The Argyle Mine That Produces 90 Percent of the World’s Pink Diamonds Is closing

Article Robb Report - By Mark Ellwood on November 6, 2019

It was the anthills that confirmed their suspicions, glinting inexplicably under the harsh sun of the Australian outback. The geologists had explored the land for a decade, including surveys by helicopter, suspecting there might be something precious lurking under the barren, sunbaked earth. It took a closer look, though, to be sure: Trekking through the outback on foot, they squinted more closely at those sparkling flecks. They were diamonds, shards that the insects had inadvertently ferried to the surface from a deposit, or pipe, below.

The Argyle pink flower earrings by Scott West Jewelry

Until the Argyle seam was found, pink diamonds were so rare that they barely registered on jewelers’ radar. As dealer Scott West explains, what use was it creating a market without some consistent supply? His family firm, L. J. West, has long been a major player in colored diamonds, including Argyle pinks. This mine transformed the market by providing a small but steady stream of top-tier gems—at least until now. Rio Tinto has announced it will shutter operations at Argyle permanently by the end of 2020—and it estimates that there are just 150 or so Argyle pinks left to be unearthed there before it does. It’s a Herculean task: In the cool, damp tunnels under the earth where the final excavations are taking place, dumpers deposit tons of stony soil, which clatters noisily as it’s sifted, every hour, every day. Those 150 pinks lurk somewhere in that gray sludge, golden-ticket-style.

Fellow dealer Scott West makes an art analogy as well. “The discovery of Argyle was like when Monet started painting in a profound new way, which other artists then tried to copy, building their style on his,” he says. And just as the artist’s studio will one day be empty of paintings, so goes the Argyle mine. “It’s bittersweet, just like life—you have to cherish it when it’s here and realize that something beautiful does not necessarily last forever.”

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