Liberty Star Uranium & Metals Corp.
Combining Classic Mineral Exploration with State of the Art Technology
Message: Of general interest and I hope not too off topic
Reproduced below is a salute from a friend to a recently departed mining engineer of note. In it, he mentions several other names that may or may not be recognizable to most readers here. However, anyone interested in mining history in general will find it a worthwhile read. I did, and I recall reading about some of the developments that came out of these associations.
Neil Prenn, Mining Engineer, Mineral Collector
Our friend Neil Prenn passed into the great beyond recently and suddenly when a rapidly advancing bone cancer jumped out of nowhere and took our friend of 80 plus years. Neil was a true gentleman and consummate professional – a quiet, private and humble man that was absolutely at the top of his game worldwide.
Neil was part of that giant family of mining professionals who came from the Colorado School of Mines. He was one of a select group that I met way back about 1976 as part of the Society of Economic Geologists meetings in Reno. Those meetings were instrumental in my life, and in those of the attendees, all forming long term relationships. It was a “think tank” on the highest level – with professionals like John Livermore (the “father” of modern microscopic gold – heap leach), lyle Campbell, Gene McClelland (McClelland Metallurgical Labs), John Schilling (Director Nevada Bureau of Mines), Dave Fitch (exploration manager), Peter Vickre (ASARCO and USGS), the US Bureau of Mines guys, Dennis Bryan, Neil Prenn, our whole Cities Service office of Neil Upchurch, Ralph Mulholland, me and Mike McFarlane (in the summer), among others. Mike and I were the young bucks, and for the life of me, even to this day, I can’t understand why the room wasn’t full of other young geologists. This was a group of which we had no idea until later that was full of the great iconic minds in mining geology – from engineering (Prenn) to metallurgy (McClelland) to ore deposits (Livermore). I quickly learned to keep the ears wide open and the mouth shut. It was a learning experience like no other, especially for a guy right out of university. We all became friends for life, all helping one another anytime we could.
Back then, Nixon had just repealed the Gold Reserve Act of 1933. The hot exploration topics were copper and molybdenum. Nobody quite knew what would happen with precious metals, but there was new work being done on the topic of microscopic gold. Ralph Roberts gave us a talk in 76 or 77 that really aroused everybody’s scientific curiosities. His longtime work for the USGS in Nevada had led to an astounding hypothesis, and he was trying it out on us. His hypothesis was that there existed great lineaments on crustal plates that encouraged the formation of gold deposits under the right conditions. Roberts had located a major fault zone in east-central Nevada, now known today as the Roberts Thrust, that carried significant amounts of gold. He used this as his example, providing reams of data. This spurred constant and vigorous conversation among the mining community, especially at the SEG meetings. There were pros that didn’t buy into the theory (Upchurch), and others that thought the concept had great merit (Livermore). Over time, it became apparent that Ralph had “nailed” it perfectly, opening the door for the search for and discovery of major gold deposits all over the world.
In this manner, Neil recognized a gap in the advanced third-party evaluation process of ore deposits. We had a number of companies in America doing third-party evaluations and mine planning, such as Peter Kewitt, Pincock, Allen & Holt, among others, but none in Reno. Reno, after all, was the center of mining in America, and still is today. Nevada then, as now, leads the country in gold and silver production. Prenn (and partners) recognized we needed a similar firm here in Reno. But there is more to the story – geologists and engineers out of Mackay School of Mines, Colorado School of Mines and the other mining schools were developing new technologies in regards to mine planning and understanding ore deposits. They brought to the table new ideas, new concepts that changed how we thought about mine plans and everything that went into them such as mine waste, pit planning, and geologic modeling. They recognized that the “old” way of evaluating drill, geochemical and geologic (especially structure) data needed update and change. The old Kreig computerized plans were becoming less effective. Prenn recognized this, and, in the same manner as Ralph Roberts “nailed” the big picture of thrust faults and lineaments, created a company called Mine Development Associates, growing to become one of the world’s great third-party mine evaluation companies. He “nailed” it perfectly. Prenn was an absolute Pro at understanding complex data, often quietly analyzing mine data, and within a few hours fully understanding the “big picture,” something that can be difficult to grasp, especially when it is easy to “get lost in the fine details.” Neil’s office ran smoothly, with his partners, associates, and his loving wife Cami at the Books.
But the story doesn’t stop there. As you walked around the MDA offices, you’d see enlarged photos of the many open pit mines the company helped develop adorn the walls. Great projects from great minds. Then around the corner are shelves of high grade ore samples from mines … then a case or shelf or two of fine minerals … then maybe an old antique transit … and a display of miner’s candlesticks and old mining equipment. That’s right – Neil was a collector. In fact, he was a collector’s collector. He loved mixing with his friends in the mineral collecting community. He’d go on collecting binges every year, mostly here in western Nevada. I went on one with him to Aurora. He loved the unusual quartz crystals from Hallelujah junction and had regular sojourns with friends there to collect the rare oddly formed crystals. Neil was a staple at every Tucson Gem and Mineral show, always holding court with the “guys” at center stage around Dave Bunk’s booth, a friend to us all. One year I snuck in a cooler I had checked on the airplane full of Great Basin “Icky” beer, a micro-brewing beer company Neil was part owner in. I handed the cooler to Neil, and said “you’re in charge” and everybody had a good laugh. They had no idea it was coming. That was back in the day when you could only buy the beer in Reno. One time I decided Neil needed more wall goodies, and I snuck a few mining signs into his office and placed them around the place. He had it figured out immediately.
