$20

million diamond discovery

404.2 carat diamond unearthed in Angola mine
Diamond Types

Deep in the mines of Angola laid a gem worth millions. It was hidden beneath the

By Camille Vitale earth, untouched by man. Sounds like a plot from an Indiana Jones film but this is far

Color types

from fiction.
Early February, a extraordinary 404.2carat diamond was excavated Lucapa Diamond Company, an Australian diaType Ia Diamonds emit mond mining company in the mines of Angola (a country located in southwest Africa.)
Red and Pink:
South Africa I believe is where most diamonds are found, senior Kasandra Dokic said.
These stones are ema yellowish tone because
The diamond is now deemed the 27th largest in the world and largest discovered in Angola. It is estimated to be as large
bedded
in the Earths
they contain nitrogen.
as a credit card.
crust. Intense heat and presThe gem is a Type IIa rating. These types of diamonds only make up 1 to 2% of the worlds diamonds and they
contain tiny amounts of nitrogen atoms. These atoms create imperfections, often leading to the opacity and color.
sure cause their crystal lattice
Since the one discovered was a Type II, it contains absolutely no imperfections, thus raising its price.
to distort and absorb a band of
I assume that clear or blue diamonds are the rarest types because theyre usually the most popular,
Type IIa Diamonds have no
freshman Jacob Dilla said.
green light rays.
Lucapa estimates the diamond could be worth upward of $20 million and they are planning to
visible absorption, so no nisell it to further exploration.
trogen impurities that can cause
The diamonds in the mine caverns are formed under extremely high temperatuers and
pressures. They form naturally at a depth of 150 to 200 kilometers at tempters ranging
Yellow and Orange: Nitrogen ata yellow or brown tint. They also
from 900 to 1,300 degrees Celsius with a pressure over 50,00 times the atmospheric
oms within these gems have asform under high pressure for longer
pressures.
The diamonds at this point have the same chemical composition as the lead
sembled themselves to absorb blue
time periods and tend to have irregular
in your pencil (graphite). The high temperatures and pressures rearrange
light giveing them a yellowish reflection.
the carbon atoms to create a newly formed crystal, one of the most dushapes
rable materials on the planet.
The diamonds travel hundreds of kilometers to the earth surface by kimberlitic. These are intrusive igneous dykes that
Type Ib Diamonds are not a common type. They rise from the upper mantel to the upper crust. KimberlitGreen: Just before exiting the Earths crust,
represent .1% of all natural diamonds. There is only ic travel rapidly with expansion of deep gases forming
these stones absorb naturally occurring radiacraters in the earth surfaces.
one nitrogen atom in these stones. Because they are
Theres probably a lot more diamonds in
tion within the soil, giving them their reflective
world that havent been discovered, who
scattered, lots of visible light is on the blue end of the theknows
properties.
whats under a mountain, senior
Victoria Grade said.
spectrum.
Lucapa hopes that this will
Blue: Boron is the active ingredient in these diamonds,
take them to new diamond
bonding with carbon to adsorb red, yellow and green light.
hotspots. Who knows
what is hiding below
the Earths surface,
Type IIb Diamonds also have a lack of Nitrogen atoms. However, waiting to be
Purple and Violet: These are the product of lattice distortion,
they contain boron. They are extremely rare, representing 0.1% of revealed?

all diamonds and are blue in tone.

but emerging evidence shows the presence of hydrogen may also

make their shading.