Diamond Mines Around the World

Argyle mine is located in the Kimberley region in the far north of Western Australia.

This is a very remote region of Northern Australia and the heat, flies and distances are formidable. The landscape is extremely old but very, very beautiful. It is a beauty that won't appeal to everyone though because it is very stark and an unkind environment to anyone who is careless.

It is a rocky, arid and 'scrubby' type landscape; but the short stunted trees whose leaves turn sideways to the hot sun during the heat of the day, give off a blueness against the old blood red soil that cause the hills in the distance to turn a purplish colour.

Owned by Rio Tinto, this mine is the world's largest single producer by volume of diamonds. However, due to the low proportion of gem quality diamonds, it is not the world's most financially rewarding diamond mine. It does produce 90-95% of the world's supply of pink diamonds and it also produces a large quantity of champagne diamonds.

Diavik is also owned by Rio Tinto and is located in Canada. It is a very large mine located north of Yellowknife and south of the Artic Circle on an island. The island is connected by an ice road. It is also an important part of the regions economy employing more than 700 people and producing more than 8 million carats annually.

Ekati diamond mine is owned by BHP Billiton and located south of the artic circle in the Northwest Territories of Canada. The Ekati was Canada's first operational diamond mine.

Diamonds mined here are sold under the Aurias trade name and Authenticity is verified through Canada Mark service. Canada Mark service is also owned by BHP Billiton Diamonds, Inc.

Baken diamond mine is located along the lower Orange River in South Africa. It is owned and operated by Trans Hex. The average size stone for 2004 was 1.29 carats.

In 2004, this mine produced a 78.9 carat D colour flawless diamond that sold for more than 1.8 million dollars (US), as well as a 27.67 pink diamond that was sold for over 1 million US dollars.

Merlin is the second of only three diamond mines in Australia. Located 80 kilometres south-west of Borroloola it is no longer operating. It was owned by Rio Tinto and sold to Striker Resources, who explored the possibilities of reopening the mine in 2007.

Merlin produced a large quantity of gem quality stones from 2000 until it closed in 2003. Roughly 65% of its output was gem quality with only around 35% being industrial grade diamonds. The largest diamond found at Merlin mine measured 104.73 carats (20.946 g), and was the largest diamond ever found in Australia.

Orapa is the world's largest diamond mine. It us located 240 Km west of Francistown in Botswana. The mine is owned by "Debswana" which is a partnership between DeBeers and the government of Botswana.

This mine like most diamond mines operates 7 days a week. Its small township maintains preschools and primary schools for its employee's children. When a diamond mine opens up in these remote regions, small towns are built to service the miner's families and the mines needs if the mine is productive and sustainable for several decades.

Shops, schools and hospitals all form a part of the necessary infrastructure of any town and in Orapa there is also a 100 bed hospital as well as a game park. This mine began production in 1971 and is the oldest mine owned by the Debswana Company.

The Premier mine located in Cullinan, South Africa produced the largest gem diamond ever in 1905. The Cullinan Diamond weighed 3,106.75 carats. This mine also produced the Golden Jubilee diamond which weighed 545.67 carats. This mine is owned by the De Beers Company and was renamed the Cullinan Diamond Mine in 2003 in celebration of its centennial.

Diamonds are usually found in remote and often very unforgiving areas. In Canada miners are limited by having to use an ice road and in Australia the heat in some of the remoter areas can climb into the plus 40degree Celsius range. Water is always a necessity and rarely readily available.

Next time you see a Jewellers shop sparkling with diamonds, spare a thought for the journey those stones have undertaken to get into those display cases.