David Andrew Kinneberg passed away peacefully on Christmas morning in Carlsbad, Calif. David was born into a mining family on July 1, 1925 in Battle Mountain, Nev. Soon after graduating from high school, David entered the Army Corps of Engineers and served in the Western Pacific during WWII. He graduated from the University of Nevada in June 1950 with a BS in Metallurgical Engineering. In June 1970, he received his MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management.
David spent his entire 35-year professional career with Kennecott Copper. He started as a Chemist in McGill, Nev., in 1950 and retired as vice president and general manager of Chino Mines Company in Hurley, N.M., in 1986. David progressed through several assignments at the McGill smelter before being transferred in 1962 to the Garfield smelter in Salt Lake City, Utah. At Garfield, David advanced to smelter superintendent. In 1974 he was transferred to the Chino Mines Division as Reduction Plant superintendent. David was appointed general manager in 1974 and directed a $400 million modernization program that completely rebuilt the entire operation from the mine through the concentrator and smelter.
During David's career he was the chairman of the New Mexico Mining Association and chairman of the Southwestern New Mexico Section of AIME. He wrote or co-authored several technical papers on copper smelting. Dave was also the grand patron of the Nevada State Order of the Eastern Star. After retiring, he served on the advisory board at the Mackay School of Mines and as a regent at Western New Mexico University.
He supported the Silver City Museum and the High Desert Humane Society of Grant County. David traveled extensively and set foot on all seven continents. Throughout his life, he was an avid golfer and fisherman.
David is survived by his wife, Elysabeth; his brother Arthur (Jane) and sisters Iris and Janet (Joe); four sons by a previous marriage, David (Roberta), Peter (Cathy), John (Jeanne) and Paul (Raymona); and a stepdaughter, Ruth (Nick). Other survivors include seven grandchildren and two step-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his sister Kathleen (Addison) and his first wife Helen Louise.
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