Prof Gurney's research interests include upper mantle processes, geochemical exploration, high-energy sedimentary processes and analytical methods. He has developed a novel approach to diamond prospecting over the last three decades, which has now been used in Canada to find diamonds in the country's sub-arctic Northwest Territories. Kimberlite is a volcanic rock, and the source of most diamonds currently found in the world. The rock is named after the city of Kimberley, where it was first found in the 1870s. A related rock is also an important source of diamonds in Australia.
Diamonds rise to the Earth's surface in pipes of molten rock, or magma, from great depths.
The magma erupts in small but violent volcanoes through carrot-shaped roots or pipes filled with volcanic rock, mantle fragments and, possibly, diamonds. However, there was no way of knowing whether these pipes would contain diamonds, or how many. Prof Gurney analysed indicator minerals from all over the world as part of his research. Prof Gurney could then apply his research to finding diamond-bearing kimberlite pipes in areas where they had been most difficult to trace. According to Prof Gurney, most of the world's more accessible kimberlite has already been found.