Argyle diamond mine – The Diamond Certification Laboratory of Australia (DCLA)

A Colorful Life: Leibish Shares the Many Hues of His 40-Year Diamond Career

Behind his small and grandfatherly stature is a man who’s not afraid to say anything, and usually does. Leibish Polnauer has been in the diamond industry for over 40 years and runs an extremely successful business. But if not for a crazy fluke and a bit of luck, that business wouldn’t exist.

Polnauer — affectionately known in the trade as simply “Leibish” — welcomed Rapaport’s editorial team to his office in Israel’s diamond bourse to talk about how he got his start, the market for colored diamonds, what he thinks of lab-grown, and how the industry has changed over the years. We also got a sneak peek at some of the jewelry pieces his company is currently working on.

Leibish showing the Rapaport team fancy-colored yellow diamonds.

The train ride epiphany
Around 1980, after several years as a diamond polisher and the loss of his job at a factory that went out of business, Polnauer went to London to try to sell a parcel of diamonds. He didn’t manage to offload a single stone, but on the train, on the way back from his business meetings, he saw an advertisement in The Guardian for crown jeweler Garrard, featuring a pear-shaped, brown diamond. Using his abundance of “Israeli chutzpah,” he called the number and told them he had diamonds to sell. The managing director invited him to his office on Regent Street, where he told Polnauer he was making a tiara for a wedding and needed 106 pear-shaped diamonds in four weeks.

Despite his cheeky admission to our team that at the time he had never even heard of pear-shaped diamonds, Polnauer took on the challenge, flew to New York, and secured the stones needed for the piece. He brought them back to London, and Garrard, thrilled with the selection, cut him his first check for GBP 106,000, equivalent to about GBP 1 million ($1.3 million) today.

A Leibish custom made ring bearing a 5.43-carat Mogok vivid-pink sapphire and green tsavorite.

He used that experience to convince Graff to do business with him. At the time, the jewelry house worked with a sultan whose wife gifted every visitor to their palace with a diamond watch, and Graff was desperate for the pink and yellow diamonds needed to create 50 to 70 watches per year. And thus began Polnauer’s career in the colored-diamond business.

A Leibish custom made flower ring set with a heart-shaped, 0.29-carat, fancy-purplish-red Argyle diamond surrounded by pear-cut, D-color white diamonds

Changing with the times
Throughout the years, Polnauer has watched his business grow from diamond sourcing and manufacturing to include in-house designers that create custom pieces for clients whom they usually never meet face-to-face, but who nevertheless aren’t afraid to drop massive sums of money for a beautiful, original Leibish creation.

One of the most important lessons Polnauer has learned during his time in the colored-diamond industry is that people shop first by color, then by price tag. He has broadened his business to include colored gemstones, because if someone wants a blue diamond but can’t afford it, a sapphire or tanzanite can often present a compelling and cheaper alternative.

Three custom-made rings by Leibish featuring an oval, 8.51-carat, royal blue sapphire; an oval, 5.49-carat emerald; and a cushion-shaped, 3.74-carat, fancy-green-yellow diamond surrounded by white diamonds.

Most of the firm’s clients are wealthy 30- to 60-year-olds who have a penchant for color, because, as Polnauer notes, “color is excitement.” They purchase multiple pieces to match their clothing. One client in Texas bought 13 rings in a two-year period because she loved color. Meanwhile, another client ordered a ring for his wife, who then decided she needed earrings to match. When those were ready, she wanted a necklace to complete the set. Polnauer was more than happy to comply, and in a four-day time span, he saw his bank account padded with an additional $500,000.

A radiant-cut, 1.03-carat, fancy-vivid-purplish-pink Argyle diamond.

But working in the colored-diamond industry isn’t always easy. Recently, the company was tasked with sourcing dozens of matching yellow diamonds to be used for a watch created by Jacob & Co. That search took the company on a two-year, international hunt before they finally filled the commission.

Other changes over his more than four-decade career have also been difficult. He has sadly watched as the Israeli diamond-manufacturing sector has diminished in importance with India’s growth, and learned the meaning of providing added value to customers.

