India was the first who understood NDs in the globe!

 

For 4,000 years, India was the only source for diamond in the world! 

The process of natural diamond (ND) formation deep in the Earth’s mantle, and the dramatic journey undertaken by the diamonds to reach the surface of Earth means that natural diamonds are innately rare. Diamonds were created billions of years ago when carbon was crystallised by extreme heat and pressures more than 100 miles beneath the Earth’s surface.  

They were brought to the surface millions of years ago in volcanic eruptions, carried as accidental passengers in a lift (travelling at 1,000 km per hour) of lava and molten rock. Most diamonds then remained at the site of the volcanic eruption where the rock solidified as a kimberlite pipe. Some were washed away to lie on river beds, the ocean floor and beaches.  

Even once they reached the surface of the Earth natural diamonds are hard to find. The first diamonds were found in rivers in India. For 4,000 years this was the only known source. The diamonds were prized for their perfect shape, hardness, rarity, fire resistance and intense light. Diamonds have only been found in rock during the last 150 years, and even with the knowledge and techniques that geologists have today finding a diamond mine remains like finding a needle in a haystack. 

Most kimberlite pipes are small (typically with a diameter of 100 – 1,500 metres) and they can be buried under topsoil. The volcano Mount St Helens in Washington State is 150 times bigger than the largest kimberlite that has ever been found.  

De Beers Group has recorded that over the last 140 years almost 7000 kimberlite pipes have been sampled by eologists. Yet only about 60 of these have been deemed sufficiently rich in natural diamonds to be economically viable for large-scale diamond mining companies. 

Today there are about 30 significant natural diamond mines, and only 7 of these can be classified as Tier 1 deposits (those with $20B of reserves97). The annual recovery of diamonds larger than 5 carats from these mines would fit into a basketball while the recovery of stones which are 1 carat and larger have the equivalent volume to an exercise ball. The annual recovery of natural diamonds globally peaked in 2005. Since then, a few new mines have come into production but a number of mines have matured and closed, including Argyle Mine in Australia99 (which for many years accounted for more than 10% of world production), Voorspoed Mine in South Africa and several mines in Canada (such as Renard, Victor and Snap Lake). The net effect has been a significant decline of production over the last 20 years; Kimberley Process statistics demonstrate that production in 2023 was 37% lower than in 2005.  

Looking ahead Diavik mine in Canada is set to close in 2026 and there will be further closures towards the end of the decade. Meanwhile there have been very few discoveries of new deposits in this century and since it typically takes more than 10 years from discovery to first production only a few mines will be coming onstream in the next decade.  

The largest of these will be Luele in Angola. Diamond analyst Paul Zimnisky predicts that production will remain within a range of 115-125 million carats per year to the end of the decade100. said in the Diamond Reports- second edition; Diamond Facts of Natural Diamond Council.