Diamond Mine,
open-pit mine
Discover West Holidays, 19 Olive St, PO Box 8073, Subiaco, Perth WA 6008, Australia, Tel +61-8-6263-6475, Fax: +61-8-6263-6482.
Slingair and Heliwork, PO Box 612, Kununurra, WA, 6743, Fax: +61-2-9999-4332.
| Location: | Kununurra, Kimberley region, far north east of Western Australia. 550km south west of Darwin. |
| Open: | All year [2004] |
| Fee: | depends on tour operator/tour package |
| Classification: |
Diamond Mine,
open-pit mine
|
| Light: | n/a |
| Dimension: | Ar=45ha. |
| Guided tours: | D=4h. |
| Bibliography: | |
| Address: |
Tour operators (examples):
Discover West Holidays, 19 Olive St, PO Box 8073, Subiaco, Perth WA 6008, Australia, Tel +61-8-6263-6475, Fax: +61-8-6263-6482. Slingair and Heliwork, PO Box 612, Kununurra, WA, 6743, Fax: +61-2-9999-4332. |
| Last update: | $Date: 2008/07/01 20:15:59 $ |
| 1890s | diamonds discovered in the Pilbara region. | |
| 1972 | Kimberley region identified as being the most likely location for diamonds, joint venture formed. | |
| 1977 | diamond-bearing kimberlite pipes discovered in Ellendale. | |
| 1979 | deposit discovered by the Ashton joint venture. | |
| 1983 | alluvial diamond mining. | |
| 1985 | production of mine began. | |
| 2002 | operated by the Argyle Diamond Mines Joint Venture, owned by Rio Tinto. |
The Argyle Mine is the world's largest single producer of diamonds. It is located in a remote, rugged and hot desert, with temperatures of over 40°C. This rather new mine, is operated by 520 employees which are based in Perth, working two weeks 12 hour shifts at the mine and then spending two weeks at home.
Argyle was the first diamond orebody mined commercially which is not hosted in kimberlite. The AK1 pipe at Argyle instead consists of olivine lamproite. This pipe was eroded over time forming placer deposits nearby. Those relocated soft sediments contining diamonds were mined in so called alluvial diamond mining. However, after they had been remove to a certain point the pipe was found below, and so the open pit mining of the pipe started.
The diamond bearing rock is dislodged by drilling and blasting, then loaded by excavators into 120-tonne dump trucks. At the processing plant the diamonds are extracted by physical processing techniques: crushing, scrubbing, screening and gravity separation. Finally diamond recovery is achieved by the use of x-ray sorting machines. Diamonds fluoresce under x-ray and are so identified by the sorter.
There are several possibilities to visit this sight, but generally only in day trips from Kununurra, which include plane and/or coach ride. The four hour mine tour tour includes process plant, diamond viewing room, natural history museum, open-pit lookout, and buffet lunch at Argyle Village. It is possible to combine a flight over the Bungle Bungle Ranges with the mine trip.
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