Joseph R. De Lamar (1843 – 1918)

Mine Owner and Operator

2023 Inductee from Mining’s Past

Joseph R. De Lamar was born in Amsterdam in 1843. His father, a banker, died when Joseph was four years old. De Lamar worked as a seaman until he was twenty, by which time he advanced to be the master of a ship. Three years later he received a captain’s command.

In 1878, De Lamar came to New York and went west, to Leadville, Colorado. In 1879 he bought the Terrible Lead Mine and operated it until 1885, at which time he sold it. He then obtained control of a mine west of Silver City, Idaho. After taking out $1,500,000 from the operation, he sold a half interest to English concerns for $2,000,000 and turned his interest to the Cripple Creek Mining District in Colorado. There, he invested in a company that utilized a new chlorination process to recover gold. It was here that Daniel C. Jackling joined the new concern, starting his career as an assayer.

From Colorado, DeLamar shifted his interest to gold at Mercur, Utah. Here, he built a 500 ton/day mill to use the new cyanide process. It was expanded to 1,000 tons/day. Jackling was largely involved with this mill.

In the 1890’s De Lamar became interested in copper. He sent two of his engineers, Jackling and Gemmel, to examine Enos Wall’s copper prospect at Bingham Canyon. Although he ultimately declined the opportunity to invest in Bingham, the report served as a catalyst for the development of that property.

He continued investing in mines, among others, the International Nickel Co., which hit peak production during high metal prices during WW I. At the time of his death, he was one of the wealthiest men in America. Three once mining cities, now ghost towns, bear his name; Delamar Nevada, De Lamar, Idaho and Delamar, California.

Felix P. McDonald (1875 – 1936)

Block Caving Innovator

2023 Inductee from Mining’s Past

Felix McDonald was born in 1875 in England. He came to the United States in 1887, first living in Pennsylvania before moving to Utah in 1899. He married Mary Ann Hyland that same year. They had six children.

He worked as a miner in Mercur, Utah, where his older brother John was the superintendent. From Mercur, Felix moved north to Bingham Canyon, which was a hotbed of activity with silver, lead and copper mines. There, he worked at, and became superintendent of the Commercial mine, then went to the developing Ohio Copper mine, which bordered other promising properties - Boston Consolidated and Utah Copper – all in the Bingham Canyon area.

Here, as superintendent, he developed a system of caving ore into raises feeding grizzlies over transfer raises. While this method involved driving additional raises, it was more economical due to the decrease in manpower needed than the alternate caving method which used tramming levels to move the caved ore to transfer raises.

When the Anaconda Copper Co. acquired a major interest in the Inspiration and Live Oak porphyry copper deposits near Miami, Arizona, they determined that the Ohio Copper caving method to be the best suited for these properties and hired Felix McDonald as the general superintendent to develop these mines. He successfully developed Inspiration and soon, other block caving operations adopted this method. His method is still in use today.

In addition to his work at Inspiration, he traveled to South America to help set up other Anaconda properties. Inspiration Consolidated Copper Co. honored him by naming the main shaft at their Christmas Mine after him.

Stuart A. Bengson (1943 – 2021)

Mine Reclamation Pioneer

2023 Inductee from Mining’s Past

Stuart A. Bengson was born in Marquette, Michigan in 1943. He graduated from Amphi High School in Tucson, Arizona in 1961, obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Forestry in 1970 and a Master of Science in National Resources Administration in 1978, both from the University of Arizona.

In 1973, Bengson joined ASARCO LLC (Asarco) as an Agronomist at the Mission Complex in Sahuarita, Arizona.  Over a 34-year career, Stuart was best known for his pioneering work in reclamation of tailings and mined lands at active and inactive mine sites in Arizona, New Mexico, California, Texas, Utah and Montana. He pioneered mine tailings reclamation using livestock and biosolids and successfully implemented innovative technologies for drip and micro-sprinkler irrigation.

Bengson served as Vice Chairman Bureau of Land Management Safford District Public Lands Advisory Council (1978-1988); was a member Bureau of Land Management Arizona  Resource Advisory Council;  served as Chairman of the Pima Natural Resource Conservation District and chaired the Public Lands Committee of the Arizona Mining Association.

He was a Member of the Society Range Management (SRM), Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS), Society of Mining Engineers (SME), the American Society of Surface Mining and Reclamation (ASSMR) and the United Four Wheel Drive Association (UFWDA).

Bengson received numerous awards recognizing his accomplishments in the field of metal mine reclamation and land management. They include: 1984 SWCS Conservation of the Year Award, 1989 and 1991 SRM President’s Award; 2003 Pioneer of Reclamation Award (American Society of Mining and Reclamation) and the 2016 Lifetime Conservation Heritage (Pima Natural Resource Conservation District AACD).

Dr. Stanley M. Howard (1945 – 2021)

Inspiring Metallurgical Educator

2023 Inductee from Mining’s Past

Stanley M. Howard was born on September 5, 1945 in Torrington, WY where he graduated from high school. He received his Bachelor's Degree in Metallurgical Engineering in 1967 and his Doctorate Degree in 1971 from the Colorado School of Mines.

He then began a distinguished 50+ year career at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in teaching, mentoring, research and contributions to science and engineering. He served as the chair of the Department of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering from 1994-2000. He was awarded the campus Presidential Award in recognition of excellence in teaching, scholarly activity, and community service in March 1994.

Dr. Howard was an active member of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum Engineers (AIME) and The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS) since 1966 and held many volunteer TMS leadership positions including serving as Director of Publications, Financial Planning Officer, and as a trustee of the Foundation. In 2016 and 2019, he served as President of TMS. In recognition of his volunteer service, he was awarded the 2021 Alexander R. Scott Distinguished Service Award in March of 2021. He was also a long-time Registered Professional Engineer.

His research activities have included chlorination processes for gold extraction, direct applications for geothermal resources, replacement alloys for beryllium alloys, thermochemistry of high-temperature liquid metals, carburization kinetics, and laser and friction-stir welding activities associated with the Advanced Materials Processing facility on the SDSM&T campus. He has numerous publications to his name.

In 1986 he co-founded Group V Metals, Inc which licensed technology to produce the purest tantalum and niobium compounds commercially available in the world with customers in Japan and Europe. He had temporary appointments at Stanford Research Institute, Kerr-McGee Technical Center, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory and served as a consultant for firms engaged in materials engineering.