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Diamonds often mark our most unique and important moments, helping us to celebrate the best things in life.
Diamonds preceded human life on Earth, and even dinosaurs. Most diamonds originated in the depths of Earth’s mantle between 1–3 billion years ago. These precious stones found their way to the surface through a series of volcanic eruptions occurring 300–400 million years ago.
Beauty and integrity
Forty years ago, in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, after a decade of searching an area the size of France, 2 of our geologists – Frank Hughes and Warren Atkinson – saw a small diamond embedded in an ant hill. What those ants had found was one of the richest diamond deposits the world had ever seen. After years of hard work sampling creeks and rivers, following clues in the endless, remote Australian outback, Hughes and Atkinson were standing on top of the pipe that would become the Argyle diamond mine.
Today, our white and coloured diamonds are some of the world’s most sought-after gems. In November 2020, mining ceased at Argyle, after 37 years of operations and more than 865 million carats of rough diamonds, including a tiny proportion of extremely rare pink diamonds. We are committed to respectfully closing and rehabilitating the mine and returning the land to its traditional custodians.
With 37 years of Argyle Pink Diamond production in global markets we continue to manage the Argyle Pink Diamonds brand through sales of remaining inventory, secondary market platforms, certification processes and creative collaborations with renowned national and international jewellers.
We produce the full spectrum of diamonds in terms of quality, size and colour. °¿³Ü°ù Diavik mine produces a high proportion of large, white, gem-quality diamonds, traditionally associated with engagement rings, luxury jewellery and collector pieces. Diavik also produces a small proportion, less than 1 percent, of yellow diamonds.
°¿³Ü°ù Argyle mine, by contrast, produced predominantly small, coloured diamonds – generally destined for the affordable fashion jewellery market – as well as an extremely small volume of the rare and highly prized pink diamonds sought after by high-end collectors, designers and diamond connoisseurs.
Our diamonds are not just rare and beautiful – they have an honourable pedigree. We want our customers to be confident that the journey their diamond makes from the mine to the market is a worthy one: that landscapes and cultures are treated respectfully; local communities prosper; safe and fair working conditions are provided and that we deal transparently with our industry partners.
We have partnered with leading international organisations to ensure the integrity and reliability of the wider diamond industry too. We were a founding member and the first mining company to be certified by the , which promotes responsible, ethical, social and environmental practices throughout the diamond, gold and platinum jewellery supply chain.
And we have taken an active leadership role in the , which represents the diamond industry in the Kimberley Process and has established a mechanism for guaranteeing to consumers that diamonds are conflict free.
We were also a founding member of the , the first organisation to represent diamond producers at an international level. The Natural Diamond Council supports the development of the diamond sector and works to maintain and improve consumer confidence in diamonds.
ÌÇÐÄvlogÈë¿Ú 200 kilometres south of the Arctic Circle sit some of the world’s most sought-after diamonds
How we process personal data provided or obtained through this website.
With the exception of the use of cookies, ÌÇÐÄvlogÈë¿Úgenerally does not seek to collect personal data through this website. However if you choose to provide personal data to ÌÇÐÄvlogÈë¿Úthrough this website (for example, by sending us an email), we will process that personal data to answer your query and if relevant, to manage our business relationship with you or your company. We won't process that personal data for other purposes except where required to meet our legal obligations or otherwise as authorised by law and notified to you.
If you choose to subscribe to our media releases or other communications, you can unsubscribe at any time (by following the instructions in the email or by contacting us).
With your consent, our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of our website. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our website and also allows us to improve our site. A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers that we store on your browser or the hard drive of your computer if you agree. Cookies contain information that is transferred to your computer's hard drive.
As some data privacy laws regulate IP addresses and other information collected through the use of cookies as personal data, Rio Tinto’s processing of such personal data needs to comply with its Data Privacy Standard (see Part 1 of our Privacy Policy), and also applicable data privacy laws.
With the exception of the use of cookies (explained below), ÌÇÐÄvlogÈë¿Úgenerally does not seek to collect personal data through this website. However if you choose to provide personal data to ÌÇÐÄvlogÈë¿Úthrough this website (for example, by sending us an email), we will process that personal data to answer your query and if relevant, to manage our business relationship with you or your company. We won't process that personal data for other purposes except where required to meet our legal obligations or otherwise as authorised by law and notified to you.
Part 1 of this Privacy Policy contains the ÌÇÐÄvlogÈë¿ÚData Privacy Standard, which provides an overview of Rio Tinto’s approach to personal data processing. There is additional information in the appendices to the Data Privacy Standard, including information about disclosures, trans-border data transfers, the exercise of data subject rights and how to make complaints or obtain further information relating to Rio Tinto’s processing of your personal data.
If you choose to subscribe to our media releases or other communications, you can unsubscribe at any time (by following the instructions in the email or by contacting us at digital.comms@riotinto.com).
With your consent, our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of our website. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our website and also allows us to improve our site.
A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers that we store on your browser or the hard drive of your computer if you agree. Cookies contain information that is transferred to your computer's hard drive.
As some data privacy laws regulate IP addresses and other information collected through the use of cookies as personal data, Rio Tinto’s processing of such personal data needs to comply with its Data Privacy Standard (see Part 1 of this Privacy Policy), and also applicable data privacy laws.
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