Keith Yates has been recognised by the AusIMM for his contribution to the minerals sector

One of the pioneers of the SA minerals sector, Keith Yates, has been recognised for his six decades of contribution by the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy

Keith Yates at the SA Museum. Picture: Tom Huntley

ONE of the pioneers of the South Australian minerals sector, Keith Yates, has been recognised for his six decades of contribution by the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.

Mr Yates was honoured with a Minerals Sector Service Award at a ceremony on Melbourne on Friday night.

Mr Yates has had a distinguished career in the minerals sector, working with luminaries such as South Australia’s Robert de Crespigny, at the fabled Poseidon Group, and was a founding director of Adelaide Resources in 1993 which went on to discover rich mineral sands resources in the state’s far west as well as gold and iron ore deposits.

Reflecting on his career as a geologist, company director and executive recently, Mr Yates told The Advertiser said a passion for science led him to choose maths, physics and chemistry at university, and he had to choose a fourth subject.

“I didn’t know anything much about geology but I thought I’d give it a crack. From there on I was hooked,’’ Mr Yates said. “It became my passion.’’

Mr Yates said the marriage of “the whole range of sciences” and a growing fascination with minerals and mining attracted him to the field.

While Australia’s mining sector, and its contribution to the nation’s economy is now firmly entrenched, when Mr Yates started out in the 1960s, regions such as the Pilbara iron ore province were still in their early stages. But he had a good feeling about its potential.

“I also saw a future emerging. It was early days, the iron ore hadn’t even taken off by then, but there was a sense that Australia might be a well-endowed country.’’

Mr Yates started his career with Geoscience Australia, spending five years working in the Gulf of Carpentaria, northern Queensland and Papua New Guinea. Mr Yates moved to SA in 1970, when the local industry was modest, with Olympic Dam not discovered at that stage.

“I became a geologist not long before the general development of resources in Australia really took off,’’ he said.

From 1970-1974 Mr Yates worked as chief geologist for Canadian company McPhar Geophysics, then from 1974-1980 was exploration manager at Aberfoyle Exploration.

From 1980-89 he was a group executive at Poseidon, and was chief executive of its subsidiary Australian Development Limited from 1984 to 1989. That company made a significant high grade gold discovery at White Devil at Tennant Creek, Northern Territory in 1986.

Normandy Mining took a controlling shareholding in Poseidon in 1988, which led to Mr Yates working with Mr de Crespigny. Adelaide Resources, where he worked in various capacities until his retirement in 2010, made three mineral discoveries in SA - the Barns gold deposit in 2000, the Warramboo iron deposit in 2000, ultimately vended into Iron Road, and the Tripitaka mineral sands deposit in joint venture with Iluka Resources in 2005.

Mr Yates is still involved with the NewGenGold conference he founded, and is currently the chair of the State Government’s Minerals and Energy Advisory Council and a member of the South Australian Minerals and Petroleum Expert Group.

Mr Yates said the industry had provided him with a rewarding and exciting career, with his fascination for mining not waning over the years.

“If you have an interest in leading an outdoor life instead of being chained to a desk or a computer screen as it is these days, you have plenty of scope for that kind of thing,’’ Mr Yates said.

“There’s been a great revolution in technology over the years. Being able to handle large amounts of data, and visualise that data, has been a big step forward,. It’s also great to see the owners of your company benefit. You get to know your shareholders and you like to see them benefit.’’