Reno H. Sales, mining engineer and geologist, served as Chief Geologist of the Anaconda Company for over 40 years. His systematic study of ore bodies became the standard practice for the industry, earning him the title “Father of Mining Geology.”
Sales graduated from Columbia University in 1900 with an Engineer of Mines degree and accepted his first job assignment as assistant engineer in Butte, Montana. At the time, Butte was a thriving mass of mining claims, many of which overlapped. This spawned some of the most colorful and bitter litigation in mining history, including the famous Heinze-Amalgamated “War of the Apex.” While F. Augustus Heinze bombarded the great Amalgamated trust (Anaconda) with over 100 lawsuits attempting to discredit and destroy it, Amalgamated chose the finest geologists in the industry to act as witnesses. It was no accident then, that Reno Sales was first in demand. As Chief Geologist for the trust, he spent months developing a systematic and very detailed mapping procedure to provide scientific testimony during these trials.
As Anaconda’s Chief Geologist, Sales directed the company’s many activities in Butte and examined mining properties throughout the world, establishing geologic departments at the various mines. He guided the firm’s exploration programs and research laboratory. There can be no question that much of Anaconda Copper Company’s phenomenal success can be directly attributed to Reno Sales.
He authored several excellent publications including “Ore Deposits at Butte, Montana” (1913), “Underground Warfare at Butte” (1964), and “Genetic Relations Between Granites, Porphyries, and Associated Copper Deposits” (1954).
