Editing Diamond (section)

=== Mining ===
{{See also|List of diamond mines|Exploration diamond drilling}}

Approximately {{convert|130000000|carat|kg}} of diamonds are mined annually, with a total value of nearly US$9&nbsp;billion, and about {{convert|100000|kg|abbr=on}} are synthesized annually.<ref name=yarnell>{{cite journal|vauthors=Yarnell A|title=The Many Facets of Man-Made Diamonds|url=http://pubs.acs.org/cen/coverstory/8205/8205diamonds.html|journal=[[Chemical and Engineering News]]|volume=82|issue=5|pages=26–31|year=2004|doi=10.1021/cen-v082n005.p026|access-date=October 3, 2006|archive-date=October 28, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081028181945/http://pubs.acs.org/cen/coverstory/8205//8205diamonds.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Roughly 49% of diamonds originate from [[Central Africa|Central]] and [[Southern Africa]], although significant sources of the mineral have been discovered in [[Canada]], [[India]], [[Russia]], [[Brazil]], and [[Australia]].<ref name=usgs/> They are mined from kimberlite and lamproite volcanic pipes, which can bring diamond crystals, originating from deep within the Earth where high pressures and temperatures enable them to form, to the surface. The mining and distribution of natural diamonds are subjects of frequent controversy such as concerns over the sale of ''[[blood diamond]]s'' or ''conflict diamonds'' by African [[paramilitary]] groups.<ref name=conflict>{{cite web|title=Conflict Diamonds |url=https://www.un.org/peace/africa/Diamond.html |publisher=United Nations |date=March 21, 2001 |access-date=May 5, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100309083348/http://www.un.org/peace/africa/Diamond.html |archive-date=March 9, 2010 }}</ref> The diamond supply chain is controlled by a limited number of powerful businesses, and is also highly concentrated in a small number of locations around the world.

Only a very small fraction of the diamond ore consists of actual diamonds. The ore is crushed, during which care is required not to destroy larger diamonds, and then sorted by density. Today, diamonds are located in the diamond-rich density fraction with the help of [[X-ray fluorescence]], after which the final sorting steps are done by hand. Before the use of [[X-ray]]s became commonplace,<ref name=x50/> the separation was done with grease belts; diamonds have a stronger tendency to stick to grease than the other minerals in the ore.<ref name=harlow>{{cite book| vauthors = Harlow GE |title=The nature of diamonds|pages=223, 230–249|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_WI86J88ydAC&pg=PA223|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=1998|isbn=978-0-521-62935-5}}</ref>

[[File:Udachnaya pipe.JPG|thumb|[[Siberia]]'s Udachnaya diamond mine]]
[[File:Diamond 4.jpg|thumb|The slightly misshapen octahedral shape of this rough diamond crystal in matrix is typical of the mineral. Its lustrous faces also indicate that this crystal is from a primary deposit|alt=A clear octahedral stone protrudes from a black rock]]

Historically, diamonds were found only in [[alluvial deposit]]s in [[Guntur district|Guntur]] and [[Krishna district]] of the [[Krishna River]] delta in [[Southern India]].<ref>{{cite book| vauthors = Catelle WR |title=The Diamond|publisher=John Lane Co.|year=1911|page=159}}</ref> India led the world in diamond production from the time of their discovery in approximately the 9th century BC<ref name=hershey/><ref>{{cite book| vauthors = Ball V |chapter=1|title=Diamonds, Gold and Coal of India|url=https://archive.org/details/diamondscoalgold00ballrich |page=[https://archive.org/details/diamondscoalgold00ballrich/page/n12 1]|publisher=Trübner & Co|location=London|year=1881}} Ball was a geologist in British service.</ref> to the mid-18th century AD, but the commercial potential of these sources had been exhausted by the late 18th century and at that time India was eclipsed by Brazil where the first non-Indian diamonds were found in 1725.<ref name=hershey/> Currently, one of the most prominent Indian mines is located at [[Panna District|Panna]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.9newz.com/mail-today-biggest-diamond-found-in-panna|title=Biggest diamond found in Panna|date=July 1, 2010|publisher=Mail Today|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707071636/http://www.9newz.com/mail-today-biggest-diamond-found-in-panna|archive-date=July 7, 2011}}</ref>