A radiant-cut, 0.71-carat, fancy-red Argyle diamond.

“People used to just want to buy a stone, but now they want to buy a product,” he says. “You have to have an internet business; you have to manufacture jewelry. You also have to really be on point with your presentation. When business was face-to-face, if you screwed someone, he would just walk away upset. Now, with the internet, he doesn’t walk away. If he doesn’t like what he gets, he sends it back, and he writes a bad report about you on Google, and you have to pay for the return shipment, so presentation is crucial.”

No lab-grown zone
While many in the industry have welcomed the advent of lab-grown as a way to make money from clients who can’t always afford natural stones, Polnauer pulls no punches about his dislike of what he calls “fakes.”

He believes lab-grown to be detrimental to the natural-diamond industry, because the fall of synthetic prices “pulls down the price of real diamonds.”

He’s also not shy about making it known how damaging he thinks De Beers was with its marketing of lab-grown.

“De Beers made a tremendous self-destructive move by introducing a product which is undermining the basic product they sell,” he explains. “They cannibalized their own sales and did a tremendous disservice to the industry.”

However, Polnauer believes when it comes to lab-grown, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

“Lab-grown is stealing the story from natural diamonds,” he says. “But there is a saying: ‘When the music stops, the dancing stops,’ so hopefully everything will work out for the best.”

Staying optimistic
His brazenness has seen Polnauer ride out many market ups and downs, the latest challenge being the Israel-Hamas war that started when the latter attacked the country on October 7. When asked if it’s affected his business, he says it has. While he notes that those who want to buy his products still will, and those who don’t never would have anyway, he believes the negative sentiment is “poison” for an industry based on “illusion and sentiment.”

Despite it all, he remains hopeful. When it comes to the future of the trade, he thinks “fancy-colored diamonds will flourish, gemstones will flourish and the jewelry market will flourish, because I’m an optimist, and if you put that positivity out there, everything will work out.”

Source: rapaport

Rio Tinto to Hold Tender of 87 Fancy-Colored Diamonds

Rio Tinto has launched the Beyond Rare Tender, an inaugural collection of 48 lots of polished fancy-colored diamonds.

The miner will offer 87 diamonds in total, including its legacy inventory of pink and red stones from the shuttered Argyle diamond mine in Australia and yellow diamonds from its Diavik site in Canada, it said on Tuesday.

The new collection is “a testimony to the ongoing demand for highly collectible natural diamonds,” said Sinead Kaufman, chief executive of Rio Tinto Minerals. “This carefully curated collection of rare jewels will be in strong demand by the world’s finest jewelers, collectors and diamond connoisseurs.”

Titled The Art Series, the invitation-only tender is inspired by the art world, the company said. The combined weight of the diamonds is 29.96 carats.

They include the following:

Seven diamonds consisting of Argyle pink stones and yellow Diavik ones, which the company says will be accompanied by bespoke artwork.
An offering of 11 matched pairs of colored diamonds.
Thirty single diamonds, including one distinctive fancy-red Argyle diamond.

The closure of the Argyle mine in Australia and the continued strong demand for exceptional fancy pink and red diamonds means the market for Argyle pink and red diamonds “have never been stronger,” said Patrick Coppens, general manager of sales and marketing for Rio Tinto’s diamonds business.

The 48 lots will be shown in Australia, Switzerland and Belgium, with bids closing on November 20.

Source: Rapaport

Pink Diamonds Erupted to Earth’s Surface after Early Supercontinent’s Breakup

Western Australia’s Argyle mine was among nature’s preeminent treasure troves for nearly 40 years. At its peak, Argyle produced more coloured diamonds than anywhere else on Earth and earned an especially sparkling reputation for its unparalleled cache of pink diamonds.

Researchers have spent decades trying to unravel the origins of Argyle’s glimmering gems. Now, by dating minerals in the mine’s volcanic rock, scientists think they may have finally pieced together the process that created the deposit around 1.3 billion years ago. In a paper published on Tuesday in Nature Communications, the team posits that the breakup of an early supercontinent lifted Argyle’s salmon-coloured stones from crushing depths toward Earth’s surface.

