In the Kimberly region in the far north of Western Australia, Kununurra and its associated man-made Lake Argyle is the centre of a rich tropical agricultural area.
But agriculture was not the town’s only source of wealth. In the 1970s, Australia was not considered a promising source of diamonds, but a team of geologists began exploring the rugged Kimberley landscape. After years of persistence, they discovered a rich deposit embedded in lamproite, rather than diamonds usual kimberlite.
ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST PRODUCTIVE DIAMOND MINES
Quickly becoming one of the most productive mines in the world, at its peak, the Argyle Mine produced over 40 million carats annually, a significant share of global supply. But most were not the large, clear gemstones of typical luxury jewellery. 80 percent were small, brown stones, initially considered low value until the company’s innovative marketing highlighted their rarity. Rebranding them as “champagne” and “cognac” diamonds, they created a new niche, becoming both fashionable and desirable while diversifying the global diamond market.
Despite the dominance of lower-grade stones, Argyle was the world’s primary source of rare pink diamonds. Less than 0.1 percent of production, they became the mine’s most famous output. Caused by structural distortions in the crystal lattice, Argyle pink diamonds gained international recognition for their rarity and beauty. Over time, becoming some of the world’s most valuable diamonds.
But operating a large-scale mine more than a thousand kilometres from the nearest city was no simple task. New roads, airstrips, on-site accommodation, extraction and processing facilities were required, with the workforce flying-in and flying-out via scheduled, rotating shifts. A standard practice in remote Australian mining.
Initially an open-pit mine, in the early 2000s the operation shifted to underground mining. Using a block caving method, they undercut the ore body so that it collapsed under its own weight, allowing the material to be collected from below. (Glad I was never a miner).
Diamonds were extracted from the crushed, extracted ore using dense media separation and fluorescent focused X -ray sorting.
SOME OF THE WORLD’S RAREST DIAMONDS
Operating for nearly four decades, the Argyle Diamond Mine closed in 2020 with the diamond industry losing its supply of unique pink diamonds. Consequently, these stones are increasingly valuable and are among the world's most prized gems.
One feature of the mine’s marketing was an annual invitation only tender where dealers and investors around the world made bids for the best of its rare gems. One of the last tenders not only included the rare pink diamonds, but included even rarer red, violet and purple/pink diamonds.
Some years ago, Pami and I were visiting the tourist-focused Perth Mint where amongst other jewellery items, a rare red diamond the size of a match head was on display – with a price tag of half a million Australian dollars. Needless to say we, along with all the other customers, declined their invitation to buy.
LIKE BEES TO A HONEYPOT – All part of the story
The sparkle of Argyle diamonds not only attracted the interest of the rich and famous, keen to flaunt their wealth, and of speculators and investors keen to grow their wealth.
They also drew the attention of unscrupulous schemers, keen to also make a fortune. And while security at the mine was always extremely tight, there were two well publicised attempts to steal part of the mine’s output (and no doubt some lesser-known attempts).
One of which occurs in the action-adventure saga Outback Danger, where Kurt Amsburg identifies a diamond hoist as his pathway to reclaim the life of luxury and prestige of his aristocratic forebears.
OUTBACK DANGER NOVEL: https://www.williamsimsbooks.com/outbackdanger
FURTHER READING: https://museum.wa.gov.au/explore/articles/story-diamonds-western-australia
DIAMONDS - MORE THAN A GIRL’S BEST FRIEND