Donald Frederick Foster died on 12th March, 1955, at the age of 73.
He was born in Australia, and from 1902 to 1903 was a student at Gordon Technical College, Geelong, Victoria, and was indentured to the resident engineer at Geelong for the Electrical Lighting and Traction Co. of Australia, Ltd., for two years. He came to England to study electrical engineering for a short period at King’s College, London, but returned to Australia to complete his indenture while working for Electrical Orefinding Co. During 1904 he studied chemistry as applied to cyanidation and later did electrical prospecting in Victoria and New South Wales and worked on cyanide plants in Western Australia.
From 1906 to 1910 Mr. Foster was employed as cyanide assistant by Ashanti Goldfields Corporation, Ltd., West Africa, and then spent two years as metallurgist at a gold mine in Mexico. He again worked on the Gold Coast from 1912 to 1914, at Broomassie, and for a year did metallurgical work in Venezuela before holding a position as mine captain at La Paz for a short period.
Mr. Foster worked in Egypt during 1915-1916 and then joined up as a sapper in the Royal Engineers, with whom he served until 1918, when, on gaining a commission, he was transferred to the Queen’s Royal Regiment until demobilization in 1919.
He returned to Egypt and prospected for gold in the Eastern Desert until 1920, and from 1923 to 1924 worked in Rhodesia. Mr. Foster was area manager in Northern Nigeria for Associated Tin Mines of Nigeria, Ltd., from 1925 to 1928, then went to Czechoslovakia for Bohemia Tin Syndicate for a year, leaving to prospect for gold in Central America for Panama Corporation in 1930 and 1931. He did consulting work in Victoria, Australia, from 1932 to 1933, and in 1935 joined Kenya Consolidated as field geologist and from 1937 to 1939 worked for Ashanti Adowsena (Banket) Goldfields, Ltd., Gold Coast.
He suffered ill health in the late years of his life, though he did some consulting work from his home near London.
Mr. Foster was elected to Associate Membership of the Institution in 1908.
Vol. 64, Trans IMM 1954-55, p.656
