The diamond industry was one of the winners as the world economy rebounded from the effects of the pandemic. Consumer demand for diamond jewelry grew last year, while supply remained constrained. As such, diamond prices rebounded which resulted in billions of dollars being added to the world’s top producers’ market valuations. However, who are the world’s richest diamond mines?
Interestingly, the ten largest diamond mines in the world by measurable reserves each contain more than one billion carats of recoverable diamond. The majority of the mines are located in Africa, with others located in Canada and Russia. Let’s see who the top 3 richest diamond mines are.
Jwaneng
Topping the list is Jwaneng. Jwaneng is the richest mine in the world, is located in southern Botswana. Debswana, a partnership between the De Beers company and the government of Botswana released that the Jwaneng mine has produced a whopping 10,319 kct (211 million carats) from its open pits. As such, this sets Jwaneng as the biggest diamond producer in the world with two-thirds being high quality gems. The current estimate is Jwaneng currently holds 300 million carats of diamonds, thus valued at $6 billion dollars. This huge value makes Jwaneng the world’s richest diamond mine.
Orapa
Orapa diamond mine is one of four Debswana operations in Botswana, and is number 2 on our list with 8,033kct of diamonds. It is the single largest diamond mine measured by area. The largest single diamond to be found in Orapa was a 203 carat rough stone shipped to Antwerp on the 7th February 2000. Orapa is currently mining at a depth of 305 metres and is expected to reach 350 metres by 2026.
Udachny
Number 3 on the list of the world’s richest diamond mines in the world belongs to Alrosa, Udachny mine in Russia. Discovered in 1955, it took almost two decades to build Udachny, which is located in the Sakha Republic region of Russia and just outside the Arctic circle. Surprisingly at a depth of more than 630 meters, Udachny is currently the third deepest open-pit mine in the world (after Bingham Canyon Mine and Chuquicamata).
Interested in learning more about diamonds? Check out our previous blog posts on diamond news and advice to learn more.
