Regional Oral History Office University of California the Bancroft Library Berkeley, California Noel W. Kirshenbaum a METALLURGI

Regional Oral History Office University of California The Bancroft Library Berkeley, California Noel W. Kirshenbaum A METALLURGIST’S PERSPECTIVES ON CHANGES IN THE MINING INDUSTRY: 1952-2009 Interviews conducted by Eleanor Swent in 2003 Copyright © 2011 by The Regents of the University of California ii 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 method of collecting historical information through tape-recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well-informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. The tape recording is transcribed, lightly edited for continuity and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewee. The corrected manuscript is bound with photographs and illustrative materials and placed in The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, and in 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 Regents of the University of California and Noel Kirshenbaum, dated January 30, 2003. 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, Berkeley. Requests for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to the Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, Mail Code 6000, University of California, Berkeley, 94720-6000, and should include identification of the specific passages to be quoted, anticipated use of the passages, and identification of the user. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Noel W. Kirshenbaum, “A Metallurgist’s Perspectives on Changes in the Mining Industry: 1952-2009” conducted by Eleanor Swent in 2003, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 2011. iii Noel W. Kirshenbaum at his home, 2224 Baker Street, San Francisco. The house was purchased by his grandparents (Willard) in 1908. iv v TABLE OF CONTENTS—NOEL KIRSHENBAUM PREFACE ix INTERVIEW HISTORY xxiii Interview 1: January 21, 2003 Audio File 1 1 Family background—Schooling—Choosing Stanford—Courses at Stanford—Summer job with Selby—Summer job at Bunker Hill—History of environmental concerns— Bunker Hill, continued—Senior year at Stanford—Peru, summer 1956. Audio File 2 26 Peru, continued—People in Cerro’s research department—Changes to Stanford teaching during those years—The trip to Peru—Labor and race relations at Oroya, Peru—Meeting Sandy and finishing at Stanford—Starting a Ph.D. at Cal—Beginning work at Asarco— Companies involved in mining and metals R&D—Laid off from Asarco—Comparison of salaries, and Sandy’s education and work—Working at Alloyd Corporation—Boston as a center of mining finance; firms moving out—Family life in Watertown, Boston—Taking a job with General Electric. Interview 2: January 30, 2003 Audio File 3 49 Employment at General Electric, in Massachusetts—Applying for teaching position in Argentina—Arrival in Argentina—Universidad Catolica de Córdoba—Housing in Córdoba—Facilities at the university—The mining industry in Argentina and Peru— Teaching and research at the university—Frustrations of living and teaching in Argentina—Return to San Francisco—Studying for Engineer of Mines degree at Stanford—Industry interest in thesis; transport and handling in general—Talks with Copper Range and Kennecott. Audio File 4 70 Research materials for thesis—Talks with Kenecott—Deciding for Copper Range and moving to New York—Relocation of head offices of mining companies in general— Technology changes in copper mining at that time—Alloy research at Copper Range— The Dashoveyer—Copper Range’s White Pine smelter—Interviewing for job at Marcona—The Anatread process. vi Interview 3: February 4, 2003 Audio File 5 94 Lake Copper—Mining Club of New York, and other professional networks—Accepting a job at Marcona. Audio File 6 98 History of Marcona—Working for Marcona in San Francisco—Development of the Marconaflo System and the Marconajet—Manager, Commercial Development, of Marconaflo—International opportunities arising from the success of Marconaflo— Marcona’s financial and management structure—Making contacts and getting a job offer from Placer Amex—Consulting for Soros Associates in Chile—On assignment for the U.N. Development Program in the Andes. Audio File 7 117 Organizing international conferences on the transport and handling of materials— Consulting for Mikimoto in Mexico—Background and history of Place—History of Cortez—Working for Placer—Beluga Coal, Alaska—The search for alternatives to oil. Interview 4: February 24, 2003 Audio File 8 133 Marcona’s U.S. tax status—Environmental concerns for gold mining—Clean-up processes used by Placer and other gold-mining companies—Recent research regarding biological systems and gold deposition—Metal detection using organisms, dowsing— Investor scams. Audio File 9 154 Investor scams, continued—The career and publications of T. A. Rickard—Placer’s interest in non-metallics—Movement of mining company offices from San Francisco— Effect on the mining industry of technical changes and the environmental movement— Effect on the mining industry of mergers and acquisitions. Interview 5: February 27, 2003 Audio File 10 177 Review of Bud Wilson’s oral history—Placer’s Pipeline project in Nevada—Technical papers written by narrator—Some observations on corporate culture—Value of historical vii records—Some observations on mining education—Extraction and processing techniques—Importance of Bureau of Mines and the U.S. Geological Survey—Value of different viewpoints and interdisciplinary studies—Effects of new technology on demand for metals—Overview of how mining developed as a business—Conclusion. viii ix 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. In its eighteenth year the series numbers sixty-five volumes completed and others in process. 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 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. Langan Swent delighted in referring to himself as "technical advisor" to the series. He abetted the project from the beginning, directly with his wise counsel and store of information, and indirectly by his patience as the oral histories took more and more of his wife's time and attention. He completed the review of his own oral history transcript when he was in the hospital just before his death in 1992. As some of the original advisors have died, others have been added to help in selecting interviewees, suggesting research topics, and securing funds. The project was presented to the San Francisco section of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME) on "Old-timers Night," March 10, 1986, when Philip Read Bradley, Jr., was the speaker. This section and the Southern California section of AIME provided initial funding and organizational sponsorship. The Northern and Southern California sections of the Woman's Auxiliary to the AIME (WAAIME), the California Mining Association, and the Mining and Metallurgical Society of America (MMSA) were early supporters. Later the National Mining Association became a sponsor. The project was significantly advanced by a generous bequest received in November 1997 upon the death of J. Ward Downey, UC Berkeley alumnus and early member of the mining series advisory committee. His own oral history was completed in 1992. Other individual and corporate donors are listed in the volumes. Sponsors to date include nineteen corporations, four foundations, and 113 individuals. The project

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