OBITUARIES (September 06, 1999)

Mervyn Arthur Upham

Mervyn Upham, who earned a place in the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame for his part in developing 22 mines in this country, has died following a lengthy illness. He was 82.

Born in Bayhead, N.S., in 1917, Upham obtained an engineering degree from Mount Allison University in 1939 and a science degree in mining from Queen’s University in 1941.

Soon after graduation, he enlisted with the Royal Canadian Engineers and served in North Africa, France and Germany. He also saw action after being seconded to the British Sixth Armoured Division. For his service, he was made a Member the British Order and a Knight of the Royal Nassau.

Upham’s career in mining took off when he returned to Canada, cutting his teeth at several mines in Ontario. At the McIntyre gold mine near Timmins, Upham rose through the ranks from miner to mine captain and, later, to chief industrial engineer. At the Renabie gold mine in the Algoma region, he was the underground superintendent. At the Errington mine, owned by Steep Rock Iron Mines and situated near Ottawa, he was mine superintendent during underground development.

In 1955, Upham was recruited by Rio Algom to help develop the Quirke mine, the first of the Elliot Lake uranium producers.

In 1960, Upham joined International Minerals & Chemical as vice-president and general manager. During his tenure, he solved the puzzle of how to gain access to the company’s huge potash deposits, beneath the Blairmore rock formations near Esterhazy, Sask. Previous attempts to sink a shaft into the deposit were hindered by the water-saturated rocks of the formation. Upham devised a plan to freeze the ground during shaft-sinking and then install a cast-iron lining to prevent flooding. The operation became Saskatchewan’s first potash mine.

In 1964, Upham became vice-president of mining operations for Newmont Mining, for which he developed the Carlin gold mine in Nevada and the Granduc mine in British Columbia. After 26 men were killed in an avalanche during development at the Granduc site, he took over as president of the Granduc Operating Co., overseeing construction of an 11.6-mile tunnel under three mountains and as many glaciers. At the time, the tunnel was the longest ever driven from a single entry.

After serving in several senior management positions in the 1970s with Canadian and British firms, Upham was named chairman of Kilborn Engineering in 1979. He stayed with the consulting firm until 1985. In 1986, he was named chairman of Discovery West.

Upham is a past president of the Mining Association of Canada and the Saskatchewan Chamber of Mines and is a recipient of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum’s Inco Medal and the American Institute of Mining Engineers’ Charles F. Rand Award. He was inducted into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame in 1993.

Upham is survived by wife Kathryn, son John and daughter Margaret. He is predeceased by son James.