The National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum (NMHFM) will induct five new members. “Their contributions to the mining industry are immense,” President of NMHFM David Brown said. “Please join us for a banquet at the Marriott Denver South on October 24 to honor these individuals.”
For event details, reach out to Amber Johnson at Amber@MiningHallofFame.org or +1(719)486-1229. The 2020 Hall of Fame inductees include:
Alberto Benavides: Benavides started his career at Cerro de Pasco Corp. He worked as the resident geologist in Cerro de Pasco and became the company’s first exploration chief. He was involved with the discovery, evaluation and early development of the Antamina, Las Bambas, Toquepala and Cuajone projects. Benavides was successful in bringing U.S companies Newmont, Phelps Dodge, and ASARCO together in a joint venture to develop the Toquepala and Cuajone deposits. In 1953, Benavides founded Compania de Minas Buenaventura. He was instrumental in the discovery of the Conga, Tambomayo, Trapiche, and Chucapaca mineral deposits and the development of La Zanja, Tantahhuatay, Orcopampa, Uchucchacua, Shila, Mallay and Anapite mines. Despite terrorist activity at the time, he forged a joint venture between Buenaventura and Newmont to develop the Yanacocha mine. He insisted all partners in mine development help improve living conditions of the locals and access to services by improving or constructing roads, schools, health clinics, and providing clean drinking water and sanitation in the communities near the mines.
Dr. Roshan B. Bhappu: Globally recognized as a leading authority in extractive metallurgy, Bhappu was a visionary pioneer in biohydrometallurgy. He published more than 100 technical papers and coauthored several books on mineral processing, metallurgy, and environmental remediation, and was granted several patents in bacterial leaching of sulphide ores and the recovery of metal values through in-situ extraction. While head of the Department of Metallurgical Engineering at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Bhappu received numerous research grants from the U.S. Bureau of Mines to further his cutting-edge research in biological oxidation of sulphide minerals. At his research lab, Mountain States R&D International, he built a reputation for developing efficient and optimized metallurgical flowsheets while advancing energy conservation and new mineral processing technologies.
Hugh W. Evans: After serving in World War II with the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division, Evans attended the Colorado School of Mines earning an engineer of mines degree and joined the Army Reserves. He was recalled to active duty during the Korean War. After serving his country, Evans built a 36-year career from grassroots exploration to large-scale mining operations that have become some of the world’s largest producers. Highlights include the discovery of a substantial uranium deposit on the Colorado plateau for Union Pacific, leading their stock price to increase a hundred-fold; for Utah International, Evans demonstrated the presence of enough coal near Farmington, New Mexico, to justify building the Navajo mine, Arizona Public Service power plant, and the Navajo Dam on the San Juan River; in Queensland, Australia, he led the development of the Blackwater mine, one of the largest coal reserves in the world, and the town of Blackwater that grew from a rail stop to a community of 8,000, launching Australia into the worldwide coal market; as vice president of coal operations for the Atlantic Richfield Co., he was responsible for the design and development of Wyoming’s Black Thunder mine.
Raymond W. Threlkeld: Threlkeld’s technical expertise leading teams through exploration, reserve estimates, feasibility studies, and construction and operations led to successful gold mines in Australia (Cowal); Argentina (Veladero); Peru (Lagunas Norte and Pierina); and Tanzania (Bulyanhulu). At Pierina, his team developed the deposit in record time. The Pierina mine produced more than 8 million ounces (oz) of gold in a 20-year period and launched Barrick Gold to the top of the South American mining industry. In senior executive positions with Barrick Gold, Western Goldfields, Newmarket Gold, and Rainy River Resources among others, Threlkeld has been involved in the acquisition of more than $1 billion in assets, managed an estimated $1.4 billion in construction spending and created billions in shareholder value. As president and CEO of Western Goldfields, he commissioned the Mesquite gold mine in California on time and budget, resulting in the company’s market capitalization increasing from $12 million to more than $300 million. While CEO of Rainy River Resources, he led the team that completed permitting and feasibility studies, increasing gold resources to more than 6 million oz. As chairman of Newmarket Gold, Inc., his team sold the company for more than $1 billion in 2016 from an initial acquisition cost of $25 million.
Dr. Spencer R Titley: After serving as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, Titley earned his doctorate in geology from the University of Arizona (UA). After two years as regional exploration geologist for New Jersey Zinc Co., he joined the UA faculty in 1960 rising through the ranks to distinguished professor of geosciences. His research in the search for the origin of porphyry copper deposits took him to more than 30 countries. It led him to investigate all scales of copper deposits, from entire deposits down to the level of atoms. Considered a world authority on Phanerozoic porphyry copper deposits, metal provinces, and metallogenesis, the books he wrote and edited along with the scholarly articles he published on porphyry copper deposits of southwestern North America are still widely read today. In 1964, Titley was selected by the U.S. Geological Survey to map the moon by telescope. Titley explained the geology of the moon to NASA Apollo astronauts before they landed. Widely recognized for his groundbreaking work in the fields of economic geology, engineering and science, Titley’s list of awards is lengthy.
