Eight new members inducted into National Hall of Fame in US

Eight new members have been inducted into the National (U.S.) Mining Hall of Fame in Leadville, Colo.

The ceremony was held at the Las Vegas Hilton and hosted by Dr. Thomas Falkie, chairman of Philadelphia-based Berwind Natural Resources.

The new members include: Joseph House, an innovator in copper processing; John Livermore, whose work led to the development of the Carlin trend in northern Nevada; the three Kelce brothers, Russell, Merl and Ted, whose management of St. Louis-based Peabody Coal led to its becoming the largest coal producer in the U.S.; David Skillings, Jr., long-time editor and publisher of the Skillings Mining Review; Simon Strauss, an authority on world metals markets; and Emil Usibelli, who pioneered coal mining in Alaska.

The new inductees bring to 159 the total membership in the National Mining Hall of Fame.

RUSSELL KELCE (1897-1957)

Russell Kelce, together with brothers, Ted and Merl, built Sinclair Coal into a major producer of coal in the American Midwest. Sinclair merged with St. Louis-based Peabody Coal in 1955, retaining the Peabody name. Russell became the first president of the new company.

He energized Peabody with his vision of modern coal mining, and Peabody went on to be the nation’s largest coal producer.

MERL KELCE (1905-1970)

Merl Kelce succeeded his brother, Russell, as president of Peabody Coal in 1957. He was a quick deal-maker who left a legendary trail of acquisitions. He knew every facet of the coal industry.

Under his leadership, Peabody operated mines in every major coal-producing district in the U.S., as well as in Canada and Australia.

TED KELCE (1901-1979)

Ted Kelce, the youngest of the three brothers, became president of Peabody Coal in 1964. During his career, first with Sinclair Coal and later with Peabody, he made a notable impact with his work in both operations and sales.

He was instrumental in the development of larger shovels, draglines, haulage trucks and other advanced equipment that Peabody introduced into the industry.

JOHN LIVERMORE (1918- )

John Livermore was the driving force behind the 1961 discovery of the Carlin gold mine in northern Nevada. Carlin became the first large mine on what is now known as the Carlin trend. Livermore’s subsequent exploration efforts helped establish northern Nevada as one the world’s premier gold districts.

JOHN SKILLINGS, JR. (1934-1999)

John Skillings was editor and publisher of the Duluth, Minn.,-based Skillings Mining Review from 1975 until his death in 1999. His was the third generation of his family to be involved in the publishing of the weekly magazine. He often traveled as many as 100,000 miles per year reporting on mines.

His tenacious regard for accuracy won him respect throughout the industry. In 1996, he launched the acclaimed Skillings annual world iron ore conferences.

SIMON STRAUSS (1911-1998)

Simon Strauss had no peer as an authority on world metals markets. During his many his many years at Asarco (now a wholly owned subsidiary of Grupo Mexico), his market analysis and opinion were sought by mining executives, journalists and government.

He joined Asarco after the Second World War, and during the Korean War, he served as a consultant to the U.S. Defense Materials Procurement Agency.

Strauss eventually reached the position of vice-chairman of Asarco in 1977. He lectured on mineral economics at several elite post-secondary institutions, such as Columbia University and Penn State.

EMIL USIBELLI (1893-1964)

Emil Usibelli immigrated to Washington State from Italy with his family at the age of 14. In 1935, he became an underground coal miner in Alaska. In 1943, armed with a one-year contract for 10,000 tons of coal, a used bulldozer and a logging truck, Usibelli founded the Usibelli Coal Mine Co., near Fairbanks, Ala. He presided over the company until his untimely death in a mining accident in 1964.

Usibelli pioneered surface coal mining in Alaska and invested constantly in research and development to keep his operations, modern, efficient and profitable.

JOSEPH HOUSE (1923-1998)

Joseph House played an indispensable role in the development and commercialization of solvent extraction-electrowinning (SX-EW), the metallurgical technique that dissolves copper metal from rock by organic solvents and recovers it from solution by electrolysis.

His innovative work turned mineralization that was previously classified as waste into ore. This technology allowed the U.S. copper industry to survive a severe industry downturn in the 1980s.

House was named head of General Mills’ chemical minerals industry division in 1977.

In 1981, House won the Antoine Gaudin Award from the Society of Mining Engineers for his work with SX-EW technology. In 1995, he was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering in Washington, D.C.

His work changed the way the worldwide copper industry operates.

RUSSELL KELCE (1897-1957)

Born in Pittsburgh, Kan., Russell Kelce left high school at the age of 15 to work in the coal mines and help support his family after his father was injured in a mine accident. He became the mine’s superintendent at age 19.

After the First World War, Kelce and a partner started a small strip mine in Oklahoma with $230,000 in borrowed money and paid the loan back in 18 months.

