geology
Waterproof Cases

Geology News
Diamonds Current Events

feed Geology.com on twitter Add to Google Reader or Homepage Subscribe in NewsGator Online Add to netvibes
Zimbabwe and Kimberly Process Standards
November 2, 2009 | ZimOnline

The Kimberly Process is a set of standards that a diamond-producing country must meet to assure that the stones are produced legally and without human exploitation. Zimbabwe could be told to stop exporting diamonds until it complies with the KP standards.

Related stories.
Diamond
Cullinan Diamond Mine Yields a 507-Carat White Stone
September 29, 2009 | Telegraph.co.uk

One of the largest diamonds in history was discovered at the Cullinan Diamond Mine in South Africa. The 507-carat white stone is one of many spectacular gems from the Cullinan Mine.

Related: World Diamond Production Map

Related stories.
Diamonds in Wyoming and Colorado
September 17, 2009 | Wyoming Geological Survey

The Wyoming Geological Survey has a .pdf booklet titled: “Searching for Placer Diamonds” that you can download and read for free.

It was written by W. Dan Hausel and contains information about recognizing diamonds, prospecting for diamonds, references and a map of the Colorado-Wyoming Kimberlite Province.

Related stories.
Crater of Diamonds State Park
August 12, 2009 | CNN

CNN has an article about how six people found a fortune. One of the stories is about a person finding a 40.23 carat diamond at Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas – the only diamond mine in the world where you can look for diamonds and keep what you find.

Related stories.
Video: Botswana Diamond Market
July 27, 2009 | CNN

Diamonds have lifted the economy of Botswana but the recent recession has cut demand by about 50%. Their response is an attempt to capture the diamond sorting, cutting and selling portions of the trade.

Related stories.
Diamonds Suggest Cosmic Impact
July 27, 2009 | University of Oregon, University of California, Santa Barbara

Lonsdaleite diamonds found on California’s Channel Islands are suggestive of a cosmic impact some 12,900 years ago. This impact is one of several theories on how some species became extinct at the end of the ice age.

Related stories.
Video: Do Diamonds Burn?
July 2, 2009 | The Open University

Diamonds are composed of carbon and many people wonder if diamonds can be burned. Here is a video from The Open University. It shows a diamond being heated with a torch then dropped into liquid oxygen where it burns to produce carbon dioxide gas.

Related stories.
United States Diamond Mine
June 26, 2009 | Geology.com

The only producing diamond mine in the United States is the Crater of Diamonds Mine near Murfreesboro, Arkansas. It is also the only diamond mine in the world where you can be the miner.

Related stories.
Sources of Bushveld Platinum and Diamonds
June 13, 2009 | National Science Foundation

Diamonds sometimes acquire trapped traces of platinum group elements such as platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, osmium and iridium when they are formed. “When these elements are encapsulated as mineral inclusions in diamonds, their unique isotopic ’signatures’ help geologists determine where the diamonds were formed and how old they are.” Quoted from the NSF release.

Related stories.
Synthetic Diamonds
June 11, 2009 | Carnegie Institution for Science

What would happen if large, nearly flawless diamonds could be grown at a rate of a millimeter per hour? That day might arrive soon. Diamonds then would have much wider use in industry – but what might happen to the gemstone market?

Related stories.
Satellite Image: Botswana Diamond Mine
June 11, 2009 | Earth Observatory

Earth Observatory published a satellite image of the Jwaneng Diamond Mine, located in south-central Botswana. It shows the deep concentric geometry of the mine, adjacent settling ponds and a nearby community where many of the miners live.

Related stories.
Diamond Trivia
June 10, 2009 | Geology.com

A collection of interesting facts about diamonds. If you know all of these you are a genuine diamond expert!

Related stories.
Diamond Production Map and Graphs
June 5, 2009 | Geology.com

Leadership positions in the gem-quality diamond production race are constantly changing as new discoveries are made and old mines are worked out. This article charts diamond production geographically and over time.

Related stories.
Diamond
Diamonds Used in Cancer Treatment
May 21, 2009 | Northwestern University

Researchers at Northwestern University have developed a new tool for cancer treatment. The tool can deliver nanodiamonds and drugs into a single cell.

Related stories.
Blue diamond
Blue Diamond Sets Record at $9.5 Million
May 13, 2009 | Reuters

A blue diamond of 7.03 carats was sold for $9.5 million – the highest per carat price ever paid for a gemstone at auction. The stone was produced from the Cullinan mine in South Africa.

Related stories.
Blue diamond
Blue Diamond Up for Auction
May 6, 2009 | BBC News

A seven-carat blue diamond mined from South Africa will soon be up for auction in Geneva, and is expected to sell at a record price. Its unusual color is caused by the element boron.

Related stories.
Botswana
Botswana Reduces Diamond Production
April 20, 2009 | BBC News

Botswana, which is the world’s leading source of diamonds, is to reduce production by more than 50 percent. Lessened demand is cited as the reason.

Related stories.
Kazanjian Red Diamond Video
April 11, 2009 | CNN

One of just three in the world, this red diamond was a big hit with kids visiting the Hixon Gem Vault in Los Angeles. Stolen during World War II it is now on public display.

Related stories.
Herkimer Diamonds
Herkimer Diamonds
February 19, 2009 | Geology.com

If you are looking for spring field trip ideas you might consider visiting Herkimer, New York to look for some of the doubly terminated quartz crystals known as “Herkimer Diamonds”.

