Will the Popigai Astroblem "reveal" change diamond prices?

[galeteia]

http://news.yahoo.com/russia-reveals-shiny-state-secret-awash-diamonds-131212873.html

Excerpt:

Russia reveals shiny state secret: It's awash in diamonds
'Trillions of carats' lie below a 35-million-year-old, 62-mile diameter asteroid crater in eastern Siberia known as Popigai Astroblem. The Russians have known about the site since the 1970s.
Russia has just declassified news that will shake world gem markets to their core: the discovery of a vast new diamond field containing "trillions of carats," enough to supply global markets for another 3,000 years.
The Soviets discovered the bonanza back in the 1970s beneath a 35-million-year-old, 62-mile diameter asteroid crater in eastern Siberia known as Popigai Astroblem.
They decided to keep it secret, and not to exploit it, apparently because the USSR's huge diamond operations at Mirny, in Yakutia, were already producing immense profits in what was then a tightly controlled world market.
[...]
The Soviets were also producing a range of artificial diamonds for industry, into which they had invested heavily.
The veil of secrecy was finally lifted over the weekend, and Moscow permitted scientists from the nearby Novosibirsk Institute of Geology and Mineralogy to talk about it with Russian journalists.
According to the official news agency, ITAR-Tass, the diamonds at Popigai are "twice as hard" as the usual gemstones, making them ideal for industrial and scientific uses.
The institute's director, Nikolai Pokhilenko, told the agency that news of what's in the new field could be enough to "overturn" global diamond markets.
[...]

It sounds like these are more suited to industrial uses than gems, but I don't suppose this will mean a drop in diamond prices? *crossing fingers*

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Re: Will the Popigai Astroblem "reveal" change diamond price

This is good news if we see them producing diamonds in our lifetime! I imagine as in most mines, there is some material for gemstones and some for industrial purposes. I surely would love to see quantity increase and prices go down.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Re: Will the Popigai Astroblem "reveal" change diamond price

I want some of the experts to comment on this! Very curious!

 

[Christina...]

Re: Will the Popigai Astroblem "reveal" change diamond price

I do too DS. I'm curious as to what 'twice as hard as other gemstones' means. Are they referring to these particular stones being harder than the diamonds we are wearing today?

 

[AN0NYM0US]

Re: Will the Popigai Astroblem "reveal" change diamond price

I do too DS. I'm curious as to what 'twice as hard as other gemstones' means. Are they referring to these particular stones being harder than the diamonds we are wearing today?

I believe that's what they are saying. I've read that the diamonds found in the Argyle mine are harder than others found elsewhere.

I get the impression from the article that these Russian diamonds will have a larger impact on "industrial" diamond prices/applications.

 

[shimmer]

Re: Will the Popigai Astroblem "reveal" change diamond price

I think it is believed that diamonds in the Argyle mine were created under a bit more pressure and temperature, which slightly changes the crystal structure of the carbon atoms so they are oriented a bit differently in a way which allows a slightly stronger bond than the more common orientation.

ETA: this news is very exciting!

 

[Circe]

Re: Will the Popigai Astroblem "reveal" change diamond price

From the description, they've found a mine of balas or pearl diamonds (spheres formed from tightly compacted smaller diamonds, basically). Diamonds in the Rough might get material from them, but probably not the sort of thing most here prefer.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Re: Will the Popigai Astroblem "reveal" change diamond price

Awwww!!!! Yes, for industrial use and not for us!

"The shock pressures from the impact instantaneously transformed graphite in the ground into diamonds within a 13.6 km (8.5 mi) radius of the impact point. Diamonds are usually 0.5 to 2 mm (0.020 to 0.079 in) in diameter; a few exceptional specimens are 10 mm (0.39 in) in size. The diamonds not only inherit the tabular shape of the original graphite grains but they additionally preserve the original crystal's delicate striations.[5]

In September 2012, Russia officially stated there are massive diamond reserves under the crater containing "trillions of carats" and claimed there are enough diamonds in the field to supply global requirements for 3,000 years.[6] The diamonds at Popigai are "twice as hard" as the usual gemstones,[7] and "contain unusual abrasive features and large grain size," which makes them extremely useful for industrial and scientific applications. These types of diamonds are known as "impact diamonds," which are thought to be produced when a meteor strikes a graphite deposit at high velocity.[7]"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popigai_Astroblem

 

[Karl_K]

Re: Will the Popigai Astroblem "reveal" change diamond price

This could raise the price of gem grade diamonds if developed.
The sale of industrial diamonds offsets the mining costs of gem grade goods.
If the price of industrial grade goes down because these are cheaper and maybe better then they need to charge more for the gem grade diamonds to make a profit on a mine.

 

[Circe]

Re: Will the Popigai Astroblem "reveal" change diamond price

Also, I really want to see the name of the mine in Cyrillic. The transliteration makes it sound like "Parrot" Mine, which, while possible, seems unlikely ....

 

[Frenchcut]

Re: Will the Popigai Astroblem "reveal" change diamond price

When I first heard the news I immediately suspected it would be industrial grade diamond and didn't worry, but when they talked about it on national TV you should have seen the face of my DH...priceless

 

[diagem]

Re: Will the Popigai Astroblem "reveal" change diamond price

I do too DS. I'm curious as to what 'twice as hard as other gemstones' means. Are they referring to these particular stones being harder than the diamonds we are wearing today?

I believe that's what they are saying. I've read that the diamonds found in the Argyle mine are harder than others found elsewhere.

I get the impression from the article that these Russian diamonds will have a larger impact on "industrial" diamond prices/applications.

Those impact Diamonds might have some sort of value impact on industrial Diamonds although synthetics might be cheaper to produce than to mine these new impact Diamonds. I believe there are no Gem Materials found as per recent independant gemological tests.

Argyle Diamonds as per my experience are softer/more sensitive than normal colorless Rough crystals. That's at least how My experience with brown hued rough is (which is common at the Argyle mine).