Arthur Douglas Lumb died on February 4th, 1938.
He was educated at Harrow and received his technical training at the Royal School of Mines, obtaining his A.R.S.M. in mining in 1910. In 1911 he was appointed to the Mineral Survey of Southern Nigeria under the late Sir Albert Kitson, and after his first tour in Nigeria was appointed principal mineral surveyor. In this capacity he was in charge of the investigation of the Udi coalfield.
In August, 1914, he left the Mineral Survey and became senior mining geologist in Nigeria to Miller Bros, Ltd., and in June, 1915, he was commissioned in the 175 Tunnelling Company, Royal Engineers, which he subsequently commanded. For a time during the war he was attached to the 3rd and 4th Divisions of the Canadian Army. He was mentioned in despatches and awarded the M.C.
After the war he returned to West Africa as senior mining geologist to the African & Eastern Trading Corporation, and on the formation of the United Africa Co. he was appointed its mining adviser, a position which he held until 1931. Subsequently, he visited West Africa for private interests. In 1920 he was attached to the Mineral Resources Department of the Imperial Institute, and wrote a monograph on the platinum metals. His work in Africa took him to the Ivory Coast, Liberia, Sierra Leone, the Gold Coast and Nigeria, and he was responsible for the first survey of the Marampa iron ore deposits after they had been discovered by the Government geologist, Dr. N.R. Junner. Major Lumb was a Fellow of the Geological Society of London and a Member of the Institution of Petroleum Technologists.
He was elected a Student of the Institution in 1910, and was transferred to Associateship in 1913, and to Membership in 1921.
Vol. 48, Trans IMM 1938-39, pp.836-7
