【Kimberley, W】Rare Huge White Diamond Found at Argyle Mine in Western Australia

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Editor’s Note

The Argyle mine, a legendary source of Australian diamonds, has yielded what may be one of its final significant discoveries: a rare 28.84-carat white diamond named the Argyle Octavia.

A Final Major Discovery

A huge white diamond has been discovered at the Argyle mine in the East Kimberley region of Western Australia, likely one of the last significant finds from this iconic Australian diamond mine.

The 28.84-carat octahedral diamond, named the Argyle Octavia, was discovered in March.

“The mine doesn’t produce many of this shape or colour or clarity,” said Andrew Wilson, general manager of Argyle operations.
“In the 36 years of mining, there’s probably been 20 diamonds of this size, over 20 carats.”

The massive diamond dwarfs most others mined at the site.

Surviving the Process

Mr. Wilson said it was rare for a diamond of this size to survive the mining process intact.

“To find one that can go all the way through our crusher, all the way through the sorting process, to where we can pick it up … it’s very unusual for it to come out as a fully formed diamond,” he said.
Argyle’s Last Hurrah

Diamonds may be forever, but diamond mines are not. With the Argyle mine set to close in 2020, this could be one of its last large diamonds.

“Everyone’s excited, there’s a lot of people on the mining site that work very hard to find these diamonds, so it’s exciting for everyone to find this one,” Mr. Wilson said.
The Search for a Buyer

The search for a buyer now begins, with the diamond to be taken to Antwerp, Belgium, the world’s diamond trading capital, for sale.

The company is reluctant to value the diamond before the search for a buyer begins.

“It will go to Antwerp and go through our tender process and the market will determine its value,” Mr. Wilson said, adding that the diamond would be sold as a rough stone.
“Let’s hope someone is passionate about Argyle diamonds from Western Australia … hopefully we get a chance to see it set in a nice piece of jewellery.”

The diamond weighs a staggering 28.84 carats.

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⏰ Published on: April 24, 2019