| Abstrakt: |
The life and works of Robert Rich Sharp (b. Gateshead, Durham County, England, 1881) is presented, from when he entered the mining field with Tanganyika Concessions Ltd. in Katanga Province, Congo (1904) fresh out of Oxford with a classical B.A. degree and after private tutorials in mineralogy and surveying. His mining activity in Katanga (1904-1921) is described, including the expedition of placer gold from Ruwe, surveying copper properties within the Shaba Crescent, discovery of the Shinkolobwe radium- uranium deposit, pinpointing the Kipushi copper-zinc ore body within Congolese territory, and evaluating hydroelectric power at Cornet Falls, all important accomplishments. The history also includes how Sharp's mining pursuits were interrupted by service with the Royal Field Artillery in France during World War I (1916-1918), and concludes with the retiral of Major Sharp in 1921 from mining to take up farming and family life in Southern Rhodesia up to his death in 1960, in Bulawayo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
