Argyle Diamond mine is the world’s largest diamond mine located in East Kimberly, Western Australia. Discovered in 1979, Argyle mine spans over 124 acres.
Commercial mining started in 1983 at the Argyle mine, which is the source of approximately 90 percent of the rare pink diamonds along with other natural colored diamonds as well as gemstones. Though pink diamonds can be found from other mines of the world, the thing that makes the Argyle pink diamonds more desirable is their quality and the volume at which they are produced.
Without doubt, Argyle mine holds a special place in the market. This is why investors, as well as potential customers, have been speculating as to what will happen when the mining of diamonds at the Argyle mine will come to an end.
Date of Closure
The owner of the Argyle diamond mine, Rio Tinto group, announced in 2013, that the mine would be closed in the near future. The company stated that the underground portion of the Argyle mine had been opened up to extend the lifetime of the diamond mine. However, it will not last long.
Reason of Closure
Elaborating further the Rio Tinto group said that the closure is due to the decline in the sources of diamonds as well as the quality. In the market, the average demand of diamond is increasing at the rate of 1 percent to 4 percent per year while the market supply of Argyle diamonds is growing only at the rate of 1 percent per year, which is way below the market demand.
Plus, the diamonds that are mined are quality wise no way near to the diamonds that the Argyle mine is re-known for. Hence, for the company, it is not economically feasible to continue to mine given the diminishing volume as well as the quality of the diamonds mined.
The closure of the Argyle diamond mine would not only limit pink diamonds but other colored diamonds as well, and it would decrease the overall supply of the diamonds in the worldwide market.
The shutdown of the Argyle mine operation, without doubt, would mark the end of an era.
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