Yes, perhaps Young Flemming was right when he said that diamonds are forever, but mines, as it turned out, are not so durable. Recently, the Argyle mine, the largest pink diamond deposit in the world, closed in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The reason is depressing in its irreversibility: the supply of precious minerals has run out in this place.
Diamonds of rare shades - pink, purple and unique red - have been mined here since 1976, and for more than 45 years of the mine's existence, deposits weighing 140 million carats have been found in it! It was here that more than 90% of all pink diamonds on the planet were mined. Local stones have such an unusual hue due to the intense heat and pressure during their formation - these conditions deform the crystal lattices of minerals and change the reflection of the light passing through them.
From year to year, pink diamonds have become increasingly rare here, and therefore, since 2013, mining has been carried out by an underground method. As Sinead Kaufman, a spokesman for Rio Tinto, owner of the mine, said: “Over the past twenty years, the value of pink diamonds has risen by 500%. And the closure of the Argyle mine is likely to push prices even higher. Today, the estimated cost of this gem is up to $3 million per carat!”
