Kimberlite pipe "Mir"
The world's largest diamond quarry, the kimberlite pipe "Mir", was created by the hands of a man in the permafrost realm at Mirny, the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). Above the man-made crater is strictly forbidden the flight of aircraft: a giant funnel with a diameter of 1,200 meters and a depth of 525 meters, initiating downward air flows, sucks helicopters. Kimberlite pipe "Mir" is a radical deposit of diamonds, discovered in 1955. The quarry has a depth of 525 m and a diameter of 1.2 km. The beginning of industrial development of diamonds dates back to 1957. It is clear that the deposit had to be developed under extreme climatic conditions, and in order to break through into the permafrost, the earth had to be exploded with dynamite. However, already in 1960, annual diamond output was 2 kilograms, and a fifth of them were of jewelery quality. Diamonds after the appropriate cut were transformed into amazing diamonds, which were used to create jewelry. Soviet citizens planning to marry can afford to buy exquisite engagement rings with diamonds, in which diamonds were mined in the Yakut kimberlite pipe Mir. The remaining 80% of the mined diamonds used for industrial purposes, as the scale of the reference Mohs hardness minerals is the world's strongest mineral with the highest thermal conductivity, dispersion and refraction. The extraction of diamond-bearing kimberlite ore by the open method was stopped in June 2001. Since 2009, diamond mining is conducted only at the Mir Underground Mine |
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