference text titled “A Guide to the Birds of Colombia.”