Ralph Westervelt

OBITUARY

Ralph Westervelt, long-time Vancouver-based consulting engineer, died recently at his home in North Vancouver. He was 71.

Born in 1934, Westervelt was raised in north Toronto and later entered the University of Toronto in the faculty of applied science and engineering, graduating in 1956 with a bachelor’s degree in applied geology. He earned a master of science degree from Queen’s University in 1960.

During the 1950s, Westervelt worked as a geologist for M.J. Boylen in New Brunswick and at the Thompson nickel mine in northern Manitoba. Later, he served as a geologist with Rio Algom at Elliot Lake, Ont., and then with Teck Corp. from 1961 to 1963.

He joined Watts, Griffis and McOuat in 1963, leading the first season’s exploration of the Baffinland Iron deposits in the Canadian Arctic.

He moved to Vancouver in 1964 as the Western Canada exploration manager for U.S. Smelting Refining and Mining. Several years later, he formed Westervelt Engineering and became a consulting geological engineer. During the next 38 years, he was a consultant and contractor on numerous exploration, development and production projects for large and small mining companies throughout the world.

Beginning in 1994, he specialized in China and nearby Asian countries, where over the years, he examined over 200 mining properties. He managed several major drilling projects in Mongolia, as well as in China. He was known for his detailed and thorough technical reports.

Westervelt is survived by his wife Ying, whom he married in China in 2000. He is also survived by his first wife, Marie, their two children Leslie and Kathy, and six grandchildren.