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Davenport Laroche
gems Report march 2015
The Top Ten Largest Diamond Mines in
the World
This month’s gemstones feature is going to
look at the ten largest diamond mines in the
world. Responsible for more than 50% of all
diamond output (approximately 65%); these
mines are of huge global significance to the
entire industry.
1. Jubilee
The site is estimated to contain more than
153 million carats of recoverable diamonds,
including 51 million carats (Mct) of probable
underground reserves. It is located in Russia
and run by the Aikhal mining and processing
division of Russia’s state-owned diamond
company Alrosa. It has been in operation
since 1986 and produced 10.4 Mega Tonnes
of ore in 2012.
2. Udachny
The Udachny mine can be found in the
same region of Russia as the Jubilee mine.
As of January 2013, it is estimated that the
mine has 152Mct. It is on track to become
the largest mine in the world. Discovered in
1955, the mine is one of the deepest openpit mines in the world, producing 10Mct of
diamonds a year.
in 2009 and the site is estimated to have
produced one million carats in 2014.
4. Argyle
Argyle is the highest ranking mine that is not
found in Russia, but instead is in Western
Australia. It is estimated to contain 140Mct
of diamonds. It ranks as the world’s biggest
diamond mine if JORC reserves alone are
taken into account. Owned and operated by
Rio Tinto, the mine has been in production
since 1983 with peak production expected to
hit 20Mct a year.
It is currently transitioning from an open-pit
to an underground mine but could be out of
service by 2020.
5. Catoca
Located in Angola, the Catoca is the largest
mine in Africa and the fifth largest diamond
mine in the world. The mine is a joint
venture with state-owned diamond company
Endiama (32.8%), Alrosa (32.8%), China
and state oil producer Sonangol (18%) and
Odebrecht of Brazil (16.4%). It has been in
operation since 1993 and accounts for 70%
of the country’s diamond output.
6. Venetia
3. Mir
The underground diamond mine is also
based in Yakutia, Russia and was estimated
to contain more than 141Mct of probable
diamond reserves as of January 2013.
Underground operations recommenced
Owned and operated by De Beers, the
Venetia diamond mine is estimated to
contain more than 102Mct. It is based in
South Africa and is the country’s largest
mine. It produced 3.066Mct of diamonds
from 5.618Mt of ore in 2012. The open-pit
operation is expected to continue up to
2021, after which it will be converted into
underground mining.
7. Grib
Another mine based in Russia, Grib is an
open-pit diamond mine estimated to contain
over 98Mct. The Grib mine is owned and
operated by Lukoil through its subsidiary,
AGD. With production commencing in June
2013, the site is planned to go underground
after 16 years of open-pit operation.
8. Jwaneng
Regarded as the “richest” diamond mine in
the world in terms of value, the Jwaneng
mine is estimated to contain roughly 88Mctof
diamond reserves. It is located in Botswana,
Africa and is owned, in partnership between
the country’s government and De Beers.
9. Orapa
Another mine based in Botswana, the Orapa
mine, has been in production since 1971
and is the largest diamond mine in the world
by area. The open-pit mine is estimated to
contain 85.7Mctof diamond reserves. Orapa
produced 11.089Mct of diamonds in 2012,
compared to 11.158Mct in 2011.
10. Botuobinskaya
The Botuobinskaya mine in Russia
completes the list of the top ten mines in
the world. It is estimated to contain roughly
70Mct and will not actually commence
production until 2015. The Botuobinskaya
mine is expected to produce 1.5Mct of
diamonds annually for more than 40 years
from the start of operations.
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