The next life of the Argyle diamond mine

 

Landforming by the 1Q 2026, monitoring 10 years 

Diamonds may be forever, but the mines they come from are just a short chapter in the story of the surrounding land. The Argyle diamond mine lies in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, on the traditional Country of the Miriwoong and Gija people.

“The completion of the Argyle process plant infrastructure removal is a major milestone for the project. Our demolition contract partner, Liberty Industrial collaborated with the Rio Tinto team to plan and safely execute this scope of work” Matt, Project Manager, Argyle Closure, said.    

During 37 years of operation, the mine produced rare, natural-coloured diamonds, supplying more than 90% of the world’s natural red, pink and violet diamonds. The conditions that formed them are unlikely to occur again on earth.    

Production at the mine stopped in late 2020 and now the site is being rehabilitated in a process called closure execution. We’re on track to finish demolition, land forming and revegetation by the first quarter of 2026, followed by a projected monitoring and maintenance period of at least 10 years.  

“Argyle is a special place in a beautiful location and we're working really hard to rehabilitate the site and return it in the best state possible to the natural environment” said Melissa, Argyle’s General Manager.