OBITUARY — Ian Keith

Ian Hartley Keith, a former vice-president of Falconbridge, has died. He was 68.

Born in Cape Town, South Africa, Mr. Keith graduated from Cape Town University with a bachelor of science in 1950 before working in areas along Zambia’s copper belt. He later came to Canada and joined the metallurgical group at Falconbridge.

In 1958, he was assigned to a team assembled in the Dominican Republic to exploit nickel laterites there. He also took charge of the metallurgical developments on which the Falconbridge ferronickel process is based.

In 1966, Mr. Keith was appointed general manager and secretary of Falconbridge Dominicana. In 1969, following the decision to construct a commercial-scale plant there, he was advanced to the level of vice-president and general manager.

He played a key role in the design, construction and financing negotiations of a mine and plant, which opened in 1972, and was a proponent of rigorous worker training.

In 1977, Mr. Keith was promoted to executive vice-president and, in 1978, moved to Toronto to take up appointments as Falconbridge’s vice-president responsible for the ferronickel division, industrial minerals, and African operations, as well as president of Indusmin. He held those positions until his retirement in 1984.

In his retirement, he acted as a consultant specializing in Latin America.

He worked on studies for Superior Oil, and for the governments of Argentina and the Dominican Republic. As a director of Minera Rayrock, he was involved with a presentation to the Central Bank of Costa Rica.

Mr. Keith was a member of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy & Petroleum and a fellow of the Institution of Mining & Metallurgy.

He is survived by Suzanne, his wife of 35 years, and five children.