James William Ashcroft died on January 3rd, 1922, at a private hospital in Darlinghurst, Sydney, N. S. W., from septicæmia following an operation for appendicitis, at the age of 60.
After serving for six years as a civil and mechanical engineer, he was in 1887 engaged at the Mount Costigan Lead and Silver mine, first as engineer and later as manager and metallurgist.
In 1890 he became manager of the Rivertree Proprietary Silver mine for a few months, and then engaged in engineering and construction work at Sydney for about four years, following which he ran on his own account a customs mill and assay office at Wyalong, N.S.W.
In 1896 he was appointed assistant metallurgist at the Sulphide Corporation works at Cockle Creek, with which he was associated, except for about 18 months, until 1901, latterly in the capacity of acting manager. For two years from May, 1901, he was manager and metallurgist at the Mount Garnet Copper mines, North Queensland, and following this engagement he was manager and metallurgist of the Conrad Stannite mine at Howell and the Irvinebank Co. at Mount Molloy and Ewan.
In September, 1906, he started in practice in Sydney as a mining and metallurgical engineer. In 1912 he contributed a paper to the Transactions of the Institution (vol. xxii) on ‘The Flotation Process as applied to the Concentration of Copper Ore at the Kyloe Copper mine, New South Wales.’
Mr. Ashcroft was elected a Member of the Institution in 1912.
Vol. 32, Trans IMM 1922-23, p. 286
