Well known CSM Geologist back in Cornwall

With Richard at MEI

A welcome visitor to Cornwall this week has been geologist Richard Edwards, who was a colleague of mine during my 22 years at Camborne School of Mines. He retired from CSM in 1997 and now lives in another beautiful part of England, the spa town of Malvern in Worcestershire. The nearby Malvern Hills, formed from some of the most ancient rocks in England, from the late Precambrian, have helped maintain his interest in geology and he lectures regularly to enthusiasts in the area.

This week he gave his first lecture in Cornwall in 19 years, to the local Carn Brea Mining Society, where he guided an interested audience on a tour of mining history, from prehistoric times to the present day. It was interesting to learn that data from charcoal associated with stone tools suggest that the Ngwenya iron ore mine in Swaziland is the world's oldest mine, dating back 43,000 years. The site was known to early man for its deposits of red and specular hematite, used for body painting and rituals. In the 1960s and 1970s Anglo American mined an estimated 20 million tonnes of high-grade iron ore from Ngwenya before the region became a conservation area.

 

 

Always up for a pub lunch, it was good to get together today with Richard and his wife Veronica, Sheila Parker, wife of the late Roger Parker, who many will remember as Vice-Principal of CSM for many years, ex-Director Keith Atkinson and his wife Maureen, and Mike and Margaret Buzza. Mike is my oldest friend in Cornwall, and was head of physical education at the nearby Cornwall College. Geologists will know Richard and Keith from their book Ore Deposit Geology, published in 1986.

Back row: Mike Buzza, Barbara, Keith Atkinson, Richard Edwards and BW
Front row: Margaret Buzza, Sheila Parker, Veronica Edwards, Maureen Atkinson