Cyril Edward Parsons died at Chislehurst, Kent, on 15th November, 1953, at the age of 82.
He was educated at Uppingham School from 1884 to 1887 and at Neuweid-am-Rhein in Prussia. He returned to England in 1888, and after a year at the Birdsall, York, Estate office went to Newfoundland, beginning his career in metalliferous mining as assistant to the Newfoundland and Canadian Exploration Trust, Ltd., where he worked for four years. He returned to England in 1893, doing assaying and general laboratory work for a few months as a pupil of Mr. G.T. Holloway in London before entering the Royal School of Mines, where he obtained a first class certificate in mining.
Mr. Parsons worked at Mill Close lead mine in Derbyshire in 1894 for a short period, before leaving for Australia to join Coopers Australasian Exploring Co., Ltd., Coolgardie, as assistant engineer, becoming engineer-in-charge of the New Zealand properties of that company in 1896 and in the following year assistant engineer to the United Australian Exploration Co., Ltd.
Except for the period 1908-1910, when he returned to the Royal School of Mines and obtained the A.R.S.M. in mining, Mr. Parsons worked in Rhodesia from 1898 to 1923, at first as chief mining engineer in charge of all the Rhodesian mining properties of Exploring Land and Minerals Co., Ltd. In 1901 he joined Rhodesian
Exploration and Development Co., Ltd., and became manager of Gaika mine, and from 1906 to 1908 was general manager of Eldorado and adjoining properties. He remained with the company until 1912, when he set up in practice as a consultant in Salisbury. Among other companies he was consulting engineer to United Rhodesia Gold Fields, and Goldfields Rhodesian Development Co., Ltd. He also served on the Executive Committee of the Rhodesian Chamber of Mines. He transferred his headquarters to London in 1923 and in subsequent years his work took him to many parts of Africa and Europe and to South Africa.
Mr. Parsons contributed two papers to the Transactions of the Institution – ‘Huntington mill notes’ (vol. 15, 1905-6) and ‘Shamva gold mines, Rhodesia’ (vol. 33, 1923-24).
Mr. Parsons was elected an Associate Member of the Institution in 1898 and was transferred to Membership in 1905. He served as Member of Council for fourteen years from 1932 to 1946, and held office as Vice-President from 1938 to 1941.
Vol. 63, Trans I.M.M., 1953-54, p.380
