James David Lowell

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Notable

American miner and geologist, pre-eminent in his field. In 2002 he was inducted to the American Mining Hall of Fame. A well educated man, he holds a BS degree in mining engineering from the University of Arizona (1949), an MS in geology from Stanford University (1957), and a professional engineering degree from the University of Arizona (1959). He is the recipient of honorary degrees from the Universidad Nacional de San Marcos in Peru in 1988 and the University of Arizona in 2000. He began his career as a mining engineer in Mexico. His next job was with the Atomic Energy Commission as an exploration geologist. He moved on to uranium exploration and ultimately to the search for porphyry copper. During his career he worked for many companies in the exploration field, and in 1961 he became an independent consultant. As such, he worked for over 100 companies mainly in porphyry copper exploration. His work is credited with the discoveries of several deposits in Arizona, Canada, Chile, the Philippines, and Peru. The author of several articles and industry-specific works, he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1999 and has received many awards.