[Rockhounds] ‘Fountain’ of rare pink diamonds discovered in WA

[Kreigh Tomaszewski]

While all forms of diamonds are coveted, rare pink versions are
particularly highly sought after.

Pink diamonds, along with red, green and purple, are among the rarest
colours of diamonds. Polished pink specimens of the highest grade can sell
for tens of millions of dollars
<https://www.news.com.au/finance/money/wealth/fortune-pink-diamond-sells-for-444-million-at-swiss-auction/news-story/0f0fdf9f08b643594fbf54b33ad54764>,
while the candy coloured gems adorn the engagement rings of celebrities
including Jennifer Lopez and Blake Lively.

Even the late Queen Elizabeth II was among pink diamonds’ most high-profile
fans, having been gifted a 54-carat intense pink diamond when she married
the Duke of Edinburgh in 1947.

WA’s renowned Argyle diamond deposit was the source of 90 per cent of the
world’s pink diamonds. The mine at Argyle has closed
<https://www.news.com.au/finance/money/investing/iconic-wa-diamond-mine-to-close-making-rare-pink-gems-the-new-faberge-egg/news-story/c0c1c74b1c7f9c828f10bf8ac22f9bc9>,
making pink diamonds all the more rare, but researchers believe they now
understand how and when the striking stones were formed.

The scientists, who published their findings in Nature Communications
<https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-40904-8> on Tuesday, used tiny
lasers to analyse miners and rocks extracted from the Argyle deposit. They
found the pink diamond-rich site formed during the break-up of an ancient
supercontinent, called Nuna, about 1.3 billion years ago.

https://www.news.com.au/technology/science/fountain-of-rare-pink-diamonds-discovered-in-wa/news-story/ddf1248f15d72d2fc4090b3bedd7be9d