Diamonds are mined from the earth in a variety of locations all over the world. The stone in your ring or necklace could be from Canada, Africa, or even Australia. Each diamond mine has unique characteristics that reflect not only the mining culture but the landscape of the surrounding area.

Australian Mines

Argye mine, owned by Rio Tinto, holds the title for the single largest volume producer of diamonds. Located in the northeast of Western Australia in the Kimberly region, this mine produces 90-95% of the pink diamond supply in the world. While this mine is the largest volume producer, its low proportion of quality gems keeps it from being the highest value producer of diamonds.

There have only ever been two diamond mines in Australia and Merlin mine is the second. This mine, which is no longer operational, was owned by Rio Tinto before being sold to Striker Resources. Striker Resources has considered making the mine operational again.

Canadian Mines

Diavik mine is located on an island in Canada south of the Arctic Circle and north of Yellowknife. This mine is also owned by Rio Tinto. The island that houses the mind is connected to the mainland by an ice road. Diavik mine employs more than 700 people and produces more than 8 million carats of diamonds a year, making it an integral contributer to the regional economy.

The Ekati diamond mine is also located south of the Arctic Circle in the Northwest Territories of Canada. Owned by BHP Billiton, this mine was the first operational diamond mine in Canada. BHP Billiton also owns CanadaMark, a diamond verification service that authenticates the products of this mine. Diamonds mined from Ekati are sold under the trade name Aurias.

African Mines

Located 240 km west of Francistown in Botswana is Orapa, the world’s largest diamond mine. Beginning production in 1971, this is the oldest mine owned by Debswana, a partnership company between the Botswana government and DeBeers. Operating 7 days a week, this mine offers a game park, a 100-bed hospital and schools for the employees and their children.

Owned and operated by Trans Hex, the Baken diamond mine has a history of producing large, valuable diamonds. This mine is located in South Africa along the lower Orange River. In 2004, while the average size stone was 1.29 carats, the mine also produced both a 78.9 carat D color flawless diamond worth more than $1.8 million US and a 27.67 pink diamond that sold for more than $1 million US.

The producer of the largest gem diamond ever is Premier mine in Cullinan, South Africa. In 1905 it produced a diamond weighing 3,106.75 carats. Owned by the DeBeers Company, this mine also produced the 545.67 carat Golden Jubilee diamond. In celebration of its centennial, it was renamed the Cullinan Diamond Mine in 2003.