William Robert Feldtmann died at Capetown on Apri1 6th, 1938, aged 78.
He was born in Glasgow, and received his technical education at Freiburg, graduating in 1885. From 1886-7 he was engaged on metallurgical work by the Cassel Gold Extraction Co., Ltd., in England and Brazil. In 1888 he was appointed assistant manager to the Vogelstruis Gold Mining Co., Ltd., of the Transvaal, and in the following year he became technical manager to the Buffalo Land & Mining Co., where he was in charge of prospecting operations and assistant to the general manager. He was then appointed metallurgist and managing chemist to the African Gold Recovery Co., Ltd., of Johannesburg, and in 1894 he began practice in Johannesburg, as a consulting metallurgist.
In 1897 he went to Swaziland where for a few months he managed the Piggs Peak mine, afterwards leaving Africa for Western Australia, where he was manager of the Sons of Gwalia mine. Later he returned to London and was engaged on metallurgical research. In 1905 he reported on the mining position of the Ashanti mine, Gold Coast, and as a result of his visit and report he was appointed consulting engineer to the Ashanti Goldfields Corporation. During his 20 years in this position he spent some months each year on the Gold Coast. In 1925 he was ppointed general representative of the South West Africa Co., Ltd., and in later years acted as resident manager, being engaged in the exploitation of vanadium deposits owned by the company until shortly before his death. He contributed papers to the Journal of the Chemical, Metallurgical and Mining Society of South Africa and to the Institution Transactions.
Mr Feldtmann was a Foundation Member and the third President of the Chemical, Metallurgical and Mining Society of South Africa ; he was elected a Member of the Institution in 1897 and was a Member of Council in 1904 and from 1909 to 1925, holding office as Vice-President from 1913 to 1915.
Vol. 48, Trans IMM 1938-39, pp.831-2
