Person
King, Donald (Don) (1926 - 1989)
AO
- Born
- 3 June 1926
Rose Park, South Australia, Australia - Died
- 3 August 1989
The Gap, Queensland, Australia - Occupation
- Exploration geologist
Summary
Don King was an outstanding exploration geologist and recognised as an authority on coal in Queensland. As a geological surveyor for the Geological Survey of South Australia he participated in a wide range of activities, including the search for uranium in the Olary province. He also discovered a phosphate mineral known as 'Kingite'. After a time with Rio Tinto Mining, King joined Utah Development Co. in 1962 to search for deposits of coking coal in the Bowen Basin in Queensland. The deposits he found in the region of the Mackenzie River were among the richest ever found. For 12 years King was an associate director with Mines Administration Pty Ltd which managed a group of Australian oil companies wanting to move into minerals and coal exploration. In 1977 he established his own geological consultancy, Energy Minerals Pty Ltd.
Details
Chronology
- 1948
- Education - Bachelor of Science (BSc), University of Adelaide
- 1950
- Education - Master of Science (MSc), University of Adelaide
- 1950 - 1956
- Career position - Surveyor, Geological Survey of South Australia
- 1952 - 1989
- Career position - Foundation Member, Geological Society of Australia
- 1956 - 1961
- Career position - Manager of exploration activities, Rio Tinto Mining Co. of Australia Ltd
- 1961 - 1964
- Career position - Chief Geologist for Australia, Utah Development Co.
- 1961 - 1964
- Career position - Exploration geologist, Utah Development Co.
- 1964
- Career position - President, Queensland Division, Geological Society of Australia
- 1965 - 1977
- Career position - Associate Director, Mines Administration Pty Ltd
- 1977 - 1989
- Career position - Established Energy Minerals Pty Ltd
- 1987
- Award - Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for service to mining, particularly coal mining
Related entries
Published resources
Book Sections
- Goscombe, Peter W., 'King, Donald (1926-1989), Geologist' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 17: 1981 - 1990 A-K, Diane Langmore, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 2007), pp. 625-626. http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/king-donald-don-12739. Details
Resources
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q21536812. Details
- 'King, Donald (19260603-19890803)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1468416. Details
Helen Cohn
Last modified: 6 April 2018