Memorial to Albert E. Weissenborn1903-1985

THOR H. KIILSGAARDU.S. Geological Survey, 656 U.S. Court House, Spokane, WA 99201

JOSEPH E. WORTHINGTON 29294 Roan Drive, Evergreen, CO 80439

Albert E. Weissenborn, a long-time member of the U.S. Geological Survey, died of natural causes on October 23,1985, in Spokane, Washington.

A1 was a remarkable man who had a host of friends and no enemies. He was widely respected throughout the mining industry and the federal government, particularly in the U.S. Geological Survey, where he was in charge of the Survey’s Spokane Office from 1946 until he retired in 1973. During his long tenure in Spokane, he was an inspiration to many young geologists. His bubbling enthusiasm and joy in working were infectious. He always had time to stop whatever he was doing to help anyone who had a problem, and his optimistic and cheerful attitude usually made the problem seem less complex. His determination to do every job as well as it could be done, his high ethical standards, his honesty, and his pride and loyalty

to the Survey all served to stimulate and motivate his fellow workers. Several geologists, who later held responsible positions in the Survey, worked under A1 early in their careers. A list of such geologists would include Vincent E. McKelvey, former Director of the Survey; the late Montis R. Klepper, former Assistant Director; Richard P. Sheldon, former Chief Geologist; S. Warren Hobbs, former Assistant Chief Geologist of the Office of Economic Geology; George E. Becraft, former Chief of the Office of Mineral Resources; and Robert E. Wallace, Chief Scientist, Office of Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and Engineering.

A1 was bom on July 22,1903 in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad; he was educated in the public schools of Montclair, New Jersey, and graduated from Lehigh University in 1925 with the degree of Engineer of Mines. Professional jobs were scarce when he graduated; his first job was as a mucker for Phelps Dodge Corporation, in Bisbee, Arizona, at the princely wage of $4.40 per day. Enroute to Bisbee, he traveled by steamship from New York City to Galveston, Texas, and while on board met an attractive, young school teacher, whom he later married. As A1 said, “We got acquainted before the ship got past the Statue of Liberty.” A1 and Frances (“Franny”) were married nearly 50 years, until she died in 1980.

After about a year in Bisbee, A1 went to work as an assayer-engineer at the Red Cloud mine near Yuma, Arizona. His first job there was to help build the assay shack. Exploratory efforts at the mine were not successful, and it closed after a few months. In 1926, he obtained a job as Junior Mining Engineer with Compania Minera Asarco at Santa Barbara, Mexico, where he worked under a stern and quality-demanding chief engineer. A1 loved to tell the story of how he ran a long plane table traverse between two mines, over rough terrain, and closed within 0.2 cm, only to have the chief engineer tell him that the closure was not good enough. After about one year at Santa Barbara, he took a job with the Ocu Copper Corporation, where he was a field engineer in charge of a prospecting program in the mountainous part of the Republic of Panama. Supplies and money for the local payroll were delivered to the prospecting camp by pack mules, and A1 told many fascinating stories about directing the exploratory work of the unskilled natives and meeting the payroll on schedule. He developed fluent Spanish under the tutelage of the project blacksmith, and was considered the local

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doctor for all illnesses. In 1929, he worked for the Swedish American Prospecting Company in Newfoundland on a geophysical exploration program under the direction of Hans Lundberg, searching for an extension of the Buchans ore deposit.

A1 joined the Anaconda Copper Mining Company in 1930, married Franny, and was assigned to the geological staff of the Chuquicamata copper mine in Chile. He remained at Chuqui, the world’s largest copper mine, for 13 years, rising to the position of Assistant Chief Geologist. While at Chuqui, he developed a system of sampling for control of ore grade that was still being used in 1975. He also participated in studies of hydrothermal alteration and its relation to ore deposits, and helped develop a geologic understanding of the molybdenum potential of the deposit. It was not until after World War II, however, that facilities to recover byproduct molybdenum were installed at the mine.

