Diamonds

Diamond Properties Diamond is made of carbon It is the hardest substance in the world It is four times harder than corundum There are 2 qualitiy classes, GEM and INDUSTRIAL Gem stones are worth a lot more than Industrial grade diamonds

INDUSTRIAL DIAMONDS Diamonds are very useful in industry. Only a diamond can scratch or cut a diamond. They can cut anything else and stay sharp. Diamond dust or powder can be sold as well as pieces of different size can be used in industry Prices can be between $5 to $200 per carat

GEM DIAMONDS Diamonds are used as Gems as they sparkle and do not get damaged very easily. Diamond value is based on the 4 C’s C ut, C olour, C larity and C arat weight Prices can be between 10 to thousands of times higher than Industrial diamonds

Gem Value CUT - Most diamonds are cut round with a full 58 facets to maximize sparkle. Good Diamond cutters add value. COLOUR - The color-grading scale ranges from D to Z. The highest color grade is a D color “White” diamond. CLARITY – describes internal purity. With fewer imperfections, the diamond is more rare and higher valued CARAT – 0.2 grams. Fractions of a carat are referred to as "points" or simply as fractions. A 50-point diamond weighs 0.5 carats or 1/2 a carat. A 1-carat diamond is 100 points

Big Diamond The Millenium Star – 203 carat cut size. Grade D Flawless, Pear shaped. Value in excess of $20 million dollars US.

DIAMOND MINING DIAMOND GEOLOGY -Diamonds form in the Earth's mantle -brought near Earth's surface by magma from historic deep volcanic eruptions ( approx. 3 billion years ago ) - The MAGAMA is Unusual. It cools into igneous rock known as Kimberlite or Lamproite - Mines are located near Kimberlites we can find

DIAMOND MINING Diamond mines are found in select places. Lamproite and Kimberlite are magnesium-rich and contain chromium, titanium and potassium (called indicator minerals)

The Argyle Diamond mine - Australia location

The Argyle Diamond mine - history Exploration began in 1972 when evidence of diamonds was found first in stream beds and later in termite mounds near Argyle. Indicator minerals and actual diamonds were found.

The Argyle Diamond mine 11 years after exploration began, a large kimberlite structure was confirmed under a lake.

Mining at Argyle -Began in 1983 directly from stream beds -The Open Pit Mine started in 1984 to access the Kimberlite Pipe under Lake argyle, located on top of the Ancient Volcano.

OPEN PIT Mining

Ore must be removed using dynamite blasting, loaders and very large dump trucks. This ore is later processed to remove diamonds.

OPEN PIT Mining

Mining at Argyle -By 1985 a large processing plant was built. -Diamond rich Kimberlite rock has produced over 20 million carats of diamonds per year (800 million carats to date)

Mining at Argyle -Diamond processing first involves crushing ore -Crushed ore free falls and uses air jets and X-Rays to separate Diamond from tailings

Mining for diamonds To get One carat of diamond, Two tonnes of Ore or more need to be processed and disposed. One carat is around the size in a medium diamond wedding ring.

Argyle is ranked as the 4 th largest diamond mine in the world. It is now switching to underground (shaft) mining after many years of open pit methods. Mining at Argyle

Open Pit methods no longer get to the valuable Kimberlite found deeper below ground. It has been producing close to 1/3 of the world supply of new diamonds per year.

Mining at Argyle The Special underground method at Argyle needed cooperation of Aboriginals and much planning. It is expected to continue until 2020.

Mining at Argyle

The New method of underground BLOCK CAVE mining is explained. It uses remote controlled vehicles, JUMBO drills, dynamite, Funnels, underground crushers, conveyors and much more … Youtube link UpBf-kiQgnG2ByS