Maureen Muggeridge

Maureen Muggeridge (13 August 1948 – 7 October 2010) was a British geologist best known for discovering the Argyle diamond deposit in the north of Western Australia.

Early life and education

Muggeridge was born in Croydon; her father was Eric Muggeridge, the founder of the charity Plan International.[1] She spent the majority of her childhood in Cameroon and was later sent back to England to a convent school in Sussex. Later, she became a day pupil at Brighton and Hove High School.

Career

After graduating in Geology from the University of St Andrews, she made her way to Perth, Western Australia, with support from her family. Within a week she got a job with a mining company called Tanganyika Holdings and was flying over the Outback searching for diamonds. Tanganyika Holdings was involved in a joint venture with other companies.

In 1976, minerals were found which suggested the presence of diamonds. A joint venture was set up with CRA Exploration which they called the Ashton Joint Venture.[2][3] This was masterminded by Rees Towie, managing director of Northern Mining. In 1979, Maureen married Towie's son John, she became pregnant and discovered diamond samples in the flood plains surrounding Smoke Creek, a small stream in East Kimberley that drained into Lake Argyle.[2][4] At the time word had got out that there might be diamonds and rival exploration teams were in the area. To put them off the scent, CRA put it about that Maureen had gone on maternity leave while, in fact, she was tracing the source of the diamonds to the headwaters of Smoke Creek and pegging out the boundaries of her claim.[2] This turned out to be the world's largest known diamond deposit, larger than all the rest put together. Today, these diamonds are among the world's rarest gems and the mine produces one-third of global output.[2]

Muggeridge received international recognition for papers on the applications of explosion-sampling techniques. She directed exploration for Moonstone Diamond Corporation in Perth and then set up her own Paramount Mining Corporation in 2002.[1][5] It was floated on the Australian Stock Exchange in 2004.

She died of a stroke while sampling for diamonds at Napier Downs, in a remote part of Western Australia.[6][7]

References
  1. "Maureen Muggeridge". The Times. 10 November 2010. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  2. "Geologist left no stone unturned in quest for glittering prize". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. 26 November 2010. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
  3. Thomas, Tony (7 June 1991). "WOMAN'S WORK". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  4. Duffield, Robert (26 January 1980). "Find came after nine years' work". The Age. p. 11. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  5. Ball, Yvonne (13 December 2003). "She's got diamonds on the soles of her feet". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  6. Carman, Gerry (8 October 2010). "Diamond mine trailblazer dies". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  7. "Maureen Muggeridge". The Telegraph. 17 November 2010. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
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