Located 2,200 kilometers northeast of Perth, Australia, in the country’s rugged Kimberley region, Argyle mine once covered an area the size of 94 football fields. Between its opening in 1983 and closure in 2020, when mining the gems there was no longer economically viable, Argyle produced more than 865 million carats of rough diamonds. Most of these stones come in pale shades of yellow or brown. But a small percentage of the site’s diamonds radiate rich pinks, purples or reds. More than 90 percent of the world’s pink diamond supply including the nearly 13 carat Pink Jubilee has come from Argyle.

The pink hue of Argyle’s most lavish diamonds is linked to damage they underwent deep within the earth. According to Hugo Olierook, a geologist at Curtin University in Perth and lead author of the new study, these diamonds start out colourless. But immense tectonic pressure from colliding continents can alter the stones’ crystal structure, unlocking the potential colours hidden within. “The diamonds are being forced to bend and twist,” Olierook says. “If they’re twisted just a little bit, it will turn some of these diamonds pink.” Further twisting makes them become brown.

Argyle’s diamonds took on their pink and brown tints around 1.8 billion years ago, when a piece of what is now western Australia smashed into the northern Australian plate and warped the region’s rock. But this only explains part of Argyle’s origin story. When the continents collided, the area’s diamonds were buried in the mantle, hundreds of kilometers below Earth’s surface. If the crystals had been closer to the surface, their carbon atoms would have been compressed into a different structure, transforming them from shimmering diamonds to lumps of dark gray graphite.

A volcano was necessary to bring the molten diamonds up from our planet’s mantle. “You need some sort of tectonic trigger to bring them up to the surface,” Olierook says. As the melt rises, carbon dioxide and steam expand, sparking an eruption that he compares to popping a champagne cork. At Argyle, this eruption likely occurred at a beach, where sand and seawater interacted with volcanic rock called lamproite.

To determine when the eruption occurred, the team sliced two thin sections of Argyle’s volcanic rock and polished them down to a minuscule width. Analyzing the sample’s mineral makeup under a microscope, the researchers were able to pinpoint sand grains from Argyle’s ancient beach and to date them with the help of radioactive elements they contained. By dating the youngest sand grains, the scientists were able to estimate when the beach was buried in lava. They also used tiny lasers to determine the ages of titanite minerals, which formed in the rock when the magma melded with quartz in the beach sand.

Comparing the ages of the youngest sand grains and the oldest titanite crystals allowed the researchers to estimate that the eruption at Argyle occurred between 1.3 billion and 1.26 billion years ago. This age range was older than previous estimates, which surprised Olierook and his colleagues. “We had a betting pool going, and nobody got 1,300 million years,” he says. “That was one of those glass shattering moments.”

That eruption timing corresponds to a volatile period in Earth’s tectonic history when one of the first supercontinents, called Nuna, was splintering apart. The team posits that this instability may have reopened a seam along the continental boundary where Argyle is now situated. This in turn sparked the volcanic activity that brought the diamond-bearing melt toward the surface, creating Argyle’s expansive diamond deposits.

The new time estimates add crucial context for understanding the volcanic eruption at Argyle, says Evan Smith, a researcher at the Gemological Institute of America, who researches the geology of diamonds but was not involved in the new study. “The previous age constraint for Argyle was younger, and it was a lot less clear how to frame the eruption in a broader geological context,” Smith says. He thinks the new study adds exciting evidence that these “eruptions are related to bigger processes that affect whole continents rather than being isolated, random burps of magma.”

Olierook thinks similar events may have occurred at other continental boundaries around the world. Most diamond-bearing deposits are found in the middle of continental plates where rock is exposed. This makes Argyle an outlier. When the mine was first discovered, most geologists thought that searching for diamonds along continental plate boundaries which are often uplifted by ancient mountain belts and buried beneath soil and sand was futile.

