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In front of us sat millions of dollars worth of diamonds… but first, we had to travel to one of the most remote mines on earth to see how they got there.
Welcome to Diavik Diamond Mine — a mine so remote that for most of the year, the only way in is by plane. To reach it ourselves, we drove over 400 km on the world’s longest heavy haul ice road before heading underground to follow the entire diamond mining process from start to finish.
In this video, we show you:
• How geologists discovered diamonds beneath a frozen lake
• How crews mine kimberlite 600 meters underground
• The remote-controlled underground loaders used to keep miners safe
• How the processing plant separates tiny diamonds from millions of tons of rock
• How rough diamonds are cleaned, sorted, weighed, and prepared for the global market
• And the final diamond rings, necklaces and accessories for sale at a jewelry store
Along the way, we get hands-on with everything from underground haul trucks and refuge stations to bags of freshly recovered diamonds—including a 14-carat stone worth more money than I should probably be trusted holding.
Rio Tinto’s Diavik operation has produced over 150 million carats of diamonds since opening, but the mine is now entering its closure phase. We were lucky enough to visit only weeks before mining operations wrapped up, capturing one of Canada’s most iconic mining operations before it disappears forever.
A huge thank you to Rio Tinto and the entire Diavik team for giving us access to document this incredible process.
And a huge thank you to our channel sponsor ARIAT! Check out their boots (which I wear in every video), workwear, and more here:
0:00-0:30 Intro
0:30-1:21 The Diavik Mine
1:21-1:34 Getting There
1:34-1:59 Mine Life
1:59-3:21 Diamond and Diavik History
3:21-3:36 Closure
3:36-4:51 What is Kimberlite?
4:51-6:30 Teleremote Operations
6:30-8:25 Gearing Up for Underground
8:25-12:11The A21 Pit
12:11-12:29 Switching Tags
12:29-13:26 The A154 Pit
13:26-14:07 Refuge Stations
14:07-16:27 Escape Tubes
16:27-18:19 Underground Truck Shop
18:19-20:22 The Processing Plant
20:22-20:47 The Scale of The Pits
20:47-21:22 The Product Splitting Facility
21:22-22:07 Step 1: Caustic Soda
22:07- 22:33 Step 2: Acid Bath/Ultrasonic Cleaning
22:33-23:53 Step 3: Machine Sorting
23:53-24:51 Step 4: Hand Sorting
24:51-26:31 Small Rough Diamonds
26:31-27:34 BIG Rough Diamonds
27:34-28:07 Types of Rough Diamonds
28:07-28:24 The Four C’s
28:24-29:08 The 14-Carat Diamond
29:08-29:30 After The PSF
29:30-30:33 Storefront Diamonds
30:33-30:46 Why Carats?
30:46-31:08 The Round Brilliant Diamond
31:08-31:19 Other Uses for Diamonds
31:19-32:01 Outro
▶ Coinbase Website: Coinbase.com
▶ CEX Website: cex.io
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