LEONARD HARRIS (1927-2024)

BY JEAN-MICHEL M. RENDU
AND JOHN O. MARSDEN

LEONARD HARRIS was a pioneer in the humanitarian and technical development of mineral resources in the Peruvian Andes. He died on April 25, 2024, at the age of 96.

Len, as he was generally known, was born in Yeppoon, Queensland, Australia, on July 12, 1927. His father, Joseph Harris, and his mother, Edith Beatrice Littlejohns, were both first-generation Australians. In 1937 his family moved to Mt. Morgan, a major mining town, where Len completed his primary and high school education and enrolled in the Mt. Morgan Technical College. During this time, never afraid of work, Len was hired as a cadet metallurgist and joined the company fire brigade. All tuitions, fees, and books were paid by the Mt. Morgan Ltd. company. Len worked in Mt. Morgan for about 13 years, noticing the benefits that mining companies were offering to their employees, as well as the negative effects of acid mine drainage, water pollution, and workplace accidents. Early in his life, Len became aware of the need for mining companies to be fully committed to maintaining healthy environmental, social, and working conditions wherever they operate.

Len left Mt. Morgan in 1951, working under short-term contracts for a variety of mining companies, until 1955 when he joined Cerro de Pasco Corporation in La Oroya, Peru. This move was to be one of the most consequential decisions Len made, deeply influencing his professional and familial life. In 1956 Len met Rosa Haydee Navarro Talavera, a nurse from the Cerro de Pasco Corporation hospital, whom he married in 1957. Rosa stayed by Len’s side all his life and played a pivotal role supporting Len’s strong belief that commitment to community assistance should be a critical objective of all mining companies.

Cerro de Pasco Corporation was one of the most complex metallurgical operations in the world. Starting as research metallurgist, Len rapidly reached the level of director of metallurgy. This was a time when most of South America, and Peru in particular, were going through often violent political changes, including worker strikes and various attempts to overthrow the government. Len briefly left Peru for Australia in 1971 before rejoining Cerro de Pasco Corporation in their headquarters in New York City. The 1974 nationalization of the Peruvian operations resulted in the collapse of the company. He then joined Newmont Mining Corporation in New York City, where he rapidly climbed the corporate ladder, becoming vice president of research and development and vice president of metallurgical operations.

In 1992, Len was named general manager of Minera Yanacocha Company, with responsibility for developing and operating the Newmont Yanacocha gold project near Cajamarca, Peru. He immediately moved to Peru. The first gold bar was produced one year later. In a few years, Minera Yanacocha was to become the largest gold producer in Peru.

Peru was in the midst of a civil war, with countrywide terrorism orchestrated by the Shining Path. Security in and around the mine was a major concern. Infrastructure was in terrible shape, the population was in permanent fear of violence, poverty was rampant, and healthcare was nearly nonexistent. Len was worried about the communities surrounding the mine. To evaluate the situation, he set up a social and cultural study to assess needs, concerns, and aspirations. The results were shocking. A high degree of poverty, malnutrition, and disease existed among both children and adults. Len attacked these problems in a joint venture fashion with the help of the mine owners, government organizations, nongovernment organizations, the military, the churches, and contractors and suppliers of goods and services.

Under Len’s guidance, his wife, Rosa, a native Peruvian, formed a Ladies Association to help resolve the health and education problems of the children and their families. This association originally consisted of 12 women and ultimately grew to over 100. Their work spread from 900 children to 5,000 children living in the villages and hamlets around the mine. A lunch program was set up and the company was able to receive food supplies from the United States Agency for International Development. Minera Yanacocha supplied wood-fired cooking stoves to the community mothers to facilitate food preparation. This immediately increased the number of children attending school, especially young girls. The company also sponsored the distribution of school supplies and locally made furniture.

Lack of clean water was a major health problem. With help from CARE, Minera Yanacocha installed latrines and improved water treatment facilities in towns and villages. The Ladies Association trained mothers in the use of medical and dental supplies provided by donations from doctors and dentists. With the Cajamarca School of Obstetricians and Doctors, a program was created to train midwives in the remote communities to prevent the high mortality rate of mothers and children at the time of birth. The program was subsequently passed on to the Cajamarca Regional Hospital.

Everybody who had the privilege of knowing Len remembers his endearing personality, his professionalism, and, most importantly, his strong belief in the social responsibility of mining companies. Rosa and Len recognized that improving life in the local communities was first and foremost the right thing to do. Together they showed exceptional leadership in community engagement, improving educational conditions, and developing local organizations with long-lasting impact. Their engagement was greatly appreciated by all, especially the Yanacocha families, mothers, children, and educators. This appreciation was best expressed by the town of Puruay near Cajamarca, which named a college “Len Harris” and a kindergarten “Rosa de Harris.” To this day, Len and Rosa are remembered as Señor Lencito and Señora Rosita. Len and Rosa were ahead of the times. It would be years before mining companies were to fully understand that community engagement was a necessary part of doing business.

Len and Rosa left Peru in 1995 when Len retired from Newmont and returned to his home in Denver where he took another career as a company director and consultant for numerous mining companies. His last home was in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Len and Rosa jointly received the Community Assistance Award from the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration Inc. Len was an active member of numerous mining societies in Australia, Canada, Peru, and the United States. He received many prestigious awards in recognition of his technical, educational, and social achievements in both Peru and the United States, including the Hoover Medal from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers; the Gold Medal for Lifetime Achievement from the Mining and Metallurgical Society of America; the William Lawrence Saunders Gold Medal Award from the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers; the Arthur C. Daman Lifetime Achievement Award from the Colorado MPD-SME Subsection; and Randol Gold & Silver Forum’s Mining Man of the Millennium. He was named Godfather of a Graduating Class of Metallurgical Engineers from the Lima University of Engineers and Godfather of a Graduating Class of Mining Engineers from San Marcos University in Lima.

Len is survived by his wife, Rosa Haydee Navarro Talavera, and two children, Mary Ann Harris and Leonard Alfredo Harris.