Henry Francis Collins died in London from pneumonia, in January 1924. He was in his 60th year, and was one of the sons of the late J.H. Collins, Past-President of the Institution, all of whom were distinguished in their profession.
He entered the Royal School of Mines in 1880, and obtained his A.R.S.M. in 1883, also receiving the Murchison and Bessemer Medals. On leaving the School of Mines, he obtained at once a post as assistant in the laboratory of the Rio Tinto mine, in Spain, with which concern he remained until the end of 1888.
In the following year he went to Mexico, where he was appointed superintendent and afterwards manager of the Torreon copper mines and smelting works, Chihuahua. In 1894 he became chief engineer and mining superintendent of the Guadalcazar quicksilver mines, San Luis Potosi. Altogether, he spent about 11 years in Mexico, after which he was engaged in the management of mines in Australia and North Wales, and in inspections in various countries, including Norway, Greece, and South Africa. In 1905 he took over the management of the Cerro Muriano mines, Cordoba, Spain, for about three years, following this by a time spent in Cornwall. In 1909 he returned to Spain as manager of the Huelva copper and sulphur mines, Valdelamusa, for some five years.
Returning to London and taking up consulting practice, he made several trips abroad, his last being to report on the Messina mine in the Transvaal, from which he returned very shortly before his death. During his residence in London he was fairly constant in his attendance at meetings of the Institution, and joined freely in the discussion of papers.
He contributed several papers to the Transactions, ranging over a wide period, which comprised ‘Quicksilver Mining in the District of Guadalcazar, State of San Luis Potosi, Mexico’ (vol. iv, 1895-6), ‘Chemical Reactions involved in the Amalgamation of Silver Ores’ (vol. vii, 1898-9), ‘Novel Association of Gold’ (vol. viii, 1899-1900), ‘Concentration and Smelting as applied to the Treatment of low-grade Gold (vol. xii, 1902-3), ‘Adobe and other Cheap and Makeshift Furnaces’ (vol. xii), ‘Amalgamation and other Wet Processes for Silver Ores in Mexico’ (vol. xiii, 1903-41), ‘Note on the Concentration of Gold in Bottoms in the Convertor’ (vol. xxiv, 1911-15), ‘Note on the Purity of Selected Copper made in Converters’ (vol. xxvi, 1916-17), ‘The Igneous Rocks of the Province of Huelva and the Genesis of the Pyritic Orebodies’ (vol. xxxi, 1921-22).
Mr. Collins was elected a Member of the Institution in 1891, and was a Member of Council for several years.
