Frank X.R. Delzer
Frank X.R. Delzer, 85, died on April 1, 2021, in Prestonsburg, Kentucky. Delzer was an experienced professional mining engineer with more than 45 years managing metal and coal mining projects in the United States and Latin America. He was born in Zeeland, North Dakota, on December 6, 1935. After graduating from the University of North Dakota, he completed Fulbright studies in Germany. He was fluent in German and Spanish. He started his mining career working with copper mines in Chile and then worked with various mining operations before accepting a project with Ethyl Corp., where he led a bauxite prospecting team in the Amazon. When that project ended, he returned to the U.S. to work with another Ethyl subsidiary,
Elk Horn Coal, where he was director of development and engineering. He then accepted a position as vice president of engineering with Stagg Engineering Services in West Virginia. He began to consult on his own for various mining projects in the late 1990s and briefly served as the commissioner of Kentucky Department of Mines and Minerals. He built a reputation for mine safety, engineering competency, and operational efficiency in meeting production goals. An experienced philatelist, he was held in high regard by his peers as a highly knowledgeable man with a great sense of humor.
