Person

Read, Thomas Andrew (1886 - 1972)

Born
16 February 1886
Dean, Victoria, Australia
Died
1 February 1972
Camberwell, Victoria, Australia
Occupation
Metallurgist

Summary

Thomas Reed was a metallurgist whose career was spent with Broken Hill South Ltd where he started in 1901 as clerk in the store at the company's mine and rose to a 33-year term as Chief Metallurgist. He experimented in methods of measuring suspended dust and finding ways of preventing this, leading to significant improvements in mine conditions. Much of his work involved flotation methods where he successfully introduced the use of ferric salts in the differential flotation process. Other investigations resulted in a marked increase in the recovery of silver and lead. Read played a leading role in the design and construction of company's new concentrating plant, the first to be built of steel and concrete. He was active in the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, being Vice-President in 1944.

Details

Chronology

1901 - 1905
Career position - Employed in general store, Broken Hill South Ltd
1905 - 1915
Career position - Employed in assay office, Broken Hill South Ltd
1906
Education - Diploma in assaying, Broken Hill Technical College
1910
Education - Diploma in chemistry, Broken Hill Technical College
1915 - 1922
Career position - Metallurgist, Broken Hill South Ltd
1918 -
Career position - Member, Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy
1922 - 1955
Career position - Chief Metallurgist, Broken Hill South Ltd's mine
1925
Education - Fellowship in metallurgy, Sydney Technical College
1933 - 1936
Career position - Chairman, Broken Hill Branch, Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy
1935 - 1952
Career position - Member of Council, New South Wales Branch, Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy
1944
Career position - Vice-President, Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy
1955
Life event - Retired

Related Corporate Bodies

Published resources

Book Sections

  • Branagan, D. F., 'Read, Thomas Andrew (1886-1972), Metallurgist' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 16: 1940 - 1980 Pik-Z, John Ritchie and Diane Langmore, eds (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 2002), pp. 65-66. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A160074b.htm. Details

Resources

Helen Cohn

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