Donald Douglas Stitt died suddenly at his home in Cyrildene, Johannesburg, on 14th February, 1956, at the age of 59.
He was born in Scotland and served three years’ apprenticeship as a pharmacist and passed the preliminary examination of the College of Preceptors with honours in chemistry and mathematics. On the outbreak of war in 1914 he joined H.M. Forces, serving in Salonica and France, and in 1919 returned to Scotland to train as a metallurgist at the Royal Technical College, Glasgow, where he obtained the Diploma in Metallurgy in 1923.
In the following year Mr. Stitt went to South Africa to join the Central Mining—Rand Mines Group as refinery assistant at New Modderfontein Gold Mining Co., Ltd., and after a few months was employed on experimental work. He was made treatment house foreman at Onverwacht Platinum, Ltd., in 1926, and two years later was promoted reduction foreman. He was appointed reduction shift boss at Durban-Roodepoort Deep Gold Mining Co., Ltd., in 1930, and in April of the following year became metallurgical sub-staff assistant, Central Mining and Investment Corporation, Ltd., and carried out experimental investigations and research. Mr. Stitt worked for two periods of eighteen months as foreman and reduction officer at City Deep Gold Mining Co., Ltd., in 1935-36 and 1936-38, returning to New Modderfontein as reduction officer in March, 1938, for a few months before working at Geldenhuis Deep Gold Mining Co., Ltd., in the same capacity.
In March, 1939, Mr. Stitt was transferred to the head office of the Central Mining—Rand Mines Group as assistant consulting metallurgist to Central Mining and Investment Corporation, Ltd. He was promoted consulting metallurgist in January, 1954, and held this position at the time of his death. He represented the Group on various technical committees of the Transvaal and Orange Free State Chamber of Mines and was active in the development of the uranium industry in South Africa.
Mr. Stitt was elected to Studentship of the Institution in 1926, and was transferred to Associate Membership in 1933 and to Membership in 1941. He had been a member of the Chemical, Metallurgical and Mining Society of South Africa (now the South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy) since 1932, and had served as a Member of Council of that body and held the office of President for the session 1952-53.
Vol. 66, Trans I.M.M., 1956-57, p.112
