Sir Digby Vere Burnett died in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia, on 3rd November, 1958, at the age of 83.
He was born in Scotland and educated at Marlborough, and left for South Africa in 1892 to begin a career in mining. He worked from 1892 to 1897 in various capacities underground and in metallurgical works in the Transvaal, in 1897 becoming foreman of Rose Deep, Ltd., slime plant, and assayer at Crown Reef Gold Mining Co., Ltd. He was made cyanide manager at Durban Roodepoort Deep, Ltd., in 1898 and shortly afterwards occupied a similar post at Jumpers Deep, Ltd.
Sir Digby saw service in the South African war and during the early stages contributed despatches to The Times. He returned to Crown Deep to take charge of the metallurgical works and tube milling plants, and was the first man to pass the South African examination for Mine Manager’s Certificate.
He went to West Africa in 1906 to take up the position of general manager of the mines of the Edmund Davis group at Abbontiakoon and Fanti, but three years later returned to South Africa as general manager of the Pigg’s Peak mine at Barberton, leaving for Southem Rhodesia in 1912 on his appointment as manager of the Bushtick mine and consulting engineer to R.R. Hollins.
He joined London and Rhodesia Mining and Land Co., Ltd., in 1920 as general manager and consulting engineer in Salisbury, and in 1934 was appointed resident director also. Before he retired in 1950, Sir Digby had worked on the reorganization of the Cam and Motor mine and its treatment plant and had directed the revival of the Rezende mine, the Revue dredge in Portuguese East Africa, and the Sabiwa mine; he had also brought into production Sherwood Starr, Berea, Mkaradzi, Muriel and Vubachikwe mines, and, with the widely spread interests of his company, flying became one of his hobbies.
In 1920 he was elected President of the Salisbury Chamber of Mines and served until 1939 when the Bulawayo and Salisbury Chambers amalgamated to become the Chamber of Mines of Rhodesia. He remained on their Executive Committee until 1953, when he was made a Special Member, and in 1957 he was elected an Honorary Life Member.
Sir Digby served as Chairman of the Rhodesian Iron and Steel Commission and was also Chairman of the Government’s Cold Storage Commission for Southern Rhodesia following his interest in stockbreeding.
It was Sir Digby who, by convening a meeting of members of the Institution in Southern Rhodesia, founded the Southern Rhodesian Local Association of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy in 1931, and he served as President of the Association from its inception until his retirement in 1955.
Sir Digby had been a Member of the Institution since 1907 and was Member of Council for Rhodesia from 1930 to 1938. He was a Justice of the Peace and created Knight Bachelor in the 1945 New Year Honours List.
Vol. 68, Trans I.M.M. 1958-59, p. 395
