ACTIVITIES OF THE KIMBERLITE RESEARCH GROUP

DIAMOND RESEARCH

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Octahedral Diamond
Over Grown Diamond

Cubic Diamond

Dr Gurney's current focus is to better understand the processes by which natural diamonds form and to apply this knowledge to exploration for undiscovered primary diamond deposits. This is done by negotiating access to key research samples and designing projects for a team of researchers. This new information is interpreted and added to a comprehensive database that contains relevant information dating back to the 1960's.

At present the KRG consists of four researchers who are staff members, two post-doctoral appointments and ten post-graduate thesis students, three of whom are part-time. The group is cosmopolitan, drawing people from four continents and seven countries. Research projects are funded by means of annual grants from the National Research Foundation, the Department of Trade and Industry and from industry.

DIAMOND INCLUSIONS

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Currently the KRG is studying diamonds and mineral inclusions in diamonds from kimberlites in the Republic of South Africa, Botswana and the North West Territories in Canada. Dr Steve Richardson makes diamonds and their inclusions his principal research focus and continues to make ground breaking advances relevant to the age and origins of inclusions and their associated diamonds. Students extend these studies by characterising diamond inclusion suites from key localities.

DIAMONDIFEROUS XENOLITHS

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Diamondiferous Eclogite
Diamondiferous Peridotite
  
Studies of diamondiferous xenoliths are equally as important as studies of diamonds with mineral inclusions. The KRG has a long term programme to investigate diamond eclogite and diamond peridotite. Recently a study of diamond bearing eclogites from the Kaalvallei Kimberlite was completed, whilst a study of diamond eclogite and diamond peridotite from the Newlands Kimberlite is ongoing. One aspect of this study is to define the distribution of chromium between co-existing garnet and chromite which will be useful in the application of mantle macrocryst compositions to diamond exploration.

MANTLE MACROCRYSTS AND DIAMOND EXPLORATION

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Koffiefontein Concentrate

Stream Sediment Sampling

  

The use of macrocryst mineral compositions in kimberlite exploration has been extensively developed by Gurney and co-workers in the KRG over the past 25 years. Refinements to this approach continue to be made on the basis of further studies of diamonds, their inclusions, diamond bearing rocks, and other mantle minerals.

CONTINENTAL LITHOSPHERE MANTLE ROCKS

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Matsoku Coarse Peridotite Matsoku Garnet Websterite Roberts Victor Eclogite

The basis for all the KRG studies is a thorough understanding of the processes active in the continental lithospheric mantle and knowledge of the rock and mineral compositions which these processes produce. Current projects are studying metasomatic processes, characterising upper mantle xenolith suites from a number of newly discovered kimberlites in Canada, and xenolith suits from kimberlites in the vicinity of the Bushveld on the Kaap-Vaal craton, the latter having been identified as anomalous mantle by deep-seismic tomography.

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Garnet Megacryst

 Diamond Mine Kimberlite

KIMBERLITES

Magma modeling is a major interest of Prof le Roex, who supervises major and trace element studies of carefully selected kimberlites, currently focussed on magmatic kimberlite from the Ekati Mine, Canada.

KRG GEOCHEMISTRY DATABASE

The KRG has been active for over 30 years and has compiled a superb rock and mineral collection together with a vast amount of information which is all readily accessible in a database designed and managed by Eva Anckar (eva@geology.uct.ac.za). Access to this data base is available to both academia and industry. It contains data from all the published theses and projects completed at UCT since 1968. It also has other data from researchers world-wide.

RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES

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Brukkaros

 

 The KRG regularly has research opportunities at both post-doctoral and post-graduate levels. Applicants for post-graduate work should have at least an upper second class degree in geology with a strong background in geochemistry. Interested parties should contact Dr J J Gurney at the Department of Geological Sciences. Enrollment can be at any time, but funding grants run from 1st January each year and optimal chances of successful funding dictate that applications should be submitted before the end of August for projects scheduled to start the following January. However, this is not a hard and fast rule.

KIMBERLITE EXPLORATION COURSE

At least one short course in diamond exploration is given annually, which has been held at Rhodes University as past of their taught MSc in Exploration Geology. The last course in 2003 was staged at UCT..

Course Co-ordinator: Dr J J Gurney

Lecturers and Instructors: Dr J J Gurney, Dr J Robey (De Beers) and M W Skinner (consultant)