Table of Contents
IN NEWS
- Name of the mine- Argyle mine.
- Location- North-West Australia.
- Owner- Rio Tinto Group.
- The world’s biggest diamond mine is being shut by Rio Tinto Group after almost 4 decades. (1983)
ABOUT ARGYLE MINE
- It is the largest diamond producing mine in the world by volume, averaging annual production of 8 million carats.
- Since operations began in 1983, Argyle’s open pit mine has produced over 75,00,00,000 carats.
- Only 5% of mined diamonds here are of gem quality.
- It is the only known significant source of pink diamonds, producing over 90% of the world’s supply.
WHAT’S SO UNIQUE ABOUT PINK DIAMONDS
- They are the rarest diamonds in the world.
- One in a million diamonds discovered worldwide might be pink.
- A pink diamond is worth between 15 and 50 times as much as an equivalent white.
WHY THE MINE IS CLOSING?
- The Argyle mine will exhaust its supply of economically viable stones by 2020.
- Hence it is scheduled to close by the end of next year.
KIMBERLEY PROCESS CERTIFICATION SCHEME
- It is the process established in 2003 to prevent “conflict diamonds” from entering the mainstream.
- Conflict Diamonds or Blood Diamonds are diamonds mined in a war zone and sold to finance an insurgency or war.
- The process was set up to ensure that diamond purchases were not financing violence.
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