Sully Naphtall Hoffenberg died in South Africa on November 17th, 1943 at the age of 49.
He received his technical training at the University of the Cape of Good Hope, from which he graduated B.Sc. (Mining Engineering) in 1916. After working for five months at the Geduld Proprietary Mines, Ltd., in 1917 he was transferred to Modder Deep and for the next four years was engaged there as assistant surveyor and shift boss. In September, 1921, he left to take a medical course at the University of Cape Town but after a year returned to active mining work in the Consolidated Langlaagte Mines, and in 1923 joined the staff of Springs mines, where he remained for over five years. During this period he was successively shift boss, mine captain, ventilation officer and head of the study department, and also spent some months with Northern Platinum Exploration.
In December, 1928, he was appointed Lecturer in Mining and Surveying at the University of the Witwatersrand, and from 1934 until his death held the position of Senior Lecturer in his department. In 1931 he obtained the degree of M.Sc. (Engineering) of Witwatersrand, and later was joint author with Professor G.A. Watermeyer of Witwatersrand Mining Practice. In a special leave period from the University in 1937-38 he was consulting engineer and general manager of New Union Goldfields, Ltd., Northern Transvaal; during other vacations he did much research work in the mines of the Witwatersrand, and in 1936 he made a tour of the main mining centres of the U.S.A.
Mr. Hoffenberg was elected an Associate of the Institution in 1934.
Vol. 54, Trans IMM 1944-45, pp.266-7
