2009 Hall of Fame

Mary M. 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 the executives of the mining industry that the Department supports.

Since receiving her PhD in 1990 she has devoted her career to the advancement of earth science and mining education. She wrote minerals chapters for the American Geological Institute’s national middle school earth science curriculum project EarthWorks and was team leader for the resources section and wrote the minerals module for the national high school earth science curriculum project EarthComm: Earth Science in My Community.

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

The Institute was formed to include Department of Mining and Geological Engineering, the Department of Geosciences, the College of Public Health and faculty from several other colleges. The Institute is jointly funded by the State of Arizona and the mining industry and its goal is to be a global center to bridge pure and applied science, engineering, business leadership and responsible stewardship. She has also negotiated a collaborative research agreement and student exchange with the University of Queensland in Australia and is spearheading discussions with mining programs around the world regarding collaborative teaching and research.

Mary has also been active in supporting mining programs at a national level through efforts to replace Bureau of Mines research support with a new federal program to support mineral resources science and engineering research and education. Under her leadership the San Xavier Mining Laboratory, the only mining laboratory in the United States with a working vertical shaft, multiple modes of underground access and multiple working levels, has become nationally prominent teaching and research facility.

Jean Michel (“JM”) Rendu graduated with a degree in Mining Engineering from École Nationale Supérieure de Mines de Saint Étienne, France, in 1966. Subsequent graduate studies earned him a Master of Science degree in Engineering (1968) and a doctorate in Engineering (1971) from the Henry Krumb School of Mines at Columbia University. After serving as a reserve officer in the French Army, he journeyed to Johannesburg, South Africa, to work for Anglovaal Group. His last position with Anglovaal was Director, Operations Research Section, reporting to Dr. D.G. Krige.

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 at the same time served as an Adjunct Professor at the Colorado School of Mines. Subsequent senior positions the mining industry included a tenure as head of Newmont Mining Company’s Technical and Scientific Systems Group, during which time he provided technical support to gold mines in Australia and Nevada and copper operations in Canada. Subsequently

became a Vice President for Newmont, responsible for mine planning at the company’s Nevada operations and for corporate technical and commercial information systems worldwide. In 2001 he retired from Newmont as Vice President, Resources and Mine Planning.

Since “retiring”, he has vigorously supported the mining industry, playing a leading role in the development of U.S. and international standards for the public reporting of mineral resource and mineral reserve standards. He has served as Chairman of the Resource and Reserve Committee of the Society of Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration Inc. (SME), and is a founding member and active participant on CRIRSCO, the Combined Reserves International Reporting Standards Committee. He is the author of over 50 technical publications and has received numerous awards and citations, including the SME Daniel C. Jackling Award (1994) and two SME Presidential Awards (1992 and 2004). JM is a past Director of SME, an elected member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM), and a member of the South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (SAIMM). He is recognized as a foremost authority in the field of mineral resource and mineral reserve estimation, and a most gracious man by all who know him.

Allan Bowman was born in Ogden Utah and grew up in the nearby mining town of Ophir. He worked his way through the University of Utah by working as an underground miner, engineer's helper and as an instrument man with the United States Geological Survey doing topographic mapping of Utah and Wyoming. He graduated with a degree in Mining Engineering and joined Banner Mining Company as an engineer at its New Mexico mines. He was promoted to Mine Superintendent in 1939 and to Vice President and General Manager in 1953. In this capacity, he put to practice 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 labored to put together some 25 square miles of claims in Pima County, Arizona. This 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.

During the time that the Arizona mineral properties were being acquired and evaluated, Bowman also managed and developed several mines which helped provide cash for the ongoing exploration. Operations continued at Lordsburg, New Mexico, and in Arizona, the Mineral Hill mine was reopened and a 1,000-ton-day mill built. In addition, the Daisy and the Palo Verde mines were developed and a metallurgical research was completed to recover copper from the skarn ores at Twin Buttes.

The Anaconda Company optioned all Banner’s properties in Pima County and the Twin Buttes property was developed as an open pit mine. It ultimately became necessary to take on AMAX as a partner for the successful development of the property and the two entities became ANAMAX Arizona. Allan Bowman became president of AMAX Arizona until his retirement in 1975. During his tenure as president, Bowman oversaw the conveyance of the San Xavier mine to The University of Arizona for the formation of the unique San Xavier Mining laboratory.

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

Frank McQuiston was one of the unassuming giants of twentieth century non-ferrous metallurgy. He was raised in some of the leading mining communities of the west where he gained experience in flotation and smelting in part-time jobs to fund his education.

He graduated from the University of California in 1931. He held several jobs at various California mines and also owned an assaying business until 1934, when he obtained employment at the Empire Mine as an assistant assayer at $5 a day, starting his long association with Newmont, where he ultimately became Vice President of Metallurgy

In his career, he pioneered and advanced flotation, achieving separation of complex lead/zinc/copper/gold and silver ores into separate concentrates of the three base metals. This was vital in the economic operation of several Newmont mines including the Resurrection and Idarado in Colorado, as well as in Newmont’s African interests, Tsumeb and Palabora. At these, he also designed their smelters. However, he considered his crowning achievement to be the successful design and construction of the Carlin mill, which basically launched the current Nevada gold development.

Newmont loaned McQuiston to the US Government twice-during WW II to solve problems Bagdad Copper had recovering molybdenum, and during the "cold war" to the Atomic Energy Commission to secure uranium supplies. In this, he conducted secretive operations obtaining uranium supplies from Belgian Congo, and from South Africa, where he assisted in the recovery of uranium from the tailings of the gold mines. To do this, he equipped acid plants and introduced ion exchange technology, which has become almost the universal recovery method for uranium production. During this same period of AEC involvement in securing uranium from Africa, he also became involved with a high-grade lead/zinc mine in Morocco on behalf of Newmont. His efforts there resulted in his being awarded the order of Ouissara Alaourite-Cheritien for outstanding service to the Moroccan government. Frank McQuiston will be remembered for his involvement in numerous world class operations in which Newmont had varying interests, such as O'okiep, Palabora and Tsumeb in Africa, Similkameen in British Columbia, Dawn Uranium in Washington, and last, but not least, Carlin in Nevada.