US Mining Hall Of Fame Heads To Arizona For Induction Ceremony

It’s that time of year again. With winter approaching, members of the mining industry from cold and warm parts of the world alike are set to converge in Tucson, Ariz., on Dec. 5 to honour their peers at this year’s Annual American Mining Hall of Fame Awards Ceremony and Banquet.

This year, the awards ceremony, which is in its 27th year, will boost its list of honourees with one living inductee and two from mining history. The Hall of Fame committee and board of governors for the Mining Hall of Fame Foundation will also hand out two Medals of Merit, as well as an Industry Partnership award.

This year will also see a special onetime “Presidential Citation.”

The event is sponsored by the Mining Foundation of the Southwest and will be held at the Marriott University Park Hotel.

The following are this year’s inductees.

Tom Albanese

Rio Tinto(RTP-N, RIO-L) CEO Tom Albanese will be the event’s guest of honour and featured speaker and will also be inducted into the American Mining Hall of Fame.

Albanese, who was born in New Jersey in 1957, earned a bachelor’s degree in mineral economics and a master’s in mine engineering from the University of Alaska in Fairbanks.

From 1981-83, Albanese worked as a junior engineer at Resource Associates. In 1985, he joined Nerco Minerals as an analyst and marketer. He worked his way up to become chief operating officer prior to the company’s acquisition by London metals giant Rio Tinto in 1993.

At Rio Tinto, Albanese first became the general manager of the Greens Creek mine in Alaska. In 1995, he was transferred to Rio Tinto’s headquarters in London as group exploration executive. He returned to the United States in 1998 as vice-president, engineering and technical services at Kennecott Utah Copper.

He worked in a variety of positions with Rio Tinto until he was appointed CEO on May 1, 2007. Albanese has been a key player in many major Rio Tinto developments over recent years, including the Resolution project, near Superior, Ariz., and has shaped the group’s strategic decisions.

Allan Bowman

Allan Bowman will be inducted in the Hall of Fame as a representative of American mining heritage.

Bowman was born in 1911, in Ogden, Utah, and grew up in the nearby mining town of Ophir. He attended the University of Utah and worked as an underground miner, engineer’s helper and instrument man with the U. S. Geological Survey doing topographic mapping of Utah and Wyoming. He graduated with a degree in mining engineering and joined Banner Mining Co. as an engineer at its New Mexico mines.

He was promoted to mine superintendent in 1939 and vice-president/general manager in 1953. In this capacity, he investigated his theory that many idle mines had mined out a high-grade core but left a large, lower-grade deposit that could be economically mined with modern technology.

For more than 13 years, Bowman laboured to put together 25 sq. miles of claims in Pima County, Ariz. The land package consisted of carefully studied areas and involved negotiating more than 50 agreements. The subsequent exploration work directed by Bowman proved three major porphyry copper deposits — the Palo Verde (now part of the Mission pit), Twin Buttes and Helvetia-Rosemont.

The Anaconda Company optioned all of Banner Mining’s properties in Pima County and the Twin Buttes property was developed as an open-pit mine. Eventually, the two companies merged to become ANAMAX Arizona. Bowman was president of the entity until his retirement in 1975.

The American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers awarded Bowman its Jackling award in 1963.

Bowman died in 1982.

Frank McQuiston

Frank McQuiston, branded one of the unassuming giants of 20th century non-fe r rous metallurgy, will also be honoured as a historical inductee.

McQuiston was born in Pueblo, Colo., in 1904. He gained experience in flotation and smelting while working part-time jobs to fund his education.

He graduated from the University of California in 1931. In 1934, he began working at Newmont Mining’s (NMC-T, NEM-U) Empire mine. He eventually went on to become vice-president of metallurgy.

In his career, he pioneered and advanced flotation, achieving separation of complex lead-zinc-copper-gold-silver ores into separate concentrates of the three base metals. He also designed smelters for the company, including the Carlin mill, which was vital to current Nevada gold development.

During the Second World War, McQuiston worked for the U. S. government solving problems Bagdad Copper had recovering molybdenum.

During the Cold War, he conducted secretive operations obtaining uranium supplies from the Belgian Congo (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and South Africa, where he assisted in the recovery of uranium from the tailings of gold mines for the Atomic Energy Commission. To do this, he equipped acid plants and introduced ion-exchange technology, which has become the near-universal recovery method for uranium production.

In 1951, he was decorated by France for mining work he had done for the Moroccan government. McQuiston died in 1987.

Mary Poulton

Mary Poulton will be one of two individuals recognized with a Medal of Merit for continuous promotion of, and work in, the mining industry.

Poulton, head of the department of mining and geological engineering at the University of Arizona since July 2000, is the first female to head a department in the College of Engineering at the university and only the second to hold such a position in American mining education. Since becoming department head, she has displayed exceptional leadership and collaborative qualities within her department, the university and with mining industry executives.

Since earning her PhD in 1990, she has devoted her career to the advancement of earth science and mining education. She has worked tirelessly on projects for the American Geological Institute’s national middle school earth science curriculum.

Poulton was a driving force in the formation of the Lowell Institute for Mineral Resources at the University of Arizona and is currently its director.

Jean Michel Rendu

Jean Michel Rendu will receive the American Mining Hall of Fame’s Medal of Merit award for his contribution to mineral resources and reserve reporting standardization.

Rendu graduated with a degree in mining engineering from cole Nationale Suprieure de Mines de Saint tienne, in France, in 1966. He also earned his master’s and PhD in engineering from Columbia University in 1971. After serving as a reserve officer in the French Army, he journeyed to Johannesburg, South Africa, to work for the Anglovaal Group. His last position with Anglovaal was as director of its operations and research section.

In 1976, JM returned to the U. S., where he served as an associate professor in the department of metallurgical and mining engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 1979, he joined a new mining consulting group being formed by Golder Associates in Denver and served as an adjunct professor at the Colorado School of Mines. He went on to work for Newmont Mining until 2001, when he retired from Newmont as vice-president of resources and mine planning.

Since retirement, he has written more than 50 technical publications and served as a chairman or director on a variety of reserves reporting committees.

Boart Longyear

Boart Longyear will be this year’s recipient of the Industry Partnership award.

The company is being recognized for its leadership in the manufacturing and supply of tools, equipment and contracting services in the mining industry.