Eric Davies died at Esmeraldas, Minas Gerais, Brazil, on 23rd October, 1962. He was 77 years of age.
He was educated at the Royal Grammar School, Guildford, Surrey, from 1896 to 1902 and the following year entered the works of Messrs. Robey and Co., Ltd., Lincoln, as an apprentice. From 1906 to 1909 he was a student at Glasgow University, obtaining the degree of B.Sc. (Engineering). He then rejoined Messrs Robey and Co., Ltd., as a draughtsman, being principally engaged on the design of the mechanical portion of electric winding equipment for mine shafts. In 1911 Mr. Davies joined the staff of Sandycroft Foundry Co., Ltd., Chester, where he carried out similar work. Later that year he joined St. John d’el Rey Mining
Co., Ltd., as a draughtsman and remained with the company at Morro Velho, Brazil, until retiring in 1948.
During his early years with the company Mr. Davies was concerned with making a detailed study of the ventilation problems of the mine — then the deepest and one of the hottest in the world — with a view to improving the underground working conditions. His study provided the data upon which the design of the Morro Velho cooling plant was based. Subsequently he superintended the installation operation of the plant. This was the pioneer application on a large scale of refrigeration to mine ventilation and was described in papers presented by Mr. Davies to the Institution of Mining Engineers in 1919 and in 1922. He afterwards planned and installed an underground cooling plant fixed at the 5500-ft level of the Morro Velho mine in order to increase the beneficial effect of the original surface plant. He was also responsible for the design and installation of electrically operated winders to replace the large compressed-air hoists at the three 1200-ft sub-surface main shafts.
In 1940 Mr. Davies was appointed manager and superintendent and during his later years at Morro Velho he dealt with the design and construction of three large dams for water-storage purposes and the hydroelectric power stations.
Shortly before his retirement in 1948 he bought a small farm near the town of Esmeraldas, which he continued to operate until his death.
Mr. Davies was elected a Member of the Institution in 1930. For a number of years he was a member of the Research Committee on Atmospheric Conditions in Hot and Deep Mines and was also an Associate Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers and a Member of the Institution of Mining Engineers.
Vol. 74, Trans IMM 1964-65, pp.230-32
