William Everett Thorne is reported to have died in the United States 1945 at the age of 85.
He was educated in America and was employed on land surveys in Colorado in 1887 and 1888, subsequently working at lead mines in S.W. Missouri in 1889 and at coal mines in Illinois in 1890, in 1891 superintending constructional work at a hydro power plant at Del Norte, Colorado. From 1892 to 1898 he was surveying and prospecting at Creede and Cripple Creek, Colorado, and at Summitville, and was manager of Del Norte Mining and Milling Co. He was for a short time in the original Klondike gold rush, subsequently carrying out, mine examinations in Mexico and Texas, and in 1899 he held the position of hydraulic engineer to the Roswell Land and Canal Co. at Roswell, New Mexico. For the next two years he was manager of the Gold Bug Mining Co. at Georgetown, California, and in 1903 tested alluvial deposits of the Alaska River. During the following three years he managed first the Oro Grande Mining Co. at Dillon and later the Snowstorm Hydraulic mine at Fairplay, Colorado.
He did special metallurgical work in 1906-7 under Professor Lyons at Stanford University and for the following six years was reporting and examining a North, South and Central America, Siberia and Portugal. Early in 1914 he was engaged by Ropp Tin Mines, Ltd., and West Africa Mines, Ltd., to report on their Nigerian tin properties and later to design power plant and dredges for the former company.
Mr. Thorne returned to Siberia for Lena Goldfields, Ltd., and in 1916 went back to Ropp tin mines to supervise the starting up of the dredges. From 1917 his work was mainly consultative and he was alternately in London and abroad in California; Spain, Columbia and Portugal. Early in 1929 he went to New Guinea to report on the properties now known as New Guinea Goldfields, Ltd., and in October of the same year returned to Columbia as consulting engineer to Viborita Gold Mines, Ltd.
From 1931 to 1934 he made visits to the U.S.A., Colombia and London, and in 1934 became associated with Messrs. Chas. O. Parker & Co., consulting engineers of Denver, Colo. Mr. Thorne was for some years at Murfreesboro, Arkansas, on mercury producing properties, and in 1940 held the position of consulting engineer for the Southern Kraft; Corporation. Early in 1944 he was engaged for a short time on examination work in Arizona, but returned to Murfeesboro, and was residing in California shortly before his death.
He was elected to Membership of the Institution in 1914 and was also a Member of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers.
Vol. 57, Trans IMM 1947-48, p.479
