Mr Tony Leach, former Section Head of rock mechanics at Western Deep Levels, Anglogold, former Director of Itasca Africa and more recently Director of Latona has unfortunately succumbed to cancer.
The South African mining industry has, since its infancy, provided an irresistible lure for adventurous and industrious young men from the British Isles. During the early 1980’s when the Anglo American Corporation, faced with the pressing need to expand their rock mechanics and rock engineering capabilities, embarked upon a drive to recruit, primarily from the UK, suitably qualified people to augment its already impressive skills in this discipline. Among those that responded and were attracted to the excitement of a challenging career on the southern tip of Africa was a young man from Compton Abbas in Dorset (quite close to Cornwall), a 23-year-old graduate of Imperial College and Leeds University, one Anthony Robert Leach. Tony thus joined the long history of enterprising men who travelled halfway around the world to make their mark on the richest mining industry in the world.
Tony, always a gentleman, was well known in the rock mechanics fraternity as an expert in advanced numerical modelling, whom other consultants would approach to assist with solving complex geotechnical challenges. He was one of the youngest rock engineers to be promoted to Section Head at Western Deep Levels’ South Shaft, which was at that stage the deepest mining complex in the world. Tony was always at the forefront of technology, even in the late 1980s running complex models to understand the impact of mining at depths below 3km. Through his and other’s pioneering work in using advanced inelastic numerical modelling, safe extraction of deep mine shaft pillars is now being done as a standard practice.
He was always willing to share his vast knowledge with those who sought his professional advice. No person who has worked with Tony on a project, has not said that they learnt a lot from him, even those more senior to him. Those who were lucky enough to work with Tony, will miss him tremendously. If not for Tony’s impact, the software programs such as UDEC, FLAC, PFC, 3DEC, FLAC3D, etc that are today commonplace in South Africa, would just be read about in textbooks.
But Tony was not all work and no play. For instance, he was perhaps more passionate about flying his microlight than he was about computer modelling. His prodigious mind, his generosity of spirit, and his infectious sense of humour will be sorely missed. Right to the end he never lost his sense of the ridiculous, and would even giggle at some of the aspects of his treatment.
He has left a gigantic chasm, from both a personal and a professional perspective, rather than just a gap that will be difficult to fill.
We as Sanire, wish his wife Sharon and his children and grandchildren, well through this sad time. Tony not only touched the lives of his immediate family and friends, but also the entire rock mechanics fraternity, for which we are all grateful.