Thomas Milligan died in Northern Rhodesia on 21st July, 1959, at the age of 59.
He was born in South Africa and educated at King Edward VII School, Johannesburg. He studied agriculture for two years and obtained the Certificate of Agriculture in 1920, and for the next six years managed his father’s agricultural estate.
He went to Southern Rhodesia in 1926 and worked for a few months on the Belingwe platinum fields, learning sampling, before joining the metallurgical staff of Bwana M’Kubwa Copper Mining Co. During his four years with this company Mr. Milligan operated and had charge of the ammonia leaching plant and also worked in the crushing plant. He left in May, 1930, to work at Nkana mine as flotation pilot plant operator, and in the following year was promoted assistant to the research engineer, Rhokana Corporation, Ltd. He was temporarily transferred to flotation pilot-plant operation, ‘but he later resumed work in the research department, when it was reopened early in 1933, on the electrolytic ferro-cobalt plant. In November, 1934, Mr. Milligan became foreman of the electrolytic tank house at the Rhokana Corporation’s copper refinery and held this post for seventeen years.
He left in 1951 to take up the appointment of assistant leach plant superintendent at Nchanga Consolidated Copper Mines, Ltd.; he was promoted superintendent in 1954 and more recently was also acting metallurgical superintendent.
Mr. Milligan contributed a paper, jointly with Messrs. W.I. Friggens and E.W. Page, entitled ‘The electrolytic copper refinery of the Rhodesia Copper Refineries, Ltd., at Nkana, Northern Rhodesia’, presented at the Symposium on The Refining of Non-Ferrous Metals held by the Institution in July, 1949.
He was elected an Associate Member of the Institution in 1937.
Vol. 69, Trans IMM 1959-60, pp.723-4
