With every purchase over $2500.
Diamond Mining | Diamond Australia Russia South-Africa
Diamond mining isn’t restricted to just one country, and today the diamond industry draws upon diamond mining sources right around the world.
Today, the major players in diamond mining are:
Australia: In 1979, geologists discovered significant numbers of diamonds in a river bed near the dam of Lake Argyle. The higher quality diamonds remain in Perth where they are polished. The diamonds recovered from the Argyle mine are prepared for sale by Rio Tinto Diamonds, as an agent for Argyle Diamonds in Antwerp. Rough diamond sales are conducted every six weeks in Antwerp, where professionals can view product and discuss requirements.
Russia: Annual production is estimated between 10 and 15 percent of world volume. The country has become more active in polishing and cutting as a result of low salary manufacturing opportunities. It is accepted in diamond mining circles that the most commercially viable diamond deposits are today located in Russia.
South Africa: Around 49% of the world’s diamonds come from the central and southern regions of Africa. The region has several diamond mines including Kimberly, Finsh and Premier. Mines in this region are owned mostly by De Beers. The De Beers company is the world’s largest diamond miner. It has been dominant in the industry virtually since it was founded in 1888 by Cecil Rhodes, a British Imperialist. For the greater part of the 20th Century, over 80% of the world’s rough diamonds were passed through the De Beers company. This has decreased in recent years though, since De Beers sold the majority of its stockpile of diamonds in the late 1990’s/early 2000’s. Apart from diamonds, Southern Africa is an important producer of gold, platinum, vanadium and aluminium.
