How Diamonds Are Mined
Prior to placing a diamond ring on someone’s finger, that diamond goes through an
intensive process. It has to be: mined, processed, shipped, inspected, cut, polished and then set.
Only after those steps are complete is a diamond ready to be sold to the retail market.
With all of these numerous steps, it’s no wonder that diamonds are among the world’s most expensive items.
To add to the costs, for every diamond mined, far less than half of them will be gem quality. What happens
to the rest of the diamonds?
They are placed into two other categories: industrial quality and near-gem quality. In
order to receive the stamp of approval as gem quality, a diamond must display the highest standard of
excellence. See Brilliant Cut
Diamonds.
Trained eyes painstakingly seek out any flaws. But before they can be professionally
graded, the diamonds must be mined. Here is a list of all of the diamond mines throughout the world.
Diamond
Mines in Africa
-
Angola Diamond Mines
- Catoca Diamond Mine
- Fucauma Diamond Mine
- Luarica Diamond Mine
-
Botswana Diamond Mines
- Damtshaa Diamond Mine
- Jwaneng Diamond Mine
- Letlhakane Diamond Mine
- Orapa Diamond Mine
-
South Africa Diamond Mines
- Baken Diamond Mine
- Cullinan Diamond Mine
- Finsch Diamond Mine
- Kimberley Diamond Mine
- Koffiefontein Diamond mine
- The Oaks Diamond Mine
- Venetia Diamond Mine
Diamond Mines in The Asia Perimeter
·
Russia
o
Aikhal GOK
o
Anabar GOK
o
Mirny GOK
o
Nurba GOK
o
Udachny GOK
-
India
- Golkonda Diamond Mine
- Kollur Diamond Mine
- Panna Diamond Mine
- Kundai Diamond Mine
Diamond Mines
North America
-
Canada
- Diavik Diamond Mine
- Ekati Diamond Mine
- Gahcho Kue Diamond Mine Project
- Jericho Diamond Mine
- Snap Lake Diamond Mine Project
- Victor Diamond Mine Project
-
Diamond Mines in The United States of America
- The Crater of Diamonds
- Jack Of Diamonds Mine
Diamond Mines in
Australia
-
Australia
- Argyle diamond mine
- Locke Diamond Mine
- Merlin diamond mine
How Diamonds Are Mined - Who Does The Actual Diamond
Mining?
Due to the nature of the business and the costs associated with mining diamonds, there are
actually a limited number of companies that engage in this business worldwide. These companies and
governments have the necessary funds to roll the dice for the big pay off.
- Aber Diamond, partial owner of the Diavik mine
- Alrosa, operates primarily in Russia
- BHP Billiton, they own the Ekati mine
- Camphor, small percenatge owner of the Gahcho Kue Diamond Mine Project
- De Beers, one of the largest diamond mine owners in the world. They own twenty mines in Africa, and
are a seventy percent owner of the Northwest Territories Snap Lake Diamond Mine Project, a hundred
percent owner of Ontario's Victor Diamond Mine Project, a sixty percent owner of the Northwest
Territories' Gahcho Kue Diamond Mine Project and participant in numerous joint ventures
worldwide.
- Debswana, a partnership between De Beers and the government of Botswana
- Endiama, the national diamond-mining company in Angola and exclusive concessionaire
- Mountain Province Diamonds, a thirty-five percent owner of the Gahcho Kue Diamond Mine Project
- Namdeb, a partnership between De Beers and the government of Namibia (primarily recovers
alluvially deposited diamonds)
- Rio Tinto Group, partial owner of Argyle, Diavik, and Murowa diamond mines
- Tahera Diamond, owner of the Jericho mine in Canada
- Trans Hex, owns a thirty-two percent stake in the Fucauma diamond mine in Angola
How Diamonds Are Mined - The Diamond Mining Process
Naturally genuine diamonds are mined from the earth. There are currently two methods of mining diamonds:
Alluvial Mining and Pipe Mining. The Alluvial mining method is done on beaches and in riverbeds.
Walls are built to hold back the water and then the sand on the beach or bank is moved
with a bulldozer until the level of earth that diamonds can be found in is reached. The diamonds are not
sorted here; instead, the diamond rich sand that contains the stones is hauled off into trucks and taken to
screening plants to be processed.
With pipe mining, diamonds
are extracted from the earth through natural pipes in the ground called volcanic pipes. Shanks are put into the
ground next to the pipes, and tunnels are driven into the deepest parts of the pipe.
The diamonds are not sorted
out at the mine. Instead, huge rocks that are full of diamonds are brought out of the mine and moved to a
screening plant for separation. And that’s the diamond mining process in a nutshell.
Vicente Ross is a certified
diamond buyer and appraiser who travels the globe seeking incredible deals on Diamond Engagement Rings, Brilliant
Cut Diamonds, Antique Diamond Engagement Rings,
Unique Diamond Engagement Rings and other Fine Jewelry and shares his finds and expertise on his information packed website
http://DiamondExperts.biz
Source: Vicente Ross, http://DiamondExperts.biz/