Diamonds

Abstract

Russia has one of the world’s largest diamond mineral resource bases (their proven reserves exceed 1 billion carats) and remains the world leader in diamond production by weight. Most of the Russian diamond reserves are concentrated in primary deposits on the territory of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), in the Central Siberian and Lena-Anabar diamond-bearing subprovinces. All the most important diamond deposits in Russia are located here, including the largest – the Udachnaya pipe. The pipes with unique diamond potential (Internationalnaya, Mir, Botuobinskaya, Aikhal, Nyurbinskaya), as well as medium-diamond-bearing ones (Yubileinaya, Zarnitsa) have also been explored here. In terms of quality, the stones from the Mir and Internatsionalnaya pipes are the best among diamonds from Russian primary deposits. The ores of the International pipe are characterized by a unique average diamond content and have no analogues in the world in terms of this indicator. On the territory of the Arkhangelsk region there is a diamond-bearing subprovince of the same name, the balance reserves of which are contained in six kimberlite pipes of the group of deposits named after M.V. Lomonosov (Arkhangelskaya, named after Karpinskii 1, named after Karpinskii 2, named after Lomonosov, Pionerskaya, Pomorskaya) and in the V. Grib pipe. A number of areas identified on the territory of Russia are promising for the discovery of diamond accumulations, including in the north-west of the country (Karelo Kolskaya and Leningrad subprovinces), in the central regions of its European part (Central European), as well as in Eastern Siberia and Far East. Most diamond-bearing objects are located in poorly developed areas with a harsh climate and are characterized by difficult mining and technical conditions. Nevertheless, in the near future, Russia has every chance of remaining the world leader in the production of rough diamonds