Where can Diamonds be found?
Diamonds are formed over a period of a billion or more years deep within earths crust – about 90 miles deep – and is pushed to the surface by volcanoes. Most diamonds are found in volcanic rock, called Kimberlite, or in the sea after having been carried away by rivers when they were pushed to the surface. The major production of diamond is from the primary sources in South Africa, Botswana, Zaire, Australia, India, Brazil and Siberia, with minor amounts coming from Tanzania and China. Diamonds that were formed deep inside the earth can be minied close to the surface. From time to time, gas-rich magmas force their way upwards from the mantle and erupt explosively at the surface. If they sweep through an area with diamonds in it, they pick them up along with any other minerals that are present.
How are Diamonds Mined?
Diamonds are mined by open-pit mining, coastal and inland alluvial mining, marine mining, and informal diamond digging. In open pit mining, geological structures called Kimberlite pipes, funnel-like tubes of rock which extend far into the depths of the Earth, are mined to extract the diamonds. Because they are so deep and so old, they are found in the ground often beneath overburden.This kind of mining can be done near the surface and sometimes over 1km below ground. Coastal and inland alluvial mining does result in large-scale excavation along coastal areas and modification of the land. Diamond deposits are sometimes found on the seabed, seabed matter needs to be removed from marine diamond mining sites to access the diamonds beneath. Small-scale informal alluvial diamond digging is usually undertaken by individuals, families or small groups operating with the simplest equipment, such as sieves and pans, to search for the diamonds. The majority of small-scale alluvial diamond mining is defined as ‘informal’ because it is undertaken on land which isn't licensed or regulated for the mining activities taking place. To build a mine, the estimated cost is $50 million dollars.
Environmental Impacts Associated with Mining Diamonds
Diamond exploration and mining use two forms of energy: electricity and hydrocarbons. Industrial activity creates greenhouse gases and other chemical substances tjat are released into the air and cause a range of environmental problems, from climate change to smog, which threaten our health and our environment. Energy efficiency and renewable energy programmes are widely used across the diamond mining industry. Emission levels are monitored through energy and carbon emission assessments. Mines have reduced their energy use by introducing a range of schemes: installing timers on boilers, shutting off pressurised fans over weekends, running mud pumps in off-peak periods and introducing battery-powered vehicles that do not emit harmful gases. Solar panels and energy-saving schemes have reduced the amount of electricity used at mines.Diamond mining uses water, rather than chemicals, for extraction, but water is scarce in many parts of Africa, where most diamond mining companies often operate. This makes it even more important that the diamond mining process does not pollute natural water sources and that it uses as little as possible.The industry needs to conserve water in every way it can through reduction, recovery, reuse and recycling. There are strict rules for water usage, which are carefully monitored. Biodiversity refers to the existence of different kinds of plants and animals on Earth. Diamond mining takes place in a wide variety of environments across the world. In Africa alone, diamond mines exist in a wide variety of ecosystems. When a mining company moves into an area to mine for diamonds, they usually destroy the plant life there to start digging and looking for diamonds, which in turn effects the entire ecosystem. This limits the availability of food for some animales creating scarce food resources for all animals within that particular ecosystem. With the mining, large amounts of soil is dug up and just tossed aside ignoring the possible use of it for farming or anything else.
Price of a Diamond
The value of diamonds is always calculated as price per carat. Market prices depend on the "unit price" of the diamond, and this unit price is specific to each weight, color, clarity, rareity, size, etc. To calculate the price of a diamond you multiply the carat weight by the price per carat. For example: if a 1.25 carat diamond was priced at $10,000 per/carat the diamond would be sold for $12,500.
Laws, Regulations, or Standards with Regards to Mining Diamonds
Mines on land in the United States are regulated by federal and state laws. To ensure that contaminants from mines do not threaten water quality, mining companies must comply with regulations of the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act. The release of hazardous substances into the air, soil, and water by mining diamonds is regulated by the Comprehensive Response Compensation and Liability Act. In addition, all mining operations must comply with the Endangered Species Act. The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA)created a program for the regulation of surface coal mining on public and private land. This act was specifically for coal but many of the diamond mines have to comply with this act as well. All the land turned up from the mining is expected to be restored to it's original or better condition. The US has created programs to regulate mining on state and private lands. Mining companies must obtain permits from state environmental agencies before mining a site. These permits specify certain standards for mine design and reclamation.
