William P. Johnston*

William P. Johnston was a native of southern California and grew up on a ranch in Cuyama Valley. He graduated from University of Arizona and was employed by the New Jersey Zinc Co. in New Mexico and Arizona. After service in the U.S. Navy during World War II, Johnston returned to geology and earned a Ph.D. at the University of Utah. His thesis research was a study of the copper-bearing breccia pipes near Prescott, AZ. Johnston and his family selected Reno where he established an exploration consulting practice.

Johnston was an expert in the exploration and mining geology of Nevada and Utah. The Geological Society of Nevada awarded him Honorary Lifetime Membership. He was also a 50-year member of the Society of Economic Geologists, and Legion of Honor member of SME. He was in every sense of the word an economic geologist.

*Deceased