Geologists started mining diamond-bearing ore at the Popigai deposit in Russia

Geologists from Novosibirsk started mining diamond-bearing ore at the Popigai deposit, which is the largest accumulation of diamonds on the planet, ksonline.ru writes.
The estimated resources of the diamond deposit in the Arctic zone of the Krasnoyarsk Territory formed as a result of the fall of an asteroid or comet about 35 million years ago are measured in trillions of carats. The booked reserves are 330 billion carats, which is ten times higher than the total world volume of ordinary diamonds.
The "explosive origin", because of which they are also called impact diamonds, has led to many unique characteristics. They are of little interest to jewelers, since usually their size does not exceed one millimeter, but they are very promising for use in the industry. Impact diamonds are harder, have better abrasive properties, withstand temperatures hundreds of degrees higher, and have much higher wear resistance than ordinary diamonds.
Russian scientists are planning to build a small experimental processing plant at Popigai and process several tens of tons of ore on it.
Due to the remoteness of the field, the work is quite expensive. Nevertheless, although slowly, the process is progressing and this summer another expedition of geologists from Novosibirsk is working on the Popigai astrobleme. Its task is to extract and export several tons of ore to the "mainland" to work out new beneficiation methods here.
Successful results will become an additional argument for potential investors (the largest Russian corporations have also become interested in the field) and will accelerate the implementation of the project in the Arctic zone of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, ksonline.ru says.

Alex Shishlo for Rough&Polished