Leslie Urquhart died in London on March 18th, 1983, at the age of 58.
He was born at Aidin, Smyrna, Asia Minor, and was educated abroad. From 1890 to 1895 he received practical training at the mechanical engineering works of Messrs. Crow, Harvey & Co., of Glasgow, and at the same time attended a course of mechanical and electrical engineering at the Glasgow & West of Scotland Technical College. For another year he continued his studies in chemistry, specializing in oils, at Edinburgh University, during his vacations working at local oil works, and assisting in the design and erection of plant.
In January, 1897, he went to the Caucasus as general manager of the Orient Trading Corporation, at the same time acting as consulting engineer to oil firms at Baku. In 1902 he was appointed general manager of the Schibaieff Petroleum Co., Ltd., also of the Russian Petroleum & Liquid Fuel Co., Ltd., the Baku Russian Petroleum Co., Ltd. and a director on the board of the Bibi Eibat Petroleum Co., Ltd. In 1907, he went to the Urals, as managing director of the Kyshtim Iron & Mining Works, from which he evolved the Kyshtim Corporation. Shortly afterwards he developed copper mines in the Orenburg district. From these and other of his activities he formed the Russo-Asiatic Corporation, and the Irtysh Corporation, and the various interests in Siberia were amalgamated into the Russo-Asiatic Consolidated Mining Trust in 1919.
In the previous year Mr. Urquhart had been appointed a member of the British Government Economic Mission to Russia, and later was the British Government’s agent in the effort made to resuscitate healthy economic conditions in Siberia. At the time of his death he was chairman of the Russo-Asiatic Consolidated, Ltd., the Mining Trust, Ltd., Mount Isa Mines, Ltd., and the Britannia Lead Co., Ltd., and was a director of New Guinea Goldfields, Ltd., and the Cie. Nouvelle des Mines de Villemagne, in France.
Mr. Urquhart was elected a Member of the Institution in 1907, and was a Member of Council for three years, 1917 to 1920.
Vol. 43, Trans IMM 1933-34, p.769
[See K.H. Kennedy: Mining Tzar (Allen & Unwin: 1987)]
