Smoke Creek, Wyndham-East Kimberley Shire, Western Australia, Australiai

Regional Level Types
Smoke Creek	Creek
Wyndham-East Kimberley Shire	Shire
Western Australia	State
Australia	Country

Alluvial diamond deposits from the weathering of the Smoke Creek lamproite pipe. Deposits comprised of the Upper and Lower Smoke Creek alluvial deposits. Almost exhausted in 1984.

Smoke Creek drains north from the AK1 (Argyle Pipe). The Upper Smoke Creek is immediately downstream of the pipe and shows the highest diamond grades for about 1 kilometre downstream. It contains 1.5 metres of coarse, poorly sorted, loosely consolidated and massive bedded gravels. Mining of this occurring between 1983 to 1985 producing 580 000 tonnes at 4.6 carats per tonne.

The Lower Smoke Creek deposits are divided into four gravel units running parrallel to the course of the creek. A Terrace is 8 metres above the flood plain, 2 metres thick, on the east side of the creek. It is lateritized and lightly to moderately cemented. B Terrace is 4 metres above the flood plain, 2 metres thick, as a discontinous remnant of quartzite gravels with dark-brown friable ferruginous matrix. C Terrace is on the modern flood plain, 4 metres thick, broad, sinuous, and partly braided unconsolidated channel fill gravels. D Terrace is a modern channel deposit, 5 metres thick and 400 metres wide, occurring 30 kilometres downstream near where the creek enters Lake Argyle.

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References