Joseph Leonard Willey died at Hermanus, Cape Province, on March 29th, 1943.
Born in Penzance, he attended the Penzance School of Mines in 1900 and 1901 before taking a post in the mill of a gold mining company in North Italy. He returned to Cornwall in 1902 to attend the Camborne School of Mines, and was later engaged in practical mining at the Levant Mine.
After a few months at Swansea, as an analyst, and a year in Peru as metallurgist at the Tuco-Cheira mines, he went in 1909 to South Africa, where he spent the rest of his life. From 1909 to 1911 he was a reduction worker for East Rand Proprietary Mines, Ltd., and from 1911 to 1920 reduction foreman and reduction officer at the Brakpan Mines, Ltd. In 1920 he was appointed consulting metallurgist to the Anglo-American Corporation of South Africa, Ltd., a post which he still held at the time of his death. Mr. Willey had much to do with the improvements in Rand metallurgical practice, and was the author of several papers.
He was elected an Associate of the Institution in 1909.
Vol. 53, Trans IMM 1943-44, p.442