Diamond extraction from primary deposits (kimberlites and lamproites) started in the 1870s after the discovery of the [[Diamond Fields]] in South Africa.<ref>{{cite book | title = Encyclopedia of African history | vauthors = Shillington K | page = 767 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Ftz_gtO-pngC&pg=PA767 | publisher = CRC Press | isbn = 978-1-57958-453-5 | year = 2005 | access-date = November 9, 2020 | archive-date = November 9, 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20231109173804/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ftz_gtO-pngC&pg=PA767#v=onepage&q&f=false | url-status = live }}</ref> Production has increased over time and now an accumulated total of {{convert|4500000000|carat|kg}} have been mined since that date.<ref name=giasummer2007>{{cite journal| vauthors = Janse AJ |title=Global Rough Diamond Production Since 1870|journal=Gems & Gemology|volume=43|pages=98–119|year=2007|doi=10.5741/GEMS.43.2.98|issue=2|bibcode=2007GemG...43...98J }}</ref> Twenty percent of that amount has been mined in the last five years, and during the last 10 years, nine new mines have started production; four more are waiting to be opened soon. Most of these mines are located in Canada, Zimbabwe, Angola, and one in Russia.<ref name=giasummer2007/>

In the U.S., diamonds have been found in [[Arkansas]], [[Colorado]], [[New Mexico]], Wyoming, and [[Montana]].<ref name=DGemGLorenz>{{cite journal | vauthors = Lorenz V |title=Argyle in Western Australia: The world's richest diamantiferous pipe; its past and future |journal=Gemmologie, Zeitschrift der Deutschen Gemmologischen Gesellschaft |volume=56 |issue=1–2 |pages=35–40 |year=2007}}</ref><ref name=Montana>{{cite web |title=Microscopic diamond found in Montana |url=http://www.montanastandard.com/articles/2004/10/18/featuresbusiness/hjjfijicjbhdjc.txt | vauthors = Cooke S |work=[[The Montana Standard]] |date=October 17, 2004 |access-date=May 5, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050121085707/http://www.montanastandard.com/articles/2004/10/18/featuresbusiness/hjjfijicjbhdjc.txt |archive-date=January 21, 2005}}</ref> In 2004, the discovery of a microscopic diamond in the U.S. led to the January 2008 bulk-sampling of [[kimberlite pipe]]s in a remote part of Montana. The [[Crater of Diamonds State Park]] in [[Arkansas]] is open to the public, and is the only mine in the world where members of the public can dig for diamonds.<ref name=Montana/>

Today, most commercially viable diamond deposits are in Russia (mostly in [[Sakha Republic]], for example [[Mir Mine|Mir pipe]] and [[Udachnaya pipe]]), [[Botswana]], Australia ([[Northern Australia|Northern]] and [[Western Australia]]) and the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]].<ref>{{cite web| vauthors = Marshall S, Shore J |title=The Diamond Life|url=http://gnn.tv/videos/2/The_Diamond_Life|publisher=[[Guerrilla News Network]]|year=2004|access-date=March 21, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070126235556/http://gnn.tv/videos/2/The_Diamond_Life|archive-date=January 26, 2007}}</ref> In 2005, Russia produced almost one-fifth of the global diamond output, according to the [[British Geological Survey]]. Australia boasts the richest diamantiferous pipe, with production from the Argyle diamond mine reaching peak levels of 42{{nbsp}}metric tons per year in the 1990s.<ref name=DGemGLorenz/><ref>{{cite journal| vauthors = Shigley JE, Chapman J, Ellison RK |year=2001|title=Discovery and Mining of the Argyle Diamond Deposit, Australia|journal=Gems & Gemology |volume=37|issue=1|pages=26–41 |url=http://www.argylediamonds.com.au/docs/gems_and_gemology.pdf|access-date=February 20, 2010|doi=10.5741/GEMS.37.1.26|bibcode=2001GemG...37...26S |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090930095856/http://www.argylediamonds.com.au/docs/gems_and_gemology.pdf|archive-date=September 30, 2009}}</ref> There are also commercial deposits being actively mined in the [[Northwest Territories]] of Canada and Brazil.<ref name=usgs/> Diamond prospectors continue to search the globe for diamond-bearing kimberlite and lamproite pipes.

