Percy Colin Whitehead died on April 7th, 1933, under tragic circumstances, being overcome by fumes from a fire which occurred in the deep level of the Langlaagte Estate gold mine, Transvaal. He was 46 years of age.
He had a varied career, his first appointment being in 1905 as assistant engineer to the Egyptian Mines Exploration Co. After a brief spell of office work in London, he had three years’ experience as underground manager of the Dharwar Reef Gold Mining Co., Ltd., in India, followed by a prospecting trip to Burma. Followed an expedition in Brazil on behalf of John Taylor & Sons, and from 1912 to 1914 he was in Nigeria, latterly as assistant manager to the Karina and Forum River companies.
From 1914 to 1919 he served in HM. Forces, Royal Field Artillery, in Egypt, Salonica and France. After demobilization, he returned to Nigeria, where he was employed for about five years interrupted by a short reporting trip to Argentina. In 1925 he was in charge of an exploring party in East Africa, followed by a trip to Venezuela to report on a gold-diamond prospect.
In 1927 he went to Borneo as examining engineer and manager of the British North Borneo Gold Concession, Ltd., and in 1929 he was appointed general manager of the Berenguela tin mines in Bolivia. Finally, he went to the Transvaal, where he worked in succession on the Consolidated Main Reef and Langlaagte Estate. He contributed a paper to the Transactions on ‘Some Notes on the Secondary Sulphide Enrichment exhibited by certain Auriferous Veins’ (Vol. xxxii).
Mr. Whitehead was admitted to Student ship of the Institution in 1904, and was transferred to Associateship in 1912, and to Membership in 1929.
Vol. 43, Trans IMM 1933-34, pp.769-70
