Person
Preston, Ken (1951 - 2024)
- Born
- 14 May 1951
New Zealand - Died
- 23 June 2024
Queensland, Australia - Occupation
- Geologist
Summary
Ken Preston was a coal geologist who spent much of his career with Conzinc Riotinto of Australia and later Rio Tinto Ltd, holding increasingly senior positions including that of exploration manager. Among his projects were feasibility studies leading to the subsequent development of the Blair Atholl and other mines in the Bowen Basin in Queensland. With Dick Sanders he worked on demystifying the process of estimating the in situ density of coal, for which they were presented with the Leichhardt Award in 2021 by the Bowen Basin Geologists Group.
Details
Chronology
- 1972
- Education - BSc, University of Canterbury, New Zealand
- 1973 - 1975
- Career position - Assistant Project Geologist, Thiess Bros Pty Ltd
- 1975 - 1976
- Career position - Project Geologist, Thiess Bros Pty Ltd
- 1976 - 1978
- Life event - Travelling in Europe and Asia
- 1978 - 1979
- Career position - Geologist, Conzinc Riotinto of Australia
- 1979 - 1983
- Career position - Senior Geologist, Blair Athol Coal Pty Ltd
- 1983 -
- Career position - Senior geologist, Pacific Coal
- 2004
- Life event - Retired from Rio Tinto as senior geologist
- 2021
- Award - Leichhardt Award, Bowen Basin Geologists Group
Related entries
Published resources
Journal Articles
- Bowen Basin Geologists Group, 'Ken Preston 14 May 1951 - 23 June 2024', TAG: the Australian geologist, 212 (2024), 60. Details
Helen Cohn
Created: 20 May 2025