Six pioneers inducted into U.S. Mining Hall of Fame

More than 450 members of the American mining industry recently gathered at the National Mining Hall of Fame to applaud the induction of six pioneers.

All but two of this year’s inductees are deceased.

*Arthur Brant (b. 1910) began his career with the Ontario Department of Mines and is responsible for the first application of induced-polarization and other geophysical techniques.

n Charles Steen (b. 1919) is famous for discovering pitchblende, in the 1950s, in the Colorado Plateau. The discovery, for which the media dubbed him the King of Uranium, helped ignite a boom in uranium mining.

n Philip Argall (1854-1922) is known for his practical work in the commercialization of gold cyanidation.

n Jesse Johnson (1894-1984) was, for 13 years, director of the raw materials division of the Atomic Energy Commission.

n Robert Richards (1844-1945) wrote the first comprehensive treatise on ore dressing.

n Isaac Tyson, Jr. (1792-1861) helped father the chromium industry — first as the dominant exporter in chromite ores, then as a manufacturer of chromium-based chemicals.

During the awards ceremony, it was announced that Richard and Esther Moolick were donating US$66,000 to the Hall of Fame.

The ceremony served as the opening event of MINExpo ’96, an international event showcasing the technology, companies and services of the mining industry. Sponsored by the National Mining Association and held at the Las Vegas Convention Center, the event drew an estimated 35,000 participants from all over the world.