Raynor de Hele St. Stephens died at Camborne, Cornwall, on 8th April, 1951, at the age of 83.
He entered the Royal School of Mines in 1883, and obtained the Associateship in Metallurgy in 1886, when he went to India as assayer and surveyor to the South East Mysore Co. and Nine Reefs mine. He later became assistant manager, Eastern Mysore Mining Co., but left in 1893 to take the position of chief engineer to the United Mexican Mining Co. and visiting engineer to the Santa Ursula mine.
He was appointed manager of the Kabin gold mine, Siam, for East Kabin Syndicate in 1895, and from 1902 to 1903 was in charge of a prospecting and reporting expedition to the west coast of Africa for Ashanti Consols, Ltd. During the following three years Mr. St. Stephens was reporting on properties in Cornwall, Wales, Sweden, Norway and Russia, and in 1907 was appointed consulting engineer for Malay Concessions, Ltd. Between the years 1909 and 1914 his consulting work took him to Jamaica, Nigeria, Canada, East Africa and New Zealand.
In 1914 he joined the Mendip Motor and Engineering Works as manager, and two years later was appointed general manager, Climax Rock Drill and Engineering Works, Ltd., Cornwall. He held that position for 23 years and in 1937 was made technical director of the firm, an appointment which he held at the time of his death.
Mr. St. Stephens was elected to Membership of the Institution in 1907.
Vol. 61, Trans I.M.M., 1951-52, p.80
