According to a new research published in Nature Communications, researchers have found the “missing ingredient” for pink diamonds.
- More than 90% of all the pink diamonds ever found come from a single mine in the Kimberley region of Western Australia: Argyle.
- At Argyle, diamonds crystallised deep in Earth’s interior were brought to the surface when a supercontinent, Nuna, began to break apart.
- As continents break up, their edges stretch, allowing small pockets of diamond-rich magma to rise to the surface.
- Only about 20% of mined diamonds are of gemstone quality.
- Diamonds are made of carbon atoms arranged in a compact, regular lattice.
- Clear, perfect diamonds sparkle because light reflects off their internal surfaces. However, when diamonds are subject to intense pressure deep inside Earth, the lattice of atoms can twist and bend. This causes small imperfections that diffract light and bring colour to the gem.
- All diamonds are found in pipelike volcanoes, or in their eroded remnants. These volcanoes have deep roots under continents, which is where diamonds reside.