Though gem mining in these regions remains difficult, Olierook believes there are plenty of diamonds to be found in the rough. “I think all of them will host some sort of coloured diamonds,” he says. “They may all be brown, but with a little bit of luck, there could be a few pinks in there.”

Source: Jack Tamisiea Scientificamerican

Rio Tinto unveils Argyle Rose heirloom piece

Rio Tinto has unveiled the latest heirloom piece of Argyle Pink Diamonds jewellery, featuring one of the last diamonds to be mined from the iconic Argyle mine in the East Kimberley, Western Australia.

Mining ended at Argyle in November 2020, after 37 years of uninterrupted production, during which the mine became the source of about 90% of the world’s prized rose-to-magenta hued stones. The mine produced more than 865 million carats of rough diamonds.

Designed by Western Australian jeweller Solid Gold Diamonds, the Argyle Rose features a total of 3.25 carats of rare Argyle pink and blue diamonds encrusted in a rose motif, surrounded by white diamonds and hand-set in platinum and 18 karat gold.

The heart of this piece is an extremely rare 1.36 carat, Fancy Deep Pink radiant cut diamond. It is just one of twelve radiant cut diamonds over one carat with a colour grading, 1P, from the last 30 years of production from Argyle.

The surrounding petaled design of pink and blue Argyle Diamonds totals 1.89 carats, together with 2.80 carats of white diamonds. The Argyle Rose is for sale at Solid Gold Diamonds in Perth for A$2 million.

“I am delighted to launch the Argyle Rose. Encapsulating a rich history and an extraordinary provenance, it is both a contemporary treasure and an heirloom for tomorrow,” Sinead Kaufman, Chief Executive of Rio Tinto Minerals said in a statement.

“These rare and precious diamonds are one and a half billion years old, from one of the most beautiful places on earth, and the world is simply not producing them anymore.”

Source: mining.com

Rio Tinto Launches Business for Argyle Pinks

*Diamonds from Rio Tinto’s Argyle Pink Diamond Tender.*

Rio Tinto has debuted a new strategy that will enable it to “protect the provenance” of its Argyle pink diamonds, including a certification service and a concierge trading platform.

“This is the start of a new chapter for Argyle pink diamonds, to ensure they maintain their value and investment potential as a finite, unrepeatable natural resource and achieve the status of outstanding heritage diamonds,” Rio Tinto Minerals CEO Sinead Kaufman said last week.

The venture will also play host to a new Beyond Rare tender platform for special sales events, as well as several strategic collections and collaborations involving existing inventory and the secondary market.

One such venture, the Icon Partner program, will give jewelers licensing rights to use the Argyle Pink Diamonds brand for jewelry they create with any remaining inventory they previously purchased from the Argyle mine. The first two retailers Rio Tinto has authorized are John Calleija, the owner of Australian luxury-jewelry house Calleija, and Singapore-based Glajz THG, owned by John Glajz.

“The secondary market for Argyle pink diamonds comprises almost 40 years of rare, polished pink diamonds, together with heirloom pieces of jewelry, collectibles and objects,” the miner noted. “This market requires careful management to preserve the precious provenance of Argyle pink diamonds and continue the legacy of careful custody that underscores its rarity.

Source; Diamonds.net

Final Argyle Pink Tender Sees Record Result

Rio Tinto achieved record-breaking figures at its 2021 Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender, with prices strong amid dwindling supply from the mine.

The Australian miner offered 70 rare pink and red diamonds at the last-ever edition of the tender, which follows Argyle’s closure in November 2020. The “historical” collection, called The Journey Beyond, comprised the final diamonds mined during the Western Australian deposit’s last year of operation, Rio Tinto said Thursday.

“The 2021 Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender delivered a record-breaking price performance across individual diamonds and for the overall collection,” the company noted. “The diamonds were fiercely contested around the world in a series of virtual and face-to-face viewings.”

A total of 19 bidders from nine countries successfully acquired lots, with prices maintaining their upward trajectory, Rio Tinto explained. Australian jeweler Calleija bought several stones, including the Argyle Eclipse, a radiant-shaped, 3.47-carat, fancy-intense-pink diamond, and the Argyle Bohème, a radiant-shaped, 1.01-carat, fancy-red diamond.

