Leslie Guyon Fox died on 31st August, 1959, in Natal, at the age of 73.
Mr. Fox was trained at the Camborne School of Mines from 1906 to 1909 and gained their Diploma. He w limes plant assistant at Oroya Black Range Gold Mines, Ltd., and in the course of the next three years was employed there in various capacities, leaving in 1912 to join Yuanmi Gold Mines, Ltd., as assistant surveyor; he was promoted surveyor, and later worked on machine stoping and development.
He left Western Australia in 1914 for the Transvaal, to take up the post of assistant sampler at Van Ryn Deep gold mines, becoming assistant surveyor, and shortly afterwards transferring to New Primrose Gold Mines, Ltd. Mr. Fox served with the Transvaal Scottish Regiment for a year until August, 1915, when he rejoined Van Ryn Deep, holding the positions of head sampler, machine stoper and shift boss, and in 1919 transferred to Consolidated Langlaagte Gold Mines, Ltd. He obtained his Mine Overseer’s Certificate and Metalliferous Mine Manager’s Certificate, and in 1920 was promoted mine overseer; he was awarded the Coal Mine Manager’s Certificate in 1921.
From 1923 to 1924 Mr. Fox was employed by Langlaagte Estate and Gold Mining Co., Ltd., and then spent two years as underground manager at Witwatersrand Deep, Ltd., a short period as observer at Crown mines, and joined New Modderfontein Gold Mining Co., Ltd., in 1926. He subsequently worked at Geldenhuis Deep, Ltd., for a year as shift boss, and City Deep for two years, and from 1931 to 1933 again at Langlaagte Estate, followed by six months at New Kleinfontein Co., Ltd., in the position of shift boss and efficiency officer.
Mr. Fox was warned by the Pneumokoniosis Board of the early stages of miners’ phthisis and was therefore subsequently unable to work underground in deep mines. During 1934 he was manager of New Pioneer Central Rand Gold Mining Co., Ltd., and then spent four years in Tanganyika as manager of Tanganyika Central Gold Mines, Ltd., Sekenke. He later managed the Old Heriot Mine (Proprietary), Ltd., until 1942. He worked for a short time in the offices of Randfontein and Langlaagte Estates as study assistant, and then helped to close a small mine at Klipvaal, Eastern Transvaal, remaining there to look after the property for some years. He later retired to his own house in Umkomaas, South Coast, Natal.
Mr. Fox was elected an Associate Member of the Institution in 1922.
Vol. 71, Trans IMM 1961-62, p.245
