Isern, Elmer

metallurgist for the Commerce Mining and Royalty Company, was removed to Miami Baptist hospital in Miami for treatment Saturday night. The nature of his illness had not been determined. Isern, active in the mining industry for several years, is chairman of the Ottawa county Oklahoma Red Cross.

Obituary.

Isern who gained nation-wide recognition during his 31 years in the mining and metallurgical profession, today announced his resignation effective Wednesday as vice-president of the Eagle-Picher Company and general manager of the firm's mining and smelting division. He said he plans to devote an indefinite period to private business and to enjoy a rest which he has been looking forward to for several months. Isern's successor had not been named at noon. [Note: See O. A. Rockwell entry. He was the replacement.] Of his many outstanding accomplishments in the mining industry, the engineer is credited with the idea of centralized milling which has resulted in the saving of millions of dollars in lead and zinc production. The Eagle-Picher Central Mill, near Cardin Oklahoma, was designed by Isern, becoming the world's largest plant processing zinc and lead concentrates. Born June 4, 1899, in Ellinwood Kansas, where he completed his formal education, Isern received his master of science degree when he was graduated from Kansas university in 1922. His career began in the electrolytic zinc plant of the Anaconda Copper Mining Company at Great Falls Montana, in 1922. He served as research engineer and then mill superintendent until 1926. Moving to Miami on Jan 1, 1926, as a metallurgist for the old Commerce Mining and Royalty Company, Isern modeled the Bird Dog Mill before he designed and developed the Central Mill milling plant. When Isern arrived in the Tri-State field more than a quarter of a century ago, there were some 227 mills in operation. When it became apparent that each 40 acres of zinc and lead properties could not support its own small mill, Isern conceived the idea of centralized milling whereby a single large mill would treat ore shipments from individual mines, thus saving the expense of the small mill on each mining property. The centralized milling idea was successful in reducing milling costs and in increasing metallurgical efficiency, thereby proving the engineer's theory that ores could be concentrated more economically in this manner. Through Isern's milling project efforts, the mining of low-grade ores was made possible through the years. When the Eagle-Picher Mining and Smelting Company purchased the Commerce Mining and Royalty company in 1939, Isern was made superintendent of milling. In 1944, he was promoted to vice-president in charge of Eagle-Picher Mining and Smelting Company operations. The metallurgist was made president of the Eagle-Picher Mining and Smelting Company and a director of the Eagle-Picher Company when the firm's offices were moved from Joplin to Miami in May, 1948. He held those positions until he became vice-president of Eagle-Picher and general manager of the company's mining and smelting division on Nov 30, 1951. The metallurgist and Mrs. Isern reside at 411 First avenue, northwest, Miami. Mrs. Phil Giltner, wife, of a Kansas City Missouri, attorney, is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Isern. Mr. and Mrs. Giltner are the parents of two boys. The metallurgist's son, Bill Isern, is in business in Pensacola Florida, where he lives with his wife, and daughter.