Colin Campbell died in New Zealand on 16th March, 1954. He was 77 years of age.
He was a student of the Otago University School of Mines and obtained the certificate of metallurgical chemist and assayer in November, 1900, and was awarded the diploma of Associateship of the School in March, 1901. In the following October he obtained the New Zealand Government certificate as battery superintendent.
During 1899-1902 he worked in Auckland for Whangamata Gold Corporation and for various other gold mines, for fifteen months at Kauri Freehold Gold Estates, Ltd., and for three months at Kalgurh gold mine as assistant smelter. In the early part of 1903 he was sampling and reporting on properties in Western Australia, and during the following eighteen months held the position of metallurgist and acting manager at Lady Shenton Gold Mme, Ltd.
At the end of 1904 Mr. Campbell went to South Africa and was assayer at New Reitfontein Estate Gold Mines, Ltd., Transvaal, for a few months before joining East Rand Proprietary Mines, Ltd., as sampler in July 1905. He was a short time later engaged as underground manager at the Woodbush gold mine, Northern Transvaal, and in July, 1906, was appointed manager of the Parsons Chromite Syndicate, Johannesburg. He was in charge of sampling and prospecting operations in the Rustenberg district for New Districts Development Co., Ltd., in 1907, and later reported on properties in the Pretoria and Barberton districts.
Mr. Campbell went to Southern Rhodesia in August, 1908, and after cyaniding sands on tribute for Guinea Fowl mine at Gwelo for nine months and then working with Salisbury and Jubilee Joint Gold Mining and Estates Co., Ltd., and Claremont mine until November, 1909, he joined Rhodesia Consolidated, Ltd. He held the position of assistant consulting engineer to Rhodesia Consolidated for three years, also to Mashonaland Consolidated (1909), Ltd., Golden Valley, Ltd., and Mazoe Mines, Ltd., and in 1912 was made consulting engineer to Mashonaland Consolidated, Ltd., Golden Valley, Ltd., Rhodesia Mines Trust, Ltd., Lomah Exploration, Ltd., and Mapeke Mines, Ltd.
During the 1914-1918 war Mr. Campbell served in India, being released from military service in November, 1917, to take charge of Government (Mahesri) mica mines as superintending engineer, on the staff of the Geological Survey of India. He returned to the Army Department in 1919 and was subsequently demobilized. He was in Burma for a time, prospecting for oil, and then in West Africa working for the Latilla group of companies. He came to England and set up in practice as consulting mining engineer, visiting Spain, Greece, and the Gold Coast in the course of his work. He was for a time consulting engineer to Anglo-European Mining Corporation, Ltd., and Kassala (Sudan) Gold Mine, Ltd.
After the outbreak of war in 1939 he went to Canada to prospect for bauxite, aluminium and other minerals needed for war production. He stayed in Canada after the war, eventually relinquishing the mining profession in favour of fruit farming on a small scale in Vancouver, and in 1951 visited New Zealand and decided to settle there. After winding up his affairs in Canada he moved to Auckland in 1952 where he lived until his death.
Mr. Campbell was elected to Associate Membership of the Institution in 1913 and was transferred to Membership in 1920. He had been a member of the Geological Society of South Africa since 1911.
Vol. 64, Trans I.M.M. 1954-55, pp. 418-419
