Alfred Jeaffreson Brett died on 6th March, 1952, at the age of 75.
He was trained at the Royal College of Science and the Royal School of Mines from 1894 to 1898, obtaining the A.R.C.S. in 1897 and the A.R.S.M. in metallurgy in 1898.
He became private assistant to Sir William Roberts-Austen at the Royal Mint in 1898, and the following year went to the Dutch East Indies, first as assayer and later as manager to Exploratie en Mijnbouw Maatschappij ‘Limba Kabila’, leaving in 1903 for the Transvaal on his appointment as sampler and surveyor to Durban Roodepoort Deep, Ltd. From 1904 to 1906 he was employed in a similar capacity by Robinson Gold Mining Co., Ltd., and in 1906 became manager of Treasury Gold Mines, Ltd., three years later taking up the position of section manager at Crown Deep, Ltd. He was promoted joint manager of Crown Mines, Ltd., a few months later, holding this post until his appointment as general manager in 1915.
From 1919 to 1921 Mr. Brett was joint technical adviser to the Transvaal Chamber of Mines, and early in 1921 he joined Central Mining and Investment Corporation, Ltd., as consulting engineer, remaining at the Johannesburg office for two years before coming to London in 1923. He became executive director of the company in 1934 and managing director in 1943. After his retirement from that position in 1948 he joined the board of directors until 1951. Mr. Brett was a director of several other companies, including Ultramar Co., Ltd., of which he had been chairman.
Mr. Brett was elected an Associate of the Institution in 1902 and was transferred to Membership in 1924. He served as a Member of Council of the Institution for fifteen years from 1927, holding office as Vice-President for five sessions, from 1932 to 1939.
Vol. 62, Trans I.M.M. 1952-3, p. 140