A veteran bidder in Singapore took home both the Argyle Stella, a square radiant-shaped 1.79-carat, fancy-vivid-purplish-pink diamond, and the Argyle Solaris, a radiant-shaped, fancy-intense pink weighing 2.05 carats. Another, based in the US, won the Argyle Lumiere, a square radiant-shaped, 2.03-carat, fancy-deep-pink diamond.

Alongside the pink-diamond tender, Rio Tinto sold a record-breaking collection of 41 blue and violet diamonds from Argyle to a single buyer. Hong Kong fancy-color specialist Kunming Diamonds purchased the entire 24.88-carat lot in a “history-making global bid” at the separate Once in a Blue Moon tender, the miner said. The stones are the final blues to come from Argyle. Kunming also won nine pink lots.

“I don’t think it’s ever been so competitive, so mind-blowing in terms of how the prices have been, how much competition we faced, and there was a lot of emotional premium everyone added, as this was the ultimate tender,” Harsh Maheshwari, executive director of Kunming, told Rapaport News. “So I guess everyone felt that they would like to at least own a few tender stones while they had the opportunity.”

It’s rare for there to be so many successful bidders at the pink tender, Maheshwari noted. Usually, only half that number would take home diamonds.

“This basically shows how varied the prices must have been, and that these stones went to jewelers from all over the world,” Maheshwari added.

Source: Diamonds.net

Rio Tinto dazzles in Antwerp with its finest Argyle pink, red and blue diamonds

*The Hero Diamonds from the 2021 Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender*

Rio Tinto’s final Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender collection of rare pink, red, blue and violet diamonds is being showcased to connoisseurs, collectors and luxury jewellers in Antwerp, Belgium.

The Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender, an annual invitation-only event for the past 38 years, is widely considered to be the most anticipated diamond sale in the world, showcasing the pinnacle of Argyle’s production to an exclusive group of collectors, diamond connoisseurs and luxury jewellery houses.

Mining ceased at Argyle on 3 November, 2020 and the 2021 Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender is the final collection of the rarest diamonds from the final year of Argyle operations.

Patrick Coppens, General manager, Sales and Marketing for Rio Tinto’s diamonds business said “The first Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender was held in Antwerp in 1984 and I am delighted to host the final epic collection in Antwerp. Over the past 38 years Argyle pink diamonds have pushed the boundaries of rarity and value appreciation to new extremes.

“When you consider the number of diamonds presented at the annual Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender since 1984 would barely fill two champagne flutes, you begin to grasp the rarity and the tremendous gravitas of this final collection. Many of the invitees have participated in the annual Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender for more than three decades and across generations, so it is an emotional moment in the history of Rio Tinto’s Argyle Pink Diamonds business and the natural fancy coloured diamond industry.”

Comprising 70 diamonds weighing 81.63 carats, the 2021 Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender has a record number of diamonds larger than one carat. The collection is headlined with Lot Number 1, Argyle Eclipse™, a 3.47 carat diamond that is the largest Fancy Intense Pink diamond ever offered at the Tender.

Titled The Journey Beyond, the 2021 Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender takes its reference from the 1.5 billion year journey from creation to discovery and their remarkable impact on the world diamond and jewellery history. The Tender collection comprises five ‘hero’ diamonds selected for their unique beauty and named to ensure there is a permanent record of their contribution to the history of the world’s most important diamonds:

Lot 1: Argyle Eclipse™, 3.47 carat, radiant shaped Fancy Intense Pink diamond

Lot 2 : Argyle Stella™ 1.79 carat, square radiant shaped Fancy Vivid Purplish Pink diamond

Lot 3: Argyle Lumiere™ 2.03 carat, square radiant shaped Fancy Deep Pink diamond

Lot 4: Argyle Solaris™ 2.05 carat, radiant shaped Fancy Intense Pink diamond

Lot 5: Argyle Bohème™ 1.01 carat, radiant shaped Fancy Red diamond

Also offered alongside the 2021 annual Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender are 41 lots of carefully curated Argyle blue diamonds, weighing 24.88 carats in total. Titled Once in a Blue Moon, these are the very last blue and violet diamonds to emerge from the Argyle mine.

