August 5...Kununurra

We enjoyed a slow start this morning although everyone seems to get up very early here, including the kids! Around 11am we called a taxi which took us the longest way possible to the airport!  ,,, and we caught the 12.30 Sky West plane to Argyle.

It was only a 15 mins flight but the views were excellent.

Kununurra

Part of Kununurra Township

Rugged landscape with Lake Argyle

Great Hills!

Morgan picked us up and took us on a tour of the village. It was great to see her again after two months of travelling. The village was comfortable without being flash, but it is surrounded by the most beautiful red hills which must always fascinate in the changing light.

Argyle Mess

Argyle pool

Argyle Visitor and Worker

Argyle Village

We had a quick lunch at the Admin building and a look at Morgan’s office; got changed into the mandatory safety gear and headed out for our tour.

Morgan's Team

Morgan in her Office

Our guide for the crushing plant was the Superintendent Process Maintenance, Patrick. He took us up to the primary crusher where they receive the raw ore straight from the blast at the mine. This is tipped into a huge chute and is gravity fed into the crusher. The size of these granite boulders was quite impressive. The crusher has a central manganese cone which vibrates and it appears to “eat” these massive rocks with ease. Apparently it can get jammed at times but it was a very powerful apparatus.

The ore load delivery

The Primary Crusher

Gravity feed to crusher

The Crushing Plant

The much smaller rocks are then taken via conveyor belt through a secondary crusher, and then graded. If necessary, some are then taken for a third crush. The aim is to have ore no more than 15mm in size from which the diamonds can be extracted. This is the viable size for this mine to be economic but Patrick explained that this varies in other diamond mines depending on the quantity of the largest size.

The ore is then washed in a bath of water laced with iron fillings. The granite floats off and the diamonds sink. These are then retrieved, under tight security, and further cleaned of residue rock. The only product taken off site is pure diamond.

Open pit mining at Argyle is due to wind up in 2012 and the underground phase is well into its development. Essentially the floor of the pit will still be blasted but the retrieval of the ore will be from below. This will extend the life of the mine some years.

Underground Entrance

Stewart, the Safety Adviser, took us on the second part of our tour which was to see the actual pit. As expected, it was quite a hole but compared to some we have seen, generally the operation seemed like a relatively small one. Most plants are operated by only one or two people and there were only about six trucks transporting ore.

The Pit

Ore Trucks

From the vantage points looking into the pit we could also see out to the surrounding hills. The mine is at the end of Lake Argyle and at the start of the Bungle Bungles. While the distinctive beehives are still quite a distance from here, the range is clearly visible.

Surrounding Hills

Beautiful Countryside

By now it was late afternoon so we went back to have a look at the Display Centre which had many examples of the diamonds they mine. Quite a few were made up into beautiful, but not always practical, jewellery. Morgan also showed us around the Training Centre which she has set up as one of her initiatives. Already she has plans to redevelop it into something more effective.

Morgan's Training Centre

 It was a fantastic afternoon, really interesting, and we got to really see the whole operation in a way that most visitors do not. Eventually we left to drive back to Kununurra, arriving around 8.30. Morg had to pick up her camping gear and we got a late take away for tea. We were all pretty tired but it had been a great day and it was especially nice to have our girl with us for a few days.

Site with sleeping visitor