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Seismic waves may detect diamond deposits

25 december 2018

Russian scientists have come up with a new technology which will help detect kimberlite fields by means of seismic waves, says the Izvestiya. The new technology will be tested in the field in March 2019.
The newspaper quoted the senior geophysicist of the ALROSA geophysical exploration program, Evgeniy Goncharov, who explained how the new technology could help discover diamonds.
“Seismic waves when passing through different kinds of rock change their property which will help us determine kimberlite pipes. To create a 3D map of the underground area it is important to do the measurements at different depths, thus the detectors will move down the holes in 2-4 meter steps,” he said.
According to the report, two holes with the depth of up to 130 meters should be drilled to be able to use the technology. They need to be at least 250 meters away from each other. Then the emitter is put in one of them, producing seismic waves and in the other hole there is a detector that registers the activity of the waves.
These waves move with a different speed through different types of rock and can cover the distance up to 250 meters. The received data can be further used to determine which kind of rock is more likely a kimberlite.
However, such technology demands much funding that is why most mining companies prefer to focus on the already known diamond deposits.

Victoria Quiri, Correspondent of the European Bureau, Rough&Polished, Strasbourg