James Allen
ALLEN, James Semmens MIMM (1872-1945)
Allen was born in Bendigo, in Victoria. He studied mining engineering at the Bendigo School of Mines and was manager of Menzies Consolidated G Ms (NCGF Menzies) in 1895. He joined Bewick Moreing and Company, mining consultants and mine managers, and was manager of the Golden Age Consolidated Ltd (EMGF) mine in Wiluna in 1900 01. He reported on a number of mining prospects for the company in the Eastern Goldfields, including the Mt Margaret Goldfield north of Laverton, from 1902 to 1904 and erected the plant for Vivien GMg Co. near Lawlers in 1904. He was manager of the Craiggiemore Pty Ltd. gold mine (MMGF) at Laverton when the mine was under option from 1904 to 1906 and worked with J A Agnew in Bewick Moreing’s agency company, London & Western Australian Exploration Co, on mines being developed in the East Murchison GF in 1907 08.
Allen was manager of the Laverton mine of Lancefield GMg Co Ltd (MMGF Mt Margaret ) in 1908 when he remodelled its plant in an attempt to improve its treatment of the arsenopyrite ore encountered. In 1908 09 he managed Northern Mines Ltd at Lawlers (EMGF) which consisted of a central processing plant at the nearly worked out Great Eastern United mine at Lawlers which was connected by a 19 km long steam tramway to satellite mines. He then travelled to Nicaragua in Central America where he worked until 1912 as the regional manager for Bewick Moreing & Co. and its associated company Oroya Exploration Co. and its Central Nicaragua mine.
Allen then moved to Britain where he reported on several Welsh copper mining prospects for Bewick Moreing and designed and erected two tin dressing plants in Cornwall. Because of deteriorating health he stayed in Cornwall supervising tin mines and dressing and dredging plants. He worked in Bewick Moreing’s London office in 1914 until returning in 1915 to Western Australia where he established a consulting engineer’s business on his own behalf. He examined a proposal to briquette Collie coal which he did not recommend. He took up tin mining leases in Greenbushes and operated three dredging plants there until 1921. Subsequently he was consultant to a number of mines in the Yalgoo and East Murchison Goldfields and continued his practice until the 1930s.
Allen was elected a member of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy in 1913 and was President of the Mining Association of Western Australia in 1923 27 and in 1933.
References:
WAMBEJ 16 Jan 1909;
Reid pp.65-66;
Colless p.102;
MCER May 1945;
Palmer pp.53-60;
Skinner 1905;
JCMWA 1905 09
