Canadian diamond mining company Diamcor Mining has appointed geologist Ross McElroy as special adviser.

McElroy has more than 35 years of experience in the mining industry. He acquired a bachelor’s degree in science with a specialisation in geology from the University of Alberta in 1987, and has since become a registered professional geologist in Saskatchewan, British Columbia and Nunavut/Northwest Territories.

In 2014, McElroy won the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada Bill Dennis award for exploration success and the Northern Miner mining person of the year award.

He has experience working on and managing many types of mineral projects at various stages of development, from grassroots exploration to feasibility and production. He has held senior technical and executive positions with both major and midtier mining companies, such as BHP, Orano and Cameco. 

McElroy was a key member of the discovery team that worked on the large MacArthur River uranium deposit and played a key role in the discoveries and development of the Fission Uranium Corp, where he is currently the president and CEO.

McElroy has also had a successful career in the search, discovery, development and mining of other commodities, including diamonds, during the several years he spent as the senior geologist at BHP’s Ekati diamond mining operation in northern Canada.

“After many years of informal discussions on our project and our long-term goals, I am very pleased to now have McElroy as a technical adviser to our company. I truly believe his input, based on his past experiences and continued interest in the diamond sector, along with his proven ability to successfully advance various projects from discovery to production, will prove very beneficial to Diamcor,” CEO Dean Taylor said on April 18.

“Diamcor’s Krone-Endora at Venetia project has always been a point of many interesting discussions, and the fact they are dealing with a significant low-cost displacement project from the prolific De Beers Venetia mine presents an attractive scenario.

“I know that the entire management team’s post-Covid-19 focus is to execute its previous plans to grow the project and expand their business. I look forward to providing them with my insight to enhance their ability to do so,” McElroy said.

The Krone-Endora at Venetia project is located in South Africa’s Limpopo province.