A discussion about Argyle deserves its own space

The diamonds recovered were some of the most unique gems and not only for their extraordinary colour. Most diamonds come up through the earths crust in Kimberlite pipes, which through volcanic activity pushes the diamonds up to the surface where they can be mined. Argyle diamonds come to the surface in Lamproite pipes, a deep narrow cone of volcanic magma which occur in high heat flow volcanic activity much older and at much deeper levels than kimberlite. In fact most kimberlite pipes will host diamond deposits but it is only Olivine Lamproite pipes which bear diamonds. Which make the Diamonds from Argyle even more remarkable and rare.

In the Argyle mine Rio Tinto were the first to successfully produce diamonds from Lamproite pipes. Diamonds from this mine have been dated to 1.58 billions years old and believed to have been formed under violent pressure from seismic or volcanic explosions which explains the unique twisted helix structure which produces their unique colour- pure carbon which only reflects certain colours like pink, violet and blue. Argyle diamonds are truly unique.

Diamonds from this mine are uniquely structured and much harder to cut and polish. Each stone takes 3-4 times the amount of effort to cut and polish. Each year the best of the fancy coloured diamonds were offered by Tender.

Every year for every 1 million carats of rough pink diamonds mined, only one carat of polished pink diamond was offered at the auction. The Australian Argyle mine was responsible for over 90% of the production of pink diamonds globally, unfortunately production has decreased to the point where it was no longer viable to keep the mine open. 

The Argyle Mine was officially closed in November 2020. Due to the closing of the mine prices for Argyle diamonds are forecast to skyrocket as now only a fraction of the pink diamonds mined worldwide will be produced. To give it perspective, 5 of the 10 most expensive diamonds sold have been pink - according to Sothebys. 

Prices for gem quality pink diamonds have been increasing over 10% per annum over the last 20 years; and now it was widely predicted that prices would increase 20% or more  in the first year after mine closure, with increases continuing as the secondary market evolves.

As far as investments go, few financial instruments can match such a tremendous return on investment.