Franny and Al, with their 3 daughters who were bom at Chuqui, returned to the United States in 1943. He began his career with the U.S. Geological Survey that year, working on the Strategic Minerals Program at the Survey office in Rolla, Missouri, as Assistant Regional Geologist, under direction of the late Harry Ladd, a scientist for whom Al had profound respect and admiration. He was transferred to Spokane in 1946, to the position of Regional Geologist. In his 27 years at the Spokane office, Al held a variety of assignments, but the one he enjoyed most was from 1951 to 1960, when he was the executive officer in charge of joint U.S. Bureau of Mines-U.S. Geological Survey field work in Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and Alaska. This work was conducted for the Defense Minerals Exploration Administration and its successor, the Office of Minerals Exploration. Mineral exploration under these two programs was funded in part by the U.S. Government, but was done by mining companies or private individuals; the Bureau-Survey field team was responsible for evaluating the merits of applicants’ proposals, checking ongoing work at properties that received exploration contracts, and appraising exploration findings. Numerous ore bodies were discovered during the exploratory work, much of which benefitted from Al’s extensive experience in mineral exploration and mine development. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of mineral deposits, particularly those of the Pacific Northwest.

The U.S. Geological Survey was served by Al in many other ways. In response to a special request from the General Services Administration in 1956, he wrote a report on the Lost River tin mine, Alaska. In 1959, he prepared testimony for the Federal Power Administration on the Boundary Dam, Pend Oreille County, Washington. In 1961, he began a series of foreign assignments, visiting Liberia, Dahomey, Guyana, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia and advising foreign and U.S. Government officials on geologic and mineral resource matters. After retiring from the Survey, he visited Taiwan under auspices of the International Executive Service Corporation, to advise on problems related to organization of the Taiwanese Geological Survey. Also in 1961, he began geologic mapping of the Mount Spokane Quadrangle in eastern Washington and northern Idaho, work subsequently published as a U.S. Geological Survey GQ Map.

From 1962 to 1968, Al devoted much of his time to preparing reports on the mineral and water resources of Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. He served as editor and contributing author to these studies, all of which were requested by various United States senators. These reports were originally published as Committee Prints by the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs of the United States Senate; however, because they proved to be so informative, all subsequently were reissued under appropriate publication covers by the respective states. During this time, Al also was the Survey’s representative on a Department of the Interior team that studied the natural resources of the North Cascades, Washington; he wrote the major part of a report on the geology and mineral resources of the studied area. Parts of this report are contained in a document published in 1965 by the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In 1969, in response to a request from the Alaska Power Administration, he wrote a report on the mineral resources of the Upper Yukon-Taiya River area, southeast Alaska, as relevant to the potential market for electric power.

MEMORIAL TO ALBERT E. WEISSENBORN 3

Al was a community leader. He was active in the Northwest Mining Association and in the Columbia Section of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, of which he was chairman in 1960. He was a director of the Society of Mining Engineers in 1961-1962. He was a member of the Associated Engineers of Spokane and was president in 1947. For more than 10 years, he served on the Zoning Board for the City of Spokane. He was active in the Eastern Washington State Historical Society and served as a trustee of such diverse organizations as the Northwest Scientific Association and the Spokane Junior Symphony. He loved music and was an ardent amateur violinist. At different times, he taught evening courses in geology at Fort Wright Junior College in Spokane, and, over a period of several years, gave annual lectures on mineral resources at Eastern Washington University.

A Fellow of the Geological Society of America, A1 also was a member of the Geological Society of Washington and the Society of Economic Geologists; he was on the Program Policy Committee of the latter society in 1962-1964, and on its Council in 1971-1972. He also was a member of the Geochemical Society, the Kiwanis Club of Downtown Spokane, and the Spokane Gub.

In 1963, A1 received a Superior Performance Award from the U.S. Geological Survey for his work on the report on the mineral and water resources of Montana. He was made an Honorary Trustee of the Northwest Scientific Association in 1964, an Honorary Life Member of the Northwest Mining Association in 1967, and an Honorary Life Member of Associated Engineers of Spokane in1971. He was named Engineer of the Year in 1968 by the Columbia Section of AIME, and received the Legion of Honor Award from AIME in 1976. He received a Superior Performance Award from the U.S. Geological Survey in 1969 for his work with the National Boy Scout Jamboree, and in 1972 received the highest honor of the Department of the Interior, the Distinguished Service Award.

A1 was a man of great integrity who was a dedicated public servant and unswervingly faithful to the U.S. Geological Survey. He will be missed by his many friends but he left a legacy for all to respect.