Related stories.
Diamond
Arkansas Diamond Mystery
January 22, 2009 | Smithsonian Magazine

Here is an interesting article in Smithsonian Magazine that blends a lot of history from the only working diamond mine in the United States, the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas, with a recent mystery of suspicious diamond discoveries. Stones from the Crater of Diamonds are worth ten times the price of stones of equivalent size and quality in the market – because many people want to patronize the Arkansas locality. Here is an earlier report on this story at FakeMinerals.com.

Related stories.
Diamond
Canadian Diamond Mining Cuts
January 19, 2009 | The Canadian Press

Prices paid for gem quality diamond rough have dropped by about 30% in the past year. Now Canadian diamond mines such as De Beers’ Snap Lake, BHP Billiton’s Ekati and Rio Tinto’s Diavik are cutting jobs, production and/or investment.

Related stories.
Mammoth
Diamonds Clue to Mammoth Extinction
January 4, 2009 | University of Oregon News

University of Oregon scientists believe that nanodiamonds may reveal key information about how the woolly mammoth became extinct and why the Clovis Culture was fragmented about 12900 years ago.

Related stories.
Canadian Diamonds
Indian Diamond Trade is Struggling
December 31, 2008 | Diamonds.net

As a result of the global economic downturn the demand for cut diamonds is forcing the layoff of thousands of employees in Surat, India, where a large percentage of the world’s rough diamonds are cut into gems.

Related stories.
Diamonds in Canada
Diamonds in Canada
December 2, 2008 | Natural Resources Canada

Natural Resources Canada has a section on their website featuring the diamond deposits of Canada. They explain indicator minerals, drift prospecting and give profiles of several deposits including: Central Slave, NWT; Drybones Bay, NWT; Prairie Region; Lake Timiskaming, Flin Flon and Kirkland Lakes. You can also order their open file report: “Searching for Diamonds in Canada”.

Related stories.
Canadian Diamonds
Baffin Island, Canada Diamonds
November 22, 2008 | MarketWatch

Over the past few years Canada has moved to a prominent place in the production of gem quality diamonds. Now Peregrine Diamonds Ltd. may have found another nice deposit. They recovered 3.25 carats from a 2.28 tonne sample collected from a kimberlite on Baffin Island and have spotted over 170 kimberlite-type anomalies on adjacent lands.

Related stories.
Diamond
Bigger and Better Synthetic Diamonds
November 15, 2008 | New Scientist

A team of researchers has improved the way that artificial diamonds are created. They can now make large gems that are virtually indistinguishable from natural stones. Some are concerned that this will have a negative impact on the natural diamond market.

Related stories.
diamond
Diamonds Under Till in Nunavut
November 12, 2008 | Marketwire

High indicator mineral counts in the glacial tills of Nunavut near the PST Kimberlite has Stornoway Diamond Corporation and Shear Minerals Limited optimistic that they might find additional diamond-bearing kimberlite bodies.

Related stories.
De Beers
New Diamond Mine for De Beers
November 5, 2008 | De Beers

De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited announced the opening of the Voorspoed Diamond Mine in South Africa. It is the first new major diamond mine to open in South Africa in twenty years. Expected yield is about 10 million carats over the lifetime of the mine.

Related stories.
diamond
Diamonds by Chemical Vapor Deposition
October 28, 2008 | MSNBC News

Near-perfect synthetic diamonds are being grown in laboratories by a process that does not require enormous pressure. The method known as “chemical vapor deposition” can be used to grow diamond crystals at temperatures below that of Earth’s atmosphere.

Related stories.
diamond
Use of Diamonds in Medicine
October 7, 2008 | Reuters

A new cancer treatment uses nanodiaminds (diamond dust) to carry chemotherapy medications. The nanodiamonds are placed on a patch and the patch placed over the area where treatment is to occur. The chemotherapy medication is released over time.

Related stories.
Welcome! Every day you can find links to several earth science news topics right here. Bookmark this page and visit often. You can also receive them for free by RSS feed or in a daily email message.

Hobart King

Waterproof notebooks and field books


East Africa Rift The East Africa Rift System: Learn some basics about the East Africa Rift System from this article by James Wood and Alex Guth of Michigan Technological University.


meteorites What are Meteorites? Join meteorite hunter, Geoffrey Notkin, as he begins a series of monthly articles on the topic of meteorites.


marcellus shale gas Marcellus Shale: The most overlooked resource in the eastern United States!


Mineral Rights Mineral Rights / Oil & Gas: Who owns the minerals under your land? Have they been sold? Can someone mine without your permission?


sliding rocks of racetrack playa Sliding Rocks of Racetrack Playa: How these rocks slide across a dry lake bed is a mystery. Learn what is thought to move them. © iStock / S. Hoerold


yosemite rockfall Spectacular Yosemite Rockfall:A photo sequence of the fall and debris avalanche by Herb Dunn.


coal through a microscope Coal Through a Microscope: Coal is more than a black rock. It's THE most interesting rock.



geoscience search
Search Hundreds of
Geoscience Websites


© 2005-2009 Geology.com. All Rights Reserved.
Images, code and content of this website are property of Geology.com. Use without permission is prohibited. Pages on this site are protected by Copyscape.