Argyle diamond mine stops production after 37 years

WA Country Hour/ByCourtney Fowler,Vanessa Mills

November 3, 2020

Since opening its doors almost 40 years ago, Rio Tinto's Argyle diamond mine has produced 865 million carats of rough diamonds and is one of the few known sources of pink diamonds in the world.

The world's largest supplier of pink and colored diamonds will stop production at the end of today. (Supplied: Rio Tinto Diamonds.)

At its peak in 1994, Argyle produced 42.8 million carats of rough diamonds, later transitioning from open pit mining to underground in 2013.

At this time Rio Tinto created the State's first block cave mine, which saw Argyle extend the life of the mine for a further seven years until today.

But from the modest startup budget of only $100,000, the Argyle mine has become the largest producer of coloured diamonds in the world, producing 90 per cent of the global supply of vivid pink gems.

The most rare and valuable of the mine's coloured diamond production are offered each year in the Argyle Pink Diamond Tender, considered to be the most exclusive diamond sale in the world.

The 50 to 60 stones selected for the annual tender are so rare, they equate to less than one tenth of a per cent of the year's production.

In practical terms, the total number of top quality pink diamonds could be held in the palm of your hand.

Over the past 20 years, the value of Argyle Pink Diamonds sold at the tender have appreciated 500 per cent, outperforming all major equity markets.

What does the future hold?

A well known Indigenous tourism operator hopes the Argyle Diamond mine will continue to accommodate visitors during its shutdown period.

Since 2007, Miriwoong traditional owner and operator of Luridgii Tours Ted Hall has taken thousands of people through the mine to explain its cultural significance.

"In the Dreamtime story the women's group built the Matsu ranges to trap the barramundi … and in the Miriwoong version it deposited two eggs in a sacred waterhole," he said.