Argyle diamond mine
The open pit of the Argyle diamond mine. A large mining truck is visible on the road for scale.
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| Location | |
|---|---|
| Location | Lake Argyle |
| State | Western Australia |
| Country | Australia |
| Coordinates | 16°42′44″S 128°23′51″E / 16.71222°S 128.39750°ECoordinates: 16°42′44″S 128°23′51″E / 16.71222°S 128.39750°E |
| Production | |
| Products | Diamonds |
| History | |
| Opened | 1985 |
| Owner | |
| Company | Rio Tinto Group |
| Website | http://www.argylediamonds.com.au/ |
The Argyle Diamond Mine is a diamond mine located in the East Kimberley region in the remote north of Western Australia. Argyle is the largest diamond producer in the world by volume, although due to the low proportion of gem-quality diamonds it is set to close by 2020. It is the only known significant source of pink and red diamonds, producing over 90% of the world's supply. It additionally provides a large proportion of other naturally coloured diamonds, including champagne, cognac and rare blue diamonds. On June 21, 2015, after more than 11 years and 42 kilometres of tunnelling, the Argyle underground block cave development was officially completed. In 2013, Argyle is estimated to produce 10.2 million carats with an average per carat price of $25/carat.
The Argyle diamond mine is also notable for being the first successful commercial diamond mine exploiting a volcanic pipe of lamproite, rather than the more usual kimberlite pipe; much earlier attempts to mine diamonds from a lamproite pipe in Arkansas, USA were commercially unsuccessful. The Argyle mine is owned by the Rio Tinto Group, a diversified mining company which also owns the Diavik Diamond Mine in Canada and the Murowa Diamond Mine in Zimbabwe.
The mine site covers about 50 ha (124 acres), stretching in a mostly linear shape about 1600 m (5,200 ft) long and 150 to 600 m (500 to 2,000 ft) wide. The mine is of open pit construction, and reaches about 600 m (1,900 ft) deep at its deepest point. The open cut closed in 2010.
An underground block cave mine is currently under development, and is likely to extend Argyle's diamond production until 2018.
The Argyle diamond mine is located in the Kimberley region in the far northeast of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is located to the southwest of Lake Argyle in the Matsu Ranges, about 550 km (340 mi) southwest of Darwin. Because it is 185 km (115 mi) by road from the nearest settlement (Kununurra), a complete residential camp has been constructed on site. Most of the 520 workers commute from Perth, over 2,000 km (1,200 mi) away, for alternating two-week shifts at the mine. The mine has encouraged local employment and has a large number of indigenous local people working within the mine.
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