Both face to face and virtual viewings are being conducted in Antwerp catering for those markets where COVID-19 restrictions prevent travel. Bids close on October 4, 2021.

Source: riotinto

Rio Tinto reveals its final showcase of Argyle pink, red and blue diamonds

Rio Tinto has unveiled a preview of its final showcase of rare Argyle pink, red and blue diamonds from its iconic mine in the remote east Kimberley region of Western Australia.

Mining ceased at Argyle on 3 November, 2020 and the 2021 Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender is the final collection of the rarest diamonds from the final year of Argyle operations.

Rio Tinto puts last diamonds mined at iconic Argyle up for sale — Argyle Eclipse, 3.47 carat, radiant shaped Fancy Intense Pink diamond.

Chief executive of Rio Tinto Minerals, Sinead Kaufman said,“I am delighted to launch this historic collection of extraordinary diamonds, a testament to the amazing Argyle ore body and the men and women who have worked so hard to bring these diamonds to market.”

Patrick Coppens, General manager of Sales and Marketing for Rio Tinto’s diamonds business who has been involved throughout the history of the Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender said “The Argyle pink diamond story has continued to enthral throughout the years following the remarkable discovery of the Argyle mine in 1979. The final Tender collection of these beyond rare diamonds will be keenly sought after as heritage gemstones of the future, coveted by collectors and connoisseurs from around the world.”

Lot 1: Argyle Eclipse™, 3.47 carat, radiant shaped Fancy Intense Pink diamond

Lot 2: Argyle Stella™ 1.79 carat, square radiant shaped Fancy Vivid Purplish Pink diamond

Lot 3: Argyle Lumiere™ 2.03 carat, square radiant shaped Fancy Deep Pink diamond

Lot 4: Argyle Solaris™ 2.05 carat, radiant shaped Fancy Intense Pink diamond

Lot 5: Argyle Bohème™ 1.01 carat, radiant shaped Fancy Red diamond

Jewellery historian Vivienne Becker said, “this final epoch making offering of pink, red and blue diamonds encapsulates the near-impossible rarity and compelling beauty of the natural treasures gifted to the world by the east Kimberley region of Western Australia. Over the near four decade life span of the Argyle mine, Rio Tinto has built a unique diamond brand of integrity and authenticity, an Australian icon and source of national pride, now recognised and asked for, by name, across the globe.”

The 2021 Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender will be showcased in Perth, Antwerp, Singapore and Sydney, subject to COVID-19 protocols. Bids close on September 1, 2021.

Source: riotinto.com

Argyle Diamond Mine Closure: The End of a Sparkling Era

Pink and red diamonds are among the most special gems in the world. The value of these highly sought-after natural stones speaks for itself, but their rarity has arguably increased since the closure of Rio Tinto’s Argyle mine.

The asset, which ceased mining activity on November 3, 2020, had been in operation since 1983. In that time, 865 million carats of rough diamonds were produced.

The unique geological chemistry of the Western Australia location birthed the rarest hues, including champagne, cognac, blue, violet and of course, the coveted Argyle pink and red diamonds. Millions of carats of white diamonds were produced at the prolific property as well.

After 37 years of output, Argyle’s closure came at a time of flux for the diamond market. The sector has been dealing with reduced demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as shifting demographics.

While mining activity has concluded at the source of 90 percent of the world’s pink gems, diamond analyst Paul Zimnisky noted that Rio Tinto is likely still processing ore from Argyle.

“So Argyle diamonds will probably still be ‘produced’ this year,” he said. “Also, Rio may have some rough inventory overhang following all of the supply chain disruptions last year. But by the end of this calendar year or early next year, I think most of the primary market Argyle rough goods will be off the market.”

Demand for pink diamonds steadily growing

Colored diamonds, especially pink and red, are among the most valued gems on Earth. Prices can range from US$10,000 per carat for less intensely colored stones up to US$70,000 per carat for vivid hues.