==== Political issues ====
{{Main|Kimberley Process|Blood diamond|Child labour in the diamond industry}}
{{wikibooks|Development Cooperation Handbook|Stories/Unsustainable Growth|Unsustainable Growth}}
[[File:Unsustainable Growth.webm|thumb|Unsustainable diamond mining in Sierra Leone. Documentary as part of the Vrinda Project for Wikibooks]]

In some of the more politically unstable central African and west African countries, revolutionary groups have taken control of [[List of diamond mines|diamond mines]], using proceeds from diamond sales to finance their operations. Diamonds sold through this process are known as ''conflict diamonds'' or ''blood diamonds''.<ref name=conflict/>

In response to public concerns that their diamond purchases were contributing to war and [[human rights abuses]] in [[central Africa|central]] and [[West Africa|western]] Africa, the [[United Nations]], the diamond industry and diamond-trading nations introduced the [[Kimberley Process]] in 2002.<ref name=kimb>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hWrEcl2ydzEC&pg=PA305|pages=305–313|title=Resource politics in Sub-Saharan Africa|vauthors=Basedau M, Mehler A|year=2005|publisher=GIGA-Hamburg|isbn=978-3-928049-91-7|access-date=November 9, 2020|archive-date=November 9, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109173806/https://books.google.com/books?id=hWrEcl2ydzEC&pg=PA305#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> The Kimberley Process aims to ensure that conflict diamonds do not become intermixed with the diamonds not controlled by such rebel groups. This is done by requiring diamond-producing countries to provide proof that the money they make from selling the diamonds is not used to fund criminal or revolutionary activities. Although the Kimberley Process has been moderately successful in limiting the number of conflict diamonds entering the market, some still find their way in. According to the International Diamond Manufacturers Association, conflict diamonds constitute 2–3% of all diamonds traded.<ref>{{cite book|title=World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) and International Diamond Manufacturers Association: Joint Resolution of 19 July 2000|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fnRnyS7I9cYC&pg=PA334|publisher=World Diamond Council|date=July 19, 2000|access-date=November 5, 2006|isbn=978-90-04-13656-4|archive-date=November 9, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109173808/https://books.google.com/books?id=fnRnyS7I9cYC&pg=PA334#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> Two major flaws still hinder the effectiveness of the Kimberley Process: (1) the relative ease of smuggling diamonds across African borders, and (2) the violent nature of diamond mining in nations that are not in a technical state of war and whose diamonds are therefore considered "clean".<ref name=kimb/>

The Canadian Government has set up a body known as the Canadian Diamond Code of Conduct<ref>{{cite web |title=Voluntary Code of Conduct For Authenticating Canadian Diamond Claims |url=http://www.canadiandiamondcodeofconduct.ca/images/EN_CDCC_Committee_Procedures.pdf |publisher=Canadian Diamond Code Committee|year=2006|access-date=October 30, 2007|archive-date=February 29, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229233018/http://www.canadiandiamondcodeofconduct.ca/images/EN_CDCC_Committee_Procedures.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> to help authenticate Canadian diamonds. This is a stringent tracking system of diamonds and helps protect the "conflict free" label of Canadian diamonds.<ref>{{cite journal| vauthors = Kjarsgaard BA, Levinson AA |title=Diamonds in Canada|journal=Gems and Gemology|volume=38|issue=3|pages=208–238|year=2002|doi=10.5741/GEMS.38.3.208|doi-access=free|bibcode=2002GemG...38..208K }}</ref>

Mineral resource exploitation in general causes irreversible environmental damage, which must be weighed against the socio-economic benefits to a country.<ref>A meta-analysis of the environmental impact specific to diamond mining is in {{Cite report | vauthors = Oluleye G | title = Environmental Impacts of Mined Diamonds |publisher=Imperial College London Consultants |url=https://www.imperial-consultants.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Final-report-Environmental-Impacts-of-Mined-Diamonds-updated-8-21.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211203093203/https://www.imperial-consultants.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Final-report-Environmental-Impacts-of-Mined-Diamonds-updated-8-21.pdf |archive-date=December 3, 2021 |url-status=live |access-date=July 1, 2022}} <!-- NOTE ON DATE: They don't put a date on the case study's page. The page copyright is 2019, but the upload is dated 2021/02, and the report itself cites a 2020 study. Case study url: https://www.imperial-consultants.co.uk/casestudies/meta-study-environmental-impact-of-diamond-mining/ --> <!-- OLD VERSION: https://www.imperial-consultants.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Final-report-Environmental-Impacts-of-Mined-Diamonds.pdf --></ref>