By: Cole Reynolds
Valentine’s Day has come and gone, and many of us have treated either ourselves or someone we know on that day. As I was looking for jewellery for someone, I started realizing most of the necklaces, rings and earrings I came across were out of my budget, especially the diamond ones. With OSAP debt looming in the back of my mind, I started questioning why diamonds are so rare and so expensive. With that, I started to do some digging, pun not intended.
Diamonds in the Rough
Most diamonds are formed under intense temperature and pressure deep in the mantle. There is an area in the mantle called the diamond stability zone, where carbon-rich melt is under around 1000 degrees Celcius and 60 kilobars of pressure. The carbon in this stability zone must also be reduced enough to not allow any oxygen bonding, allowing the carbon to bond tetrahedrally to each other. This perfect formation gives it its hardness. Diamonds are brought to the surface through deep volcanic activity which bring mantle rock to the crust. The specific conditions in which it forms make it rare enough to fetch a pretty price tag.
What’s Mine is Yours
The type of rock that are associated with diamonds are called kimberlite. Many early diamond mines were open pit mines; large deposits of kimberlite can be found by geologists and the diamond was excavated from them. Kimberlite deposits are carrot shaped; more expansive on the surface and narrower further down. Many open pit mines become underground drilling sites, such as the Ekati Mine in the Northwest Territories.
Great White North
Canada is the 3rd largest diamond producer in the world, in terms of carats mined. This was kind of surprising, considering Canada isn’t the country people think of when talking about diamond mines. Ekati was the first mine in Canada, starting its production in 1998, and is expected to be in mined until 2020. Canadian diamonds have very high quality and clarity compared to other diamonds around the world. Canadian diamonds are mined as sustainably as possible, with fair worker’s rights being upheld at all Canadian mines. There’s a price on quality, but that shine is priceless.
References
https://www.ehudlaniado.com/home/index.php/news/entry/how-diamond-mines-are-formed-how-we-find-them-and-how-we-decide-whether-or-not-to-mine-them
https://www.gia.edu/gems-gemology/winter-2018-how-do-diamonds-form-in-the-deep-earth
https://geology.com/articles/canada-diamond-mines/
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-can-graphite-and-diam/