Miningengineer00bradrich.Pdf

1 Cc Regional Oral History Office University of California The Bancroft Library Berkeley, California Western Mining in the Twentieth Century Oral History Project Philip Read Bradley, Jr. A MINING ENGINEER IN ALASKA, CANADA, THE WESTERN UNITED STATES, LATIN AMERICA, AND SOUTHEAST ASIA With an Introduction by Noel Kirshenbaum An Interview Conducted by Eleanor Swent in 1986 and 1988 Copyright (c) 1988 by The Regents of the University of California Since 1954 the Regional Oral History Office has been interviewing leading participants in or well-placed witnesses to major events in the development of Northern California, the West, and the nation. Oral history is a modern research technique involving an interviewee and an informed interviewer in spontaneous conversation. The taped record is transcribed, lightly edited for continuity and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewee. The resulting manuscript is typed in final form, indexed, bound with photographs and illustrative materials, and placed in The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley and other research collections for scholarly use. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account, offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is reflective, partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ************** All uses of this manuscript are covered by a legal agreement between the University of California and Philip Read Bradley, Jr. dated July 1, 1986. The manuscript is thereby made available for research purposes. All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. No part of the manuscript may be quoted for publication without the written permission of the Director of The Bancroft Library of the University of California at Berkeley. Requests for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to the Regional Oral History Office, 486 Library, University of California, Berkeley CA 94720, and should include identification of the specific passages to be quoted, anticipated use of the passages, and identification of the user. The legal agreement with Philip Read Bradley, Jr. requires that he be notified of the request and allowed thirty days in which to respond. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Philip Read Bradley, Jr., "A Mining Engineer in Alaska, Canada, the Western United States, Latin America, and Southeast Asia," an oral history conducted in 1986 and 1988 by Eleanor Swent, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 1988. Copy No. I I PHILIP READ BRADLEY, JR. 1974 Photographed by Russell Abraham San Francisco Chronicle, September 27, 1999 -- 23rd, 1999 at BRADLEY, Philip Read, Jr. On Thursday, September California and the age of 94. A member of a prominent mining family he was born in Cliff, Ontario, and longtime resident of Berkeley, Copper and raised in Treadwell, Alaska. Attended Culver Military Academy School of Mines in 1927. Served on the graduated from UC Berkeley most time California Mining Board for 32 years under four governors, California Association, serving as chairman. Founded the Mining Western Governors Mining Council, and was on the board of governors and the of the American Mining Congress. A member of the AIME he worked in the Mining and Metallurgy Society. In his sixty year career, Mexico. US, South America, Guatemala, Thailand, Canada, and of 58 sons Survived by Katherine Connick Bradley, wife years, Philip, Sutherland and Joan Arthur, and Gordon Bradley, daughters Ginger will be held the Wactor, and five grandchildren. A private memorial by will be in Nevada California. In lieu family at a later date. Interment City, Oral of flowers, contributions can be made to the Bancroft Library of CA 94720, or History Department c/o University California, Berkeley, to the charity of your choice. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Special thanks are given to the following members and friends of the Bradley family who contributed to the cost of producing this oral history. Arthur C. Bradley Gordon C. Bradley Joan Bradley Katherine C. Bradley Philip Read Bradley III Bruce S. and Jeanne tte C. Howard Ruth Bradley Hume Sheila Kelly Frances Bradley Ludington Virginia Bradley Sutherland John J. Trelawney Philip and Katherine Bradley, in memory of Sew all Bradley Bruce and Jeannette Howard, in honor of Katherine Bradley Continental Can Company, Matching Grants Program TABLE OF CONTENTS Philip Bradley PREFACE i INTRODUCTION by Noel W. Kirshenbaum vii INTERVIEW HISTORY ix BRIEF BIOGRAPHY xii I FAMILY BACKGROUND AND CHILDHOOD, 1904-14 1 Forebears 1 Grandfather, Henry Sewall Bradley 2 Grandmother, Virginia Shearer Bradley 3 Uncle, Frederick W or then Bradley 4 Father, Philip Read Bradley, Sr. 7 II THE BRADLEY FAMILY AND ALASKA MINING 14 Fred Bradley and Bernard Baruch; The Tacoma Smelter around 1905 14 The Alaska Juneau Gold Mining Company 15 The Haulage Tunnel, 1912 16 The Mill, 1915 17 The Alaska