Where Diamonds Are Mined

The most expensive stone in the world is mostly found in South Africa. This is perhaps the reason why colonizers in history targeted this part of the globe which is enriched in diamond fields. However, several mining areas are also located in other countries such as Canada and Australia which enjoy a significant share in diamond production.

• Baken Diamond Mine

This mine is known to produce an average size of stone weighing 1.29 carats in the year 2004. In the same year, a fantastic production of 78.9 carat D color solid diamond was achieved which raked a $1.8 million sales. A pink diamond weighing 27.67 carats was also produced which was sold for more than US$1 million. This diamond mine is situated in South Africa, along the river banks of Orange River. Trans Hex owns and operates this mine.

• The Premier Mine

This is now called Cullinan Diamond Mine which was renamed by its owner, De Beers Co. to honor the place where it is located. This mine produced the Golden Jubille diamond which has a weight of 545.67 carats. This mine is found in Cullinan, South Africa.

• Orapa Mine

This is the biggest diamond mine in the whole world and is located 240 km. West of Francistown. The mining structures were built thru the cooperation between De Beers and the Botswana government. It has a 100-bed hospital for its employees and a wide entertainment park for their families. Two schools for children were also built - a pre-primary and a primary school. The mine has 7 days operating period within the week.

• Argye Mine

This is owned and operated by Rio Tinto in the Northeast of Australia, specifically in the Kimberley region. This mine is considered the world's biggest lone producer of diamonds in volume. It supplies 90-95% of pink diamonds in the world. But due to their low quality compared to others, it is not tagged as the value leader.

• Merlin Mine

This mine is no longer operational since it was sold by Rio Tinto to Striker resources. This buyer tried to reach all possibilities to reactivate the operations of the mine but found it no longer feasible due to complicated reasons.

• Diavik Mine

This is also owned and operated by Rio Tinto in the North Yellow Knife, South of Arctic Circle in Canada. This is a large mine which employs an estimated 700 employees and produces more than 8 million carats of diamonds yearly.

• Ekati Mine

This is the first active mine in the South of the Arctic Circle, Northwest of Canada. It is owned by BHP Billiton which also owns the diamond authenticity verifier, Canada Mark Service. The diamonds produced by this mine are sold under the trade name - Aurias.

So far, no other mines have been built which can match the volume and authenticity of diamond production in these mining resources. To date, they are still the largest and well known producers of quality diamonds in the world