World ‘s Most 7 awaited Diamond Mines
Globally, the top ten diamond mines by measurable reserves have more than one billion carats of recoverable diamonds. Russia houses half of the world’s biggest diamond mines, while Botswana houses two. In addition to alluvial diamond mining projects, Mining-technology.com profiles the top ten biggest mines. Here is the 7 world’s most awaited diamond mines.
- Aikhal
Aikhal is the world’s largest diamond mine, located in Sakha (Yakutia), Republic of Russia. The Jubilee Pipe, the Aikhal Pipe, the Komsomolskaya Pipe, and the Zaria Pipe are among the deposits estimated to have 175.56 million carats (Mct) of proven and probable reserves as of July 2018.
2.Jwaneng
The Jwaneng diamond mine in Botswana is an open-pit mine located 160 mines south-west of Gaborone. It was estimated to contain proven and probable diamond reserves of 166.6Mct as of December 2018
3.Udachny
A diamond mine in Yakutia, Russia, named Udachny, is the third-largest diamond mine according to reserve size. the mine is owned and operated by Alrosa’s Aikhal mining and processing division owns and operates the diamond mine.
There is an open-pit method of mining used in the development of Jubilee and Komsomolskaya pipes. Jubilee is currently operating at a depth of 390 meters, with a planned ultimate depth of 720 meters.
4.Nyurba
Nyurba is a surface mine located 200 km northwest of Nyurba, Russia. It belongs to Alrosa and is exploited by the mining and treatment division of Nyurba. mine consists of three deposits, including Nyurbinskaya Pipe, Botuobinskaya Pipe and Maiskoye Kimberlite Body. They together contained an estimated 132.75Mct of proven and probable reserves as of July 2018.
5.Orapa
The Orapa Diamond Mine is located 240 km west of Francistown in the centre of Botswana. The open pit was considered to have 131.2Mt of proven and probable reserves as of December 2018.
Producing since 1971, Orapa is the oldest of the four diamond mines operated by Debswana. Mining is currently being undertaken at a depth of 250m and is expected to reach 450m by 2026.
6.Catoca
The Catoca diamond mine is an open-pit located near Saurimo, roughly 840km east of Luanda, Angola. It is estimated to contain up to 130Mct of mineable diamonds.
7.Ekati
The Ekati diamond mine is located in the Lac de Gras region of Northwest Territories in Canada. Operational since October 1998, it is the country’s first open-pit and underground diamond mine that started production. Owned and operated by Dominion Diamond Mines, the Ekati diamond mine is estimated to contain 105.4Mct of proven and probable reserves as of January 2017.
Mining activities during the initial years of development were focused on six surface mines, including Beartooth, Fox, Koala, Koala North, Misery and Panda, as well as three underground mines Koala, Koala North, and Panda.
