John Morrow Campbell died of blackwater fever at Mergui, Burma, in April, 1930, at the age of 67.
He received his technical education at the Glasgow University where he graduated with the degree of B.Sc., in April, 1887. For the next three years he held the position of senior demonstrator in metallurgy in the Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical College.
In October, 1890, he was appointed assistant engineer and assayer in the service of the Persian Bank Mining Rights Corporation, Ltd., and for three years was engaged in prospecting and managing various properties in Persia.
After a year spent in studying explosives and endeavouring to perfect a chlorate mining explosive at works in Scotland, he proceeded to the Gold Coast Colony in October, 1805, and remained there for seven years, first in the employment of the British Gold Fields of West Africa, Ltd., and afterwards of Messrs. Miller Bros., finally taking charge of a prospecting expedition on behalf of Ashanti Consols, Ltd. After a brief visit of inspection in Norway, he returned to the West Coast to work on the Bibiani mine for about two years, and in September, 1005, went to Upper Egypt. In November, 1906, he proceeded to Western Australia as representative and manager for Messrs. J. Norton Griffiths & Co. in their Westralian ventures, and on the termination of that engagement he went to the French Guinea colony as engineer in charge of prospecting expeditions. He subsequently went for the same French company to Madagascar, in 1910.
His later activities were chiefly confined to the East, in Burma and the Straits Settlements. He obtained the degree of D.Sc. in 1917, at his old university, the subject of his thesis being Laterite, on which he was a leading authority. He contributed no fewer than four papers to the Transactions of the Institution, on ‘Native Iron Smelting in Haute Guinée, West Africa’ (vol. xix). ‘Origin of Laterite’ (vols. xix and xx), ‘Gold Occurrences in Ashanti’ (vol. xxiv), and ‘Origin of Primary Ore Deposits’ (Vol. xxx).
Dr. Campbell was elected an Associate of the Institution in 1907, and transferred to Membership in 1910.
Vol. 40, Trans I.M.M. 1930-31, p. 448