Ahead of the Argyle closure, pink diamond prices were on the rise. According to the Fancy Color Research Foundation FCRF, the value of pink diamonds rose 116 percent between 2010 and 2020. That’s more than any other colored diamond segment, including the extremely rare blue diamonds.

Even 2020’s disruptions and closures didn’t dent the rosy outlook for colored stones.

“The prices of all pink diamonds overall remained without a change in Q4 2020, with fancy and fancy intense categories presenting a slight increase,” a FCRF report states. “Although 2020 was challenging in terms of logistics and travel, contrary to market expectations, fancy color diamond prices proved to be resilient, with minor price decreases across the board.”

With as much as 95 percent of global pink diamond supply now removed, there is some anticipation that prices for the gems will continue to increase, perhaps at a faster rate.

Source: investingnews

Rio Tinto closes Argyle diamond mine after 37 years

Pink diamonds, already rare, are about to get scarcer as Rio Tinto has closed its iconic Argyle diamond mine, the world’s biggest and the main global source of high-quality pink diamonds.

Since opening its doors 37 years ago, the Western Australia mine produced 865 million carats of rough diamonds and became the source of about 90% of the world’s prized rose-to-magenta hued stones.

The Argyle ore body, a single pipe known as AK1, was discovered in October 1979. Alluvial operations began in 1983, open pit mining kicked off in 1985 and the mine became a fully underground operation in 2013.

Today, Rio has mined the very last of these unique diamonds from the site, located within the ancient Matsu Ranges more than 3,000 km north of Perth.

“Fifty years ago there were very few people who believed there were diamonds in Australia even fewer could have foreseen how the Argyle story would unfold,” Rio Tinto’s chief executive of Copper and Diamonds, Arnaud Soirat, said in a statement.

“To arrive at this final chapter has required vision, courage and determination to overcome significant challenges to enter new territory in diamond exploration, mining and marketing,” Soirat added.

The closure of Argyle will remove about 75% of Rio’s diamond output, yet the impact on the miner’s earnings will be negligible. Diamonds bring in only about 2% of its earnings, while iron ore the company’s main commodity accounts for almost 60%.

The operation will now undergo decommissioning and rehabilitation, which is expected to take five years. After that, Rio will monitor the site for a period yet to be defined.

End of an era

Andrew Wilson, general manager of Argyle, said the mine transformed the diamond sector since its opening, supplying gems for both ends of the market.

“A new chapter will now begin as we start the process of respectfully closing the Argyle mine and rehabilitating the land, to be handed back to its traditional custodians,” he said.

Argyle was Australia’s first large-scale diamond operation, pioneering the fly–in fly–out model, and seen as an opportunity for a workforce drawn from across the nation.

Rio Tinto closes Argyle diamond mine after 37 years — Forty years ago, in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, four diamonds in a dry creek bed ultimately led Rio’s geologists to a massive diamond deposit.

It also triggered the creation and adoption of new technology and exploration methods to make the search for diamonds more efficient across the rugged and remote Kimberley landscape.

At its peak, Argyle churned out 40% of the world’s diamond output, which made it the biggest producer by volume.

Pricy gems

Analysts and auctioneers alike expect prices for pink diamonds to go up and, potentially spur exploration.

Pink stones have already been fetching record prices in the past few years and the closure of their main source could see that trend strengthen.

The “Pink Star” went for $71.2 million at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in April 2017, setting a record for diamonds sold in auctions.

In 2018, the 18.96-carat Pink Legacy fetched $50 million at Christie’s auction house, breaking the world record for price paid per carat for a pink diamond at auction.

Christie’s to auction largest, finest pink diamond in its history — The Pink Legacy diamond.

At Sotheby’s Hong Kong 2019 sale, one of the star pieces described as an “exquisite 10.64 carat vivid purplish pink diamond” sold for just under $20 million.

Rio Tinto’s own data show that prices for their Argyle pink diamonds jumped by 500% from 2000 to earlier this year.

Source: mining.com