Kelce affiliated his company with Sinclair Coal Co. He and his family eventually gained controlling interest of Sinclair and, together with brothers Ted and Merl, built Sinclair Coal into a major producer of coal in the American Midwest. Sinclair merged with St. Louis-based Peabody Coal in 1955, retaining the Peabody name. Russell became the first president of the new company.

Peabody went on to be the nation’s largest coal producer.

MERL KELCE (1905-1970)

Merl Kelce was the youngest of five children in the Kelce family. He left high school at a young age to work in the coal mines.

He rose through the ranks of Sinclair Coal Co. to become mine superintendent, vice-president of operations, and executive vice-president.

He succeeded his brother, Russell, as president of Peabody Coal in 1957. He was a quick deal-maker who left a legendary trail of acquisitions. He knew every facet of the coal industry.

Kelce was a visionary and under his leadership, Peabody operated mines in every major coal-producing district in the U.S., as well as in Canada and Australia.

TED KELCE (1901-1979)

Like his brothers, Ted Kelce started in the coal mines after leaving high school. He started at the Sinclair Coal Co. as a brakeman and then went on to operate coal-loading shovels, stripping shovels and other heavy equipment. He eventually rose through the management ranks to hold such titles as assistant supertintendent, general superintendent, and vice-president of operations.

In 1951, Kelce became executive vice-president of Southern Coal Co., the marketing arm of Sinclair. There, he was in charge of an aggressive group that was responsible for selling the ever-increasing supply of coal.

Kelce became president of Peabody Coal in 1964. During his career, first with Sinclair Coal and later with Peabody, he made a notable impact with his work in both operations and sales.

He was instrumental in the implementation of large shovels, draglines, and haulage trucks that Peabody introduced into the industry.

JOHN LIVERMORE (1918- )

John Livermore, an exploration geologist working for Newmont Mining, was the driving force behind the 1961 discovery of the Carlin gold mine in northern Nevada. Carlin became the first large mine on what is now known as the Carlin trend.

Shortly after the discovery, John became head of Newmont’s exploration efforts in Canada. He remained with Newmont until 1970, when he returned to Nevada to form Cordex Exploration. Livermore hired Dee DeLaMare, a mining engineer with extensive experience, to prospect on behalf of Cordex.

DeLaMare’s work led to the discovery of the Pinson, Preble, Sterling and Dee mines and development of the Getchell trend.

Today, Getchell is s
econd only to the Carlin trend in Nevada gold production.

DAVID SKILLINGS, JR. (1934-1999)

David Skillings, Jr. joined the Duluth, Minn.-based Skillings Mining Review in 1958 after earning a bachelor’s degree in economics from Carleton College in Northfield, Minn.

He became editor and publisher in 1975, and held those titles until his death in 1999. His was the third generation of his family to be involved in the publishing of the weekly magazine.

He often traveled as many as 100,000 miles per year reporting on mines. His tenacious regard for accuracy won him respect throughout the industry. In fact, his reports on iron ore mining in Brazil, Venezuela, and Australia were widely read in the U.S. iron ore industry and are credited with making the U.S. industry more competitive.

In 1996, he launched the acclaimed Skillings annual world iron ore conferences.

SIMON STRAUSS (1911-1998)

Simon Strauss had no peer as an authority on world metals markets. During his many his many years at Asarco (now a wholly owned subsidiary of Grupo Mexico), his market analyses and opinions were sought by mining executives, journalists and government.

He joined Asarco after the Second World War, and during the Korean War served as a consultant to the U.S. Defense Materials Procurement Agency.

Strauss eventually reached the position of vice-chairman of Asarco in 1977. He lectured on mineral economics at several elite post-secondary institutions, such as Columbia University and Penn State.

He wrote prolifically about the markets. In 1986, he wrote the highly regarded book The Third Kingdom, which analyzed the status and supply of metals and other minerals.

EMIL USIBELLI (1893-1964)

Emil Usibelli immigrated to Washington State from Italy with his family at the age of 14. In 1935, he became an underground coal miner in Alaska. In 1943, armed with a one-year contract for 10,000 tons of coal, a used bulldozer and a logging truck, Usibelli founded the Usibelli Coal Mine Co., near Fairbanks, Alaska.

He experimented with hydraulic stripping to remove overburden and installed a plant for coal cleaning.

In the 1960s, his company was the predominant coal supplier in interior Alaska, delivering 350,000 tons of coal per year to area untilities, the University of Alaska and U.S. military installations. Usibelli presided over the company until his untimely death in a mining accident in 1964.

Usibelli pioneered surface coal mining in Alaska and invested constantly in research and development to keep his operations, modern, efficient and profitable.

His compnay continues to be successful, producing about 1.5 million tons of coal per year.