Charles Brinckerhoff, a distinguished mining and metallurgical engineer, was a leader in his industry, a diplomat and a humanitarian.
A native of Minneapolis, Minnesota and a metallurgical engineering graduate of Columbia University, he began his career at the Clifton, Arizona smelter of Phelps Dodge Corporation. He then joined nearby Inspiration Copper and worked as a mine engineer and foreman of their underground block caving operations.
In 1935, he joined Anaconda; thus was the beginning of his lifelong dedication to the company and its properties. He worked as an Assistant Superintendent of its Andes Copper Mining division at Potrerillos, Chile. In that desolate terrain, with few roads and scant water, he began a relationship with Chile—its mining, its people, its culture—that was to prove enormously significant.
Due largely to his interest in human welfare, great improvements were attained in the economic standards of the Chilean people, first at Potrerillos, where he successfully solved both the mining problems and the problems of the people; and later at Chuquicamata, home of the largest copper mine in the world, where he was transferred in 1948. It was there that he demonstrated his exemplary skills as a leader in industry and a humanitarian.
He rose swiftly through the corporate ranks and, in 1958, was named President of Anaconda. Under his leadership, copper production increased dramatically, the pay of the workers at Chuquicamata rose to the third highest in the world, and educational facilities greatly improved in nearby communities. In 1956, the Chilean government bestowed upon him the Bernado O'Higgins Order of Merit, the highest award Chile makes to non-nationals for distinguished service to their country.
In 1965, he became chairman of Anaconda, a position he held until his retirement in 1969. He played a major role in numerous mining developments including advising the Iranian government on the development of the Sar Cheshmeh copper property.
He and his wife founded the Charles and Florence Brinckerhoff Scholarship, an international fellows program. Additionally, he initiated fellowships for training Chilean mining engineers. Charles M. Brinckerhoff received numerous awards during his lifetime for his service to mining, none more prestigious than the coveted Hoover Medal of 1979.
