Diamonds are made up entirely of carbon. Pressure (diamonds can't form above 100 miles below the earths crust) and temperature (750+ degrees F) are the factors that ?change? the diamond from mere carbon into a treasured commodity. After millions of years undergoing this pressure and heat, the rough stones are settled in diamond-bearing rock and from there, wait for a volcanic eruption to bring them to the surface. Diamond Mining Techniques
Pipe Mining: Primary Source-refers to the process of diamonds emerging to the earth's surface in host rocks through volcanic pipes, which are pathways between the earth's mantle and surface.
When an eruption occurs, other materials are carried up along with the magma, or lava. If the eruption originates far enough down in the earths surface, it could contain diamond-bearing rock, usually kimberlite or lamproite.
These eruptions must be extremely forceful and move at high speeds, for if the diamonds remain in the magna for a long period of time, they could burn up if the temperatures or turn to graphite.
From here, they conduct a process called open mining where the surface remnants are inspected for diamonds. Once those are exhausted, large shafts are plunged into the ground next to the volcanic pipes and more diamond-bearing rock is recovered, and taken to a screening plant where the soil is separated from the diamonds.
Diamond Mining Alluvial Mining: Secondary Source- Refers to the removal of rough diamonds that have been relocated to oceans and riverbeds through erosion.
After an eruption occurs, some of the diamond bearing rock is displaced, often settling in ocean beaches and river beds. To extract this valuable substance, a process of Alluvial Mining is conducted. In order to remove the rock from these areas, the water must be pushed aside to get to the floor of the ocean or river. Usually a wall of mud and stone is constructed. From there, the miners using bulldozers or pumps bring the rock to the surface. It is then taken to a screening plant where the soil and silt can be separated from the rough diamonds. Rough Diamond Quality
After the rough diamonds are mined, less than 20% are gem-quality, the other 80% have other uses. If not gem?quality, they fall into one of two other categories Near Gem-Quality or Industrial use diamonds.
Gem Quality: Approximately 20% of diamonds mined fall into this category. These are high enough in quality to be used in diamond jewelry. They range in clarity from Flawless to Visible Inclusions.
Near Gem Quality: These fall in a category between gem quality and industrial, so they need to be individually evaluated to determine if they could be used in jewelry in some way or if the quality is just to poor they are used in industrial ways. They range in clarity from Visible Inclusions to industrial quality.
Industrial Quality: These diamonds are badly included stones and are functional only for industrial use; for example drills and saws or earthmoving equipment. These are categorized as industrial quality clarity. Mining Facts
* Orapa diamond mine largest diamond mine-located in Bostwana, Africa * Diamonds are a world wide source, mines are found in 25 countries and on all continents except Antarctica. * Antarctica is thought to have an abundance of diamonds to be mined, but international accords prohibit mining there * While America is the largest purchaser of diamonds than any other country, the US has only one diamond mine, located in Arkansas * At least 200 tons of ore needs to be extracted and processed to product a single one carat gem quality diamond * Only 20% of diamonds mined are gem quality stones
KP: I have been involved in environmental monitoring and assessment of diamond mines in the NWT for about 5 years, designing, assessing and reviewing wildlife programs.
I have come at this from the perspective of an independent consultant designing and reviewing monitoring wildlife programs, and more recently as a member of the Independent Environmental Monitoring Agency, a public watchdog for environmental monitoring of BHP Billiton's Ekati diamond mine.
FJ: Who owns the land that the mines are on and how are these mines impacting the environment and wildlife?
KP: I am not certain, but I believe most of the mines are Crown land owned by the Federal government. Mines of this nature have an impact on the environment and wildlife at some scale.
The Ekati mine, for example, currently has a 20 km2 footprint. This leads to local displacement of small mammals and birds and impacts to the vegetation.
At a larger scale these NWT diamond mines have made great efforts to minimize and mitigate potential impacts to the environment.
Some changes to the aquatic and terrestrial systems have occurred, but these are minimized and contained to the greatest degree possible.
Thus, while there are still potential impacts that are currently being addressed and uncertainties in the system that require further monitoring, on the whole these mines operate in an environmentally sound manner.
FJ: Can you have a sense of how this economic development is affecting the Native communities, for better or worse?
KP: Socio-economic impacts are not my specialty, but these mines appear to have produced well-paying, long-term training and employment for Aboriginal peoples in communities scattered across the north.
In areas where opportunities for economic advancement are limited, I believe this has tended to smooth the boom and bust cycle of resource development that has occurred in the past in some areas.
This obviously has had an impact on the traditional Aboriginal lifestyle practiced by most Northerners until recently.
FJ: I've heard from others that Yellowknife is a boomtown which brings on a whole set of problems. Any sense of this?
KP: I lived in Yellowknife for 15 years in the 1980s and 1990s, leaving just as the Ekati mine, Canada's first diamond mine, was being constructed.
Situated where it is, and depending heavily on resource extraction (the town was built on two gold mines),
Yellowknife has always had a frontier/boomtown flavor. The diamond mines have definitely intensified this milieu.
FJ: Diamond mining is expanding in the region. What do you view as the critical, ongoing environmental risks as mining expends?
KP: The main risk is to ensure that the cumulative impacts of all human activity do not adversely affect the environment, specifically wildlife.
Any one mine on its own may produce relatively minor, localized impacts, but in concert with all other activity, all these sources of development (mining developments, communities, camps, lodges, etc.) may exceed some threshold that could cause negative impacts.
Some wildlife in the north have huge annual ranges that have the potential to interact with sources of disturbance across a broad area.
FJ: In your opinion, are all mines the same in terms of impact on the environment, or are some better managed than others? What I'm trying to understand is whether or not a particular site has a more onerous reputation than other sites.
KP: In this day and age, I suggest all mines in the North have environmental standards that are far superior to those which occurred in the past. There are a multitude of regulatory requirements, licenses, and permits that are required to construct and operate a mine, and a host of regulatory agencies that monitor this process.
That said, each company has a subtly different approach to the process, which means that some are indeed easier to work with and better managed than other.
FJ: Would you recommend a Canadian diamond to your environmentally activists friends?
KP: If a diamond is in someone's plans, yes, without hesitation.
FJ: Anything else that you'd like to ad?
KP: Readers may wish to visit the IEMA website for updates on our review of the environmental program at Ekati.
Similar websites are available for the other 2 operations diamond mines in the NWT.
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