Diamonds have been hitting the headlines again recently. The world’s largest new Diamond mine in 13 years is to open in the Northwest Territories of Canada. Named Gahcho Kué, it is situated in an extremely remote region, about 175 miles northeast of the city of Yellowknife. The huge complex will have three open pits and is expected to produce around 54 million carats of rough Diamond over its lifetime. Canada is the world’s third largest Diamond producer by value.
Diamonds have been fetching extraordinary prices recently at jewelry auctions as well. At a Bonhams auction in late September, a rare Fancy Intense 3.81 carat Blue Diamond sold for £2.32 million. Although not the largest Blue Diamond ever sold, this sale reasserts the value placed in fancy colored Diamonds. Blue is one of the rarest colors of Diamond, accounting for only 0.004% of all Diamonds mined. The color is caused by boron impurities in the gem – just one atom of boron per million can create an intense blue color!