Everybody needs to hoist a glass of Icky for our friend Neil Prenn. He was like no other.
Fred Holabird <info@fhwac.com>
Neil was part of that giant family of mining professionals who came from the Colorado School of Mines. He was one of a select group that I met way back about 1976 as part of the Society of Economic Geologists meetings in Reno. Those meetings were instrumental in my life, and in those of the attendees, all forming long term relationships. It was a “think tank” on the highest level – with professionals like John Livermore (the “father” of modern microscopic gold – heap leach), lyle Campbell, Gene McClelland (McClelland Metallurgical Labs), John Schilling (Director Nevada Bureau of Mines), Dave Fitch (exploration manager), Peter Vickre (ASARCO and USGS), the US Bureau of Mines guys, Dennis Bryan, Neil Prenn, our whole Cities Service office of Neil Upchurch, Ralph Mulholland, me and Mike McFarlane (in the summer), among others. Mike and I were the young bucks, and for the life of me, even to this day, I can’t understand why the room wasn’t full of other young geologists. This was a group of which we had no idea until later that was full of the great iconic minds in mining geology – from engineering (Prenn) to metallurgy (McClelland) to ore deposits (Livermore). I quickly learned to keep the ears wide open and the mouth shut. It was a learning experience like no other, especially for a guy right out of university. We all became friends for life, all helping one another anytime we could.
Back then, Nixon had just repealed the Gold Reserve Act of 1933. The hot exploration topics were copper and molybdenum. Nobody quite knew what would happen with precious metals, but there was new work being done on the topic of microscopic gold. Ralph Roberts gave us a talk in 76 or 77 that really aroused everybody’s scientific curiosities. His longtime work for the USGS in Nevada had led to an astounding hypothesis, and he was trying it out on us. His hypothesis was that there existed great lineaments on crustal plates that encouraged the formation of gold deposits under the right conditions. Roberts had located a major fault zone in east-central Nevada, now known today as the Roberts Thrust, that carried significant amounts of gold. He used this as his example, providing reams of data. This spurred constant and vigorous conversation among the mining community, especially at the SEG meetings. There were pros that didn’t buy into the theory (Upchurch), and others that thought the concept had great merit (Livermore). Over time, it became apparent that Ralph had “nailed” it perfectly, opening the door for the search for and discovery of major gold deposits all over the world.
In this manner, Neil recognized a gap in the advanced third-party evaluation process of ore deposits. We had a number of companies in America doing third-party evaluations and mine planning, such as Peter Kewitt, Pincock, Allen & Holt, among others, but none in Reno. Reno, after all, was the center of mining in America, and still is today. Nevada then, as now, leads the country in gold and silver production. Prenn (and partners) recognized we needed a similar firm here in Reno. But there is more to the story – geologists and engineers out of Mackay School of Mines, Colorado School of Mines and the other mining schools were developing new technologies in regards to mine planning and understanding ore deposits. They brought to the table new ideas, new concepts that changed how we thought about mine plans and everything that went into them such as mine waste, pit planning, and geologic modeling. They recognized that the “old” way of evaluating drill, geochemical and geologic (especially structure) data needed update and change. The old Kreig computerized plans were becoming less effective. Prenn recognized this, and, in the same manner as Ralph Roberts “nailed” the big picture of thrust faults and lineaments, created a company called Mine Development Associates, growing to become one of the world’s great third-party mine evaluation companies. He “nailed” it perfectly. Prenn was an absolute Pro at understanding complex data, often quietly analyzing mine data, and within a few hours fully understanding the “big picture,” something that can be difficult to grasp, especially when it is easy to “get lost in the fine details.” Neil’s office ran smoothly, with his partners, associates, and his loving wife Cami at the Books.
But the story doesn’t stop there. As you walked around the MDA offices, you’d see enlarged photos of the many open pit mines the company helped develop adorn the walls. Great projects from great minds. Then around the corner are shelves of high grade ore samples from mines … then a case or shelf or two of fine minerals … then maybe an old antique transit … and a display of miner’s candlesticks and old mining equipment. That’s right – Neil was a collector. In fact, he was a collector’s collector. He loved mixing with his friends in the mineral collecting community. He’d go on collecting binges every year, mostly here in western Nevada. I went on one with him to Aurora. He loved the unusual quartz crystals from Hallelujah junction and had regular sojourns with friends there to collect the rare oddly formed crystals. Neil was a staple at every Tucson Gem and Mineral show, always holding court with the “guys” at center stage around Dave Bunk’s booth, a friend to us all. One year I snuck in a cooler I had checked on the airplane full of Great Basin “Icky” beer, a micro-brewing beer company Neil was part owner in. I handed the cooler to Neil, and said “you’re in charge” and everybody had a good laugh. They had no idea it was coming. That was back in the day when you could only buy the beer in Reno. One time I decided Neil needed more wall goodies, and I snuck a few mining signs into his office and placed them around the place. He had it figured out immediately.
Everybody needs to hoist a glass of Icky for our friend Neil Prenn. He was like no other.
Fred Holabird <info@fhwac.com>
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