John T. Arundel was a leading figure in the Pacific phosphate industry on Kiribati and Nauru. He initially travelled to the Pacific in 1860 and 1868, and established John T. Arundel & Co. in the Pacific 1871 with financial support from Houlder Brothers and Co. In 1897, John T. Arundel & Co merged its business with trading and plantation firm Henderson and Macfarlane. They formed the Pacific Islands Company Ltd (PIC), which was based in London with trading activities in the Pacific, particularly Kiribati. In 1902, PIC became the Pacific Phosphate Company and began phosphate mining on Banaba, Kiribati in 1901 and on Nauru in 1906. Arundel died 30 November 1919 in Bournemouth, England.