Roger W. Straus began his association with American Smelting and Refining Company (now ASARCO, Inc.) in 1914, and spent his entire career advancing the company toward leadership in the industry. His push to get the company back into the development of mining properties had an enormous impact on the success, durability, and future of ASARCO.
When he joined the company, its activities were largely in the processing and refining of products extracted by other mining concerns. Starting out as an ore buyer, Straus worked his way up through the corporate ranks eventually to Chairman of the Board, a position he held until his death in 1957. He was a strong leader and a visionary, who persuaded his associates that the very future of American Smelting and Refining depended on diversification and its integration backward into mining. He pushed for the development of the Mount Isa lead-silver-zinc and copper orebodies in Australia and for the highly successful establishment of the Southern Peru Copper operations, most notably the Toquepala and Cuajone properties. Mount Isa, Toquepala, and Cuajone are today among the largest non-ferrous operations in the world and are representative of Straus’s major contributions to the success of the company.
He directed A.S.&R.’s diversification into Canada at Buchan’s lead-zinc, Premier’s silver-gold, and Lake’s asbestos mines. These were followed by successful developments at Nicaragua’s Neptune Gold Mine and in Mexico. Here in the United States, Straus pushed for A.S.&R.’s entry into open pit copper mining at Silver Bell, Arizona.
Throughout his prominent career, Roger Straus participated in a wide variety of philanthropic work, including the Daniel and Florence Guggenheim Foundation, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, and the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis.
