Scientists have revealed why pink diamonds are so rare, AFP reported, citing a scientific study. These gems are found almost exclusively in Australia. Their price is extremely high.
More than 90 percent of the world’s pink diamonds are mined at the Argyle mine in the northwest of the country, which is currently closed.
Most of the diamond mining mines are located on other continents – for example in South Africa and Russia.
An Australian scientific team has conducted a study published in “Nature Communications”, according to which pink diamonds were formed when the first supercontinent of the Earth broke up 1.3 billion years ago.
Two components are needed to form a diamond, University of Perth geologist Hugo Olieruk told AFP. The first component is carbon. At less than 150 km depth, carbon is found in the form of graphite. The second component is high pressure. It is able to determine the color of the diamond. Less pressure leads to a pink color, and a little more pressure leads to brown, Olieruk explains.
According to Olieruk, the geological processes of the separation of the only supercontinent on Earth pushed the pink diamonds to the surface of today’s Australia like champagne corks.
Illustrative Photo by Taisuke usui: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-photo-of-golden-ring-2697608/