Jim Ellis died, after a short illness, on April 5th, 1947, at the age of 39.
He received his professional training at the Royal School of Mining from 1926 and graduated in July, 1929, with the A.R.S.M. and B.Sc. in Mining Geology. He immediately took up employment with Rhodesian Selection Trust, Ltd, as geologist on the Nkuna Concession, Northern Rhodesia, and a year later transferred to Rhodesia Minerals Concession. In July, 1932, Mr. Ellis joined Victoria Prospecting Co. and continued work in the field in Bechuanaland until 1933 when he was employed for a few months in Yugoslavia as mining engineer to Trepea Mines, Ltd. He then went to British Columbia for Selection Trusty, Ltd., as sampler and geologist in sole charge of operations on the Teddy Glacier prospect, and in October, 1934, he was transferred to work in Southern Rhodesia, where he remained until his appointment to the Union Corporation, Ltd, Johannesburg, in 1937.
He was still in their employment, as a senior geologist, at the time of his death although seven weeks earlier he had returned to England on long leave and to submit a thesis for the B.Sc. degree of London University.
Mr. Ellis was elected to Studentship of the Institution in 1928 and was transferred to Associateship in 1937.
Vol. 57, Trans IMM 1947-8, p.472
