Sixty years ago in mid-1948, a small group earth scientists started meeting on a regular basis in a Tucson restaurant to socialize, discuss local geology, exploration geochemistry and geophysical techniques, and what was going on in the booming mining industry. Exploration and development of new ore bodies was underway all over Arizona including the development of the new underground mine at San Manuel, the new Cornelia open pit at Ajo, and the Copper Cities Mine in the Globe-Miami area, among many others. The group included professors and students at the University of Arizona, geologists with the U.S. Geological Survey, and numerous exploration and mining geologists with the local mining companies. Soon, a few of the folks volunteered to prepare talks for presentations and to lead field trips, and the Arizona Geological Society was born.

Walter E. Heinrichs, Jr. of Tucson is a founding member of the Arizona Geological Society and served as Vice President – Field Trips in 1957-58, President in 1958-59, and Past President in 1959-60. Throughout the years, Walt has maintained his close involvement with the activities of the Society and continues to attend the dinner meetings on a regular basis. In 2008, the Executive Committee nominated Walt for induction as a Life Member into the Society to honor him for his many years of service to the Society, for his professional achievements, and for his contributions to science, education, and the mining industry. Walt is in good company with two other Life Members – Spencer Titley and John Guilbert. On March 4, 2008, Lee Allison, President of AGS, presented Walt with a plaque, following a summary of Walt’s career achievements by geophysicist Phil Matthews.






I'm honored that I have been asked to give this summary of Walter Heinrichs' career over the last 60 years, as part of his induction into life membership for the Arizona Geological Society. It will be difficult to summarize such a distinguished career in only a few minutes

I've known Walt for 45 years, as boss, mentor, and friend, along with his late wife Jean, who is a tremendous part of the equation. Walt and his brother Grover, owners of Heinrichs Geoexploration Company, known to many of us simply as GEOEX, hired me part-time in 1963. I had just begun studies towards a degree in geophysics at the University of Arizona. At GEOEX my wife Gail and I began what became a strong professional and social relationship with the Heinrichs family. They took us into their lives and we seemed to become part of the extended family; Walt and Jean were godparents to our two younger children.

What follows are what I consider the highlights of Walt's career, taken from one of his biographical tomes, with some additions from my own recollections. To forestall any criticism of plagiarism as has happened to other more notable figures recently, I make note of Walt's biography and Paul Harvey's, “The Rest of the Story”.

Walt, as many of you know, graduated from the Colorado School of Mines (Mines) in 1940. What you may not know, is that Mines became a reality in part because his grandmother agreed to become one of the first students, as they needed, I think, three entrants to attain certification.

After graduation, Walt’s first efforts involved seismic surveys in the Gulf states and mid-continent for National Geophysical Company. Soon thereafter he returned home to Golden, Colorado, and married his former schoolmate Jean Heath. Throughout Walt's early career, Jean traveled with him whenever possible. Walt moved on to Seismograph Service Corporation, then to the Naval Reserve, in the Office of Naval Petroleum Reserves. This included testing of aerial magnetometers for detection of enemy submarines, and extensive time in Alaska.

Following honorable discharge from the Navy, Walt joined the Bureau of Reclamation in Denver. After a short period he entered into the world of mineral exploration with a move to Newmont under Dr. Arthur Brant, testing electrical and electromagnetic equipment. Eventually Newmont's entire geophysical group, with its gifted array of “Young Turks”, was relocated to Jerome, Arizona. This group became part of what was known as the Mingus Mountain Mining Company.
Somewhere along the way, Walt, and his fellow alumnus Bob Thurmond were let go. “The rest of the story”, as told to me by Walt follows: It seems Bob was terminated for some unknown reason by Brant, who was a talented but arguably, a difficult and demanding person to work for. Upon hearing of Bob's dismissal Walt marched into Brant's office and announced, “If you're going to fire Bob you will have to fire me as well!” Brant's reply was simply, “O.K.” All was eventually forgiven as attested to by their later close personal friendship and numerous jobs for Newmont by GEOEX.

After a short stint running geophysical surveys in the old UVX workings and Phelps Dodge's United Verde mine, both he and Thurmond were hired by Herbert Hoover Jr.'s United Geophysical Company. Walt proposed to Hoover, an experimental program to look for and explore mining opportunities using geophysical techniques. Their research suggested southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona as having the best potential for success. Further research indicated the Pima District as the best place to start.

Because most previous production in the district was from skarn mineralization associated with magnetite, magnetic surveys were the first step. Initially two interesting anomalies were detected and followed up with electrical, electromagnetic, and gravimetric techniques. Drilling of the northern-most of these two anomalies led to the discovery of potentially economic ore, and eventually the Pima Mine; the first documented geophysical discovery in the southwestern U.S.

Ground to the south which also showed potential was not followed up due to a poor understanding of the geology by upper management. Later this ground was picked up, and drilled by an Anaconda-Climax Molybdenum JV. This was to become the Twin Buttes operation. Based on the success of the magnetic method in the district, a mobile ground system was designed and built using a surplus Navy aerial antisubmarine sensor mounted on a Dodge Power Wagon. This was the “MoMag”, that saw service in much of the mid-continent and southwest.

With hard times Union Oil Company of California and United, who had acquired the Pima mine, decided to close down their mining interests. At this point Walt and his brother Grover arranged to buy some of Union's assets, including the MoMag, and start an exploration Company of their own; Heinrichs Geoexploration Company. Early work concentrated heavily on use of the MoMag. Later, electrical surveys utilizing the induced polarization, or IP technique, were employed. IP became a very important facet of the business. Rental equipment was used initially, but with the explosion of requests for IP surveys, GEOEX decided to design their own system. Later these systems were sold both domestically and internationally. The boom in exploration in Australia also became a significant source of income for GEOEX for a number of years, with Bill Marlatt as Manager.

Finally, with the general decline in exploration, particularly for porphyry coppers, GEOEX was downsized, and Walt moved into a semi-retired consulting mode. Never one to slow down, Walt again became involved in seismics with Richard Davis, and with Jim Fink doing high resolution resistivity surveys.

Walt is a member of numerous minerals exploration and related societies He was appointed by the governor as a member of the Board of Governors of the Arizona State Department of Mineral Resources, serving as chairman in 1976.

Throughout his career Walt recognized the importance of minerals to the Nation's economy and has maintained this passion for The Mining Law of 1872, and responsible revision of it, as necessary.

In my opinion, one of Walt's more important undertakings since retirement has been the collection and distribution of mineral specimens to young children at various schools in the Tucson area.

Finally, I urge you to read Walt’s The Pima Story if you have not already done so.

Now, it is with great pleasure that I present to you Walter E. Heinrichs, Jr., who will now be inducted as a life member of the Arizona Geological Society.