Diamond Controversy
The biggest controversy facing the diamond industy today is conflict diamonds. A conflict diamond has been stolen or illegally mined and then sold to raise money for rebel militia or terrorist groups. These groups earn money for weapons by forcing men, women and children to dig for diamonds. Anyone who protests is killed or threatened of having a limb cut off. Conflict diamonds are smuggled into the diamond trade along with legitimate diamonds. The United Nations are working toward better regulation so that conflict diamonds don't make it to the market. Conflict diamonds aren't the only controversy in the diamond industry. There are also controversies about human and animal rights issues. In some African countries, miners use children to dig in the small space that the adults can't fit into even though child labor is illegal. In India, the children are given the smallest diamonds to cut and work with because they have the smallest hands and eyes that are the most suitable for working with these tiny diamonds. Severe eyestrain, repetitive motion injuries and lung infections from inhaling diamond dust are just a few conditions that affect these workers.Due to the diamond industries in Africa, some of the animal populations are decreasing. These populations of animals are decreasing due to habitat being destroyed and because of workers getting hungry and killing the animals for food near the mines.
Why is Mining Diamond Important?
Diamonds are mainly used for jewelry and industry. Only 30% of diamonds are of gem quality and are distributed to experts for cutting, polishing and jewelry manufacturers while the remaining 70% of diamonds are sold for industrial applications like cutting, drilling, grinding and polishing in industrial applications. Diamonds are desirable to consumers because they hold a deep emotional meaning, are one of the Earth’s most precious creations, are unique, and were created at the beginning of time and will last for eternity. Many of the diamond mining operations are in Africa. Mining diamonds is helping transform Africa and the lives of its people. In particular, Africans are using the revenue from diamonds to create wealth for themselves. The diamond trade contributes approximately US$8.5 billion a year to Africa. Diamond mining is helping Africa by financial, health, education and employement methods. Mining the diamonds is creating a significant revenue for the people who work in the mines. Diamonds play a role in helping tackle the HIV pandemic in southern Africa through the funding of counselling, testing, education, treatment programmes and helping provide money to run clinics. African countries are using the revenue from mining diamonds to allow children to go to school longer and lastly, diamond mining has created jobs for more than 38,000 people in Southern Africa.
Refrences
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/earth/rock-minerals/diamonds/diamond-formation/index.html
http://www.worlddiamondcouncil.org/download/resources/documents/Fact%20Sheet%20(The%20Diamond%20Industry).pdf
http://didyouknow.org/diamonds/
http://www.nexuslearning.net/books/holt_env_science/16-3.pdf
http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/geology/diamond6.htm
http://www.diamondfacts.org/pdfs/media/media_resources/fact_sheets/Diamond_Mining_Environment_Fact_Sheet.pdf
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_average_price_of_a_carat_in_diamonds
http://www.mining-technology.com/projects/lace-diamond-mine-kroonstad-south-africa/
http://www.langerman-diamonds.com/encyclopedia/3-18/price-per-carat.html
http://www.worlddiamondcouncil.org/download/resources/documents/Fact%20Sheet%20(The%20Diamond%20Industry).pdf
http://didyouknow.org/diamonds/
http://www.nexuslearning.net/books/holt_env_science/16-3.pdf
http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/geology/diamond6.htm
http://www.diamondfacts.org/pdfs/media/media_resources/fact_sheets/Diamond_Mining_Environment_Fact_Sheet.pdf
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_average_price_of_a_carat_in_diamonds
http://www.mining-technology.com/projects/lace-diamond-mine-kroonstad-south-africa/
http://www.langerman-diamonds.com/encyclopedia/3-18/price-per-carat.html