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF A. E. WEISSENBORN1944 (with Cullison, J. S.) Geology and ore deposits of the western part of the Shatter district,

Presidio County, Texas: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report, 21 p.____ Fluorspar deposits of the Navajo mines near Grants, Valencia County, New Mexico: U.S.

Geological Survey Open-File Report, 18 p.____ (with Kinney, D. M.) Geology and lead-zinc deposits o f the Royal John area, Swartz

district, Grant County, New Mexico: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report.1945 (with Smith, J. F., Wadsworth, A. H., Cooper, J. R., and Farwell, F. W.) San Pedro and

Carnahan mines, New Placers mining district, Santa Fe County, New Mexico; U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report.

1948 A new occurrence of helvite: American Mineralogist, v. 33, nos. 9-10, p. 648-649.____ (with Stenzel, H. B.) Geological resourcesof the Trinity River tributary area in Oklahoma

and Texas: University of Texas Publication 4824, Texas Bureau of Economic Geology.1963 (Editor and contributing author) Mineral and water resources of Montana: Montana Bureau

of Mines and Geology Special Publication 28,166 p.1964 (Editor and contributing author) Mineral and water resources of Idaho: Idaho Bureau of

Mines and Geology Special Report No. 1, 335 p.1965 (Editor and contributing author) Mineral potential of Eastern Montana: Montana Bureau of

Mines and Geology Special Publication No. 33, 77 p.1966 (Editor and contributing author) Mineral and water resources of Washington: Washington

Division of Mines and Geology Reprint No. 9 ,436 p.____ An appraisal of the mineral potential of the Peter’s Mine area, Northwest district, Guyana:

U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report, 20 p.

1968 (and Snavely, P. D., Jr.) Summary report on the geology and mineral resources of the Flattery Rocks, Quillayute Needles, and Copalis National Wildlife Refuges, Washington: Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon; and Three Arch Rocks National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon: in U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1260-F-H.

1969 (and Earhart, R. L.) Appraisal of the Wadi Wassat and Wadi Adhbat pyrite deposits, Asir quadrangle, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report, 21 p.

------ (Editor and contributing author) Mineral and water resources of Oregon: OregonDepartment of Geology and Mineral Industries Bulletin 64,462 p.

------ (compiler) Geologic Map of Washington: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous GeologicInvestigations Map 1-583.

1970 (and Armstrong, F. C., and Fyles, J. T.) Introduction, in Lead and Zinc deposits in the Kootenay Arc, Northeastern Washington and adjacent British Columbia: Washington State Division of Mines and Geology Bulletin 61, p. 34.

------ Interim results of Geological Investigations in the vicinity of the Ergeni-Maden massivecopper deposits near Maden, Elazig, Turkey: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report,42 p.

1971 Geologic considerations and solid mineral potential of Alaska: University of Missouri, Rolla, No. 2, June 1971, p. 19-26.

------ Some thoughts on Alaska’s potential for minerals other than fuels [abs.]: Canadian MiningJournal, v. 92, no. 4, p. 84.

1973 (with others) Uranium, in Brobst, D. A., and Pratt, W. P., eds., U.S. Mineral Resources:U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 820, p. 456-468.

------ (with others) Silver, in Brobst, D. A., and Pratt, W. P., eds., U.S. Mineral Resources: U.S.Geological Survey Professional Paper 820, p. 581-603.

1974 (and Moen, W. S.) Uranium in Washington, in Livingston, V. E., ed., Energy Resources of Washington: Washington Division of Mines and Geology Information Circular No. 50,p. 87-97.

1975 The mineral industry and its importance, in Mining Technology, Mining Research and Service: Industrial Technology Research Institute, Taiwan, Republic of China, v. 13, no. 3, p. 140-146.

------ Zinc in Northeastern Washington—A review: American Institute of Mining Engineers Trans­actions, v. 258, p. 212-217.

1976 (and Weis, P. L.) Geologic map of the Mount Spokane Quadrangle, Spokane County, Washington, and Kootenai and Bonner Counties, Idaho: U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Quadrangle Map, GQ-1336.

1982 (and Kiilsgaard, T. H.) 100 years of geology by the U.S. Geological Survey in the Pacific Northwest, in Frontiers of geological exploration in Western North America: American Association for the Advancement of Science, p. 93-96.

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Printed in U.S.A. 5 /87