Treadwell Gold Mining Company 18 The Cave-in of 1917 18 The Founders: The Calif ornia-Comstock Influence on Alaska 20 John D. Fry 20 James Freeborn 21 John Treadwell 21 The Bradley Family Accomplishment 27 Notable Acquaintances, Presidents Hoover, Eisenhower, Nixon, and Ford 29 General James Doolittle 31 III EDUCATION AND TRAINING 33 Culver Military Academy, 1919-21 33 Earlier Education 34 Nurse-Governess 34 The Calvert School 37 Public Schools in California and Alaska 38 Experiences in a Company Town 38 Entertainment 38 Summertime Tourists 41 World War I, 1918, the Draft 44 Summer Jobs, 1918-19 48 Blacksmithing 48 Health Care 49 Immigrants from Europe 50 The University of California, 1921-27 52 A Family of "Old Blues" 52 Bob Kinzie, a Friend 53 Family Recollections 55 Warren Labarthe, a Friend 60 Summer Jobs 61 Gold Hill, Nevada, 1921, Timberman's Helper 61 Safety and Accidents 66 Alaska Juneau, 1924, Miner 67 McGill, Nevada, 1922, Smelter Worker 69 Bolivia, 1925, Sampling a Tin Mine 76 Return to Berkeley 79 Studying Platinum Metallurgy 79 Later Platinum Mining in Colombia, 1980 79 More about Bolivia 81 Back to Berkeley 84 Tom Coakley, a Friend 84 IV A CAREER AS A MINING ENGINEER 87 Sudbury Basin, Ontario, Canada, 1927-31 87 Lead, Zinc, Copper 87 Tybo, Nevada, 1931-32 93 Lead, Zinc, Silver 93 Northern Nevada, 1932 93 Quicksilver 93 Fred Bradley 1 s Morality and Intuition 94 The Pine Tree, Mariposa County, California, 1932 and 1934 98 Gold 98 The Oregon King, Oregon, 1934 100 Silver and Gold 100 Reopening and Developing a Mine in the Bradley Tradition 100 More about Nevada Mines 102 More about the Bretz Mine 103 Fred Bradley, opinions and enterprises 107 Clarkdale, Nevada, 1932 110 Gold 110 More about the Pine Tree, Fred Bradley, and Bernard Baruch 111 Virginia City, Nevada, 1934 114 Reworking a Tailings Dump 114 More about the Oregon King 115 Examination Work out of the San Francisco Office, 1934-36 116 Back to the Pine Tree, 1936-38 117 Mine Accounting and Controlling the Grade of Ore Mined 118 More about Fred Bradley and other famous men 119 The Harvard Mine, Jamestown, California, 1938-45 122 Labor Unions 125 An Adventure at the Beebe Mine, 1933 127 Sampling at the Alpine Mine, 1933 131 The Depression 131 Reminders of Earlier Times 133 William Ralston 1 s China 133 The Donner Party 134 Following Pioneer Trails 135 The Bradley Home in Berkeley 137 V AN ADVISOR ON MINING 139 San Francisco Chamber of Commerce 139 The Western Governors Mining Advisory Council 148 The California Mining Board. 1944-76 151 The War Production Board. Washington. D. C. , 1950 154 Tungsten, Manganese, Chromium 154 More about the California Mining Board 158 Governor Reagan; Personnel Selection 158 The American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers, a Fifty-Year Member 162 The American Mining Congress 162 The United States and California Forest Services 165 American Mining Congress Meetings 167 Mining Laws 170 More about the Harvard Mine 173 VI A MINING AND METALLURGICAL CONSULTANT 181 Mexico. 1960 181 Gold-Silver 181 Thailand. 1966-70 182 Fluorspar 182 Further Advisory Work, to the University of California 191 More about the Defense Minerals Agency 193 More about the National Advisory Board to the U.S. Forest Service 195 Archeology for the Melones Dam 197 TAPE GUIDE 200 INDEX 201 PREFACE The oral history series on Western Mining in the Twentieth Century documents the lives of leaders in mining, metallurgy, geology, education in the earth and materials sciences, mining law, and the pertinent government bodies. The field includes metal, non-metal, and industrial minerals, but not petroleum. Mining has changed greatly in this century: in the technology and technical education; in the organization of corporations; in the perception of the national strategic importance of minerals; in the labor movement; and in consideration of health and environmental effects of mining. The idea of an oral history series to document these developments in twentieth century mining had been on the drawing board of the Regional Oral History Office for more than twenty years. The project finally got underway on January 25, 1986, when Mrs. Willa Baum, Mr. and Mrs. Philip Bradley, Professor and Mrs. Douglas Fuerstenau, Mr. and Mrs. Clifford Heimbucher, Mrs. Donald McLaughlin, and Mr. and Mrs. Langan Swent met at the Swent home to plan the project, and Professor Fuerstenau agreed to serve as Principal Investigator. An advisory committee was selected which included representatives from the materials science and mineral engineering faculty and a professor of the history of science at the University of California at Berkeley; a professor emeritus of history from the California Institute of Technology; and executives of mining companies. We note with much regret the death of two members of the original advisory committee, both of whom were very much interested in the project.

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