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WEDNESDAY 17th November 2021
5:30PM onwards
Celtic Club, 48 Ord St,
West Perth, WA
Since the discovery of world class Argyle diamond deposit in 1979 and the commencement of mining alluvial diamonds in 1982 and the AK1 pit in 1985, the geology of the AK1 lamproite pipe has changed significantly over the years. The mine has now ceased production since November 2020 and is currently in closure and rehabilitation.
This talk will discuss the history of the Argyle AK1 deposit from discovery, alluvial diamond mining, multiple drilling programmes, the evolution of the geological model and the mining of the orebody within the pit followed by the block cave. It will also describe the current emplacement model and internal lamproite domains displaying the iconic lamproite textures.
Principal Geologist – Resource Evaluation, Rio Tinto Copper Technical
After being born and raised in Perth, Murray finished his Geology Honours Degree at UWA and started off as an underground geologist in the Kimberley’s at the Cadjebut MVT Zn-Pb deposit, followed by a number of years underground at the Scuddles VHMS Zn-Cu deposit in the Murchison. This led into a consulting role across multiple commodities including Gold, Iron Ore, Porphyry Copper, Irish-style Zn-Pb, Manganese, Mineral Sands, Lateritic Ni, Coal, Bauxite and Diamonds across Australia, Indonesia, Irian Jaya, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Ireland. In 2003 Murray joined Argyle Diamonds in the Kimberley’s of WA and has been the Competent Person until the recent closure of mine production in November 2020 as well as the Competent Person for the Murowa Diamond mine in Zimbabwe, the Bunder Diamond prospect in India and has been heavily involved with the Diavik Diamond mine since 2005. Whilst working with Rio Tinto, Murray has also worked on multiple commodities including Diamonds, Iron Ore, Porphyry Copper, Uranium, Mineral Sands, Iron Titanium across Australia, USA, Canada, Russia, Namibia, Zimbabwe and India.
