Ancient supercontinent and rare pink diamonds – Newsbomb – News

In order for a diamond to turn pink or red, it must be exposed to intense forces caused by the collision of tectonic plates, which bend and bend its crystal lattices.

Pink diamonds are extremely rare. Its source was a now-closed mine in Australia 90% of colored gemstones. High-quality pieces can sell for tens of millions of dollars. But the discovery made in the same area could help uncover new deposits.

the Scientists Who study deposits From argyle diamonds Ha Western Australia, Where the mine is located, they said they now have a better understanding of the geological conditions needed to form pink diamonds and other colored diamonds, according to a study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications Journal.

Use Laser To analyze minerals and rocks extracted from sediments argyle, the Researchers found The area rich in pink diamonds was formed during the disintegration of antiquity supercontinent nona, Approx 1.3 billion years.

“Although the continent that later became Australia did not break up, the area where Argyll lies expanded, creating gaps in the Earth’s crust for magma to escape to the surface, carrying the pink diamonds with it.” The study’s lead author, Dr. Hugo Ollerock, a researcher at the John D. Laitre Center at Curtin University in Perth, Australia, said.

The “secret” story behind pink diamonds

However, to make diamonds Pink color the red, They must be exposed to intense forces from the collision of tectonic plates, which bend and bend their crystal lattices. Most brown diamonds are also formed this way.

In the argyle, This process happened approximately 1.8 billion years, When they collided Western Australia And northern Australia, where colorless diamonds have turned pink, hundreds of kilometers beneath its crust Land.

But how is this? Colored diamonds Did they reach the surface? The research team found that deposits Argyle It is 1.3 billion years old, since the time when the ancient supercontinent Nuna was splitting into parts. The breakup of Nuna may have reopened the ancient intersection left by colliding continents, allowing diamond-rich rocks to travel through this region and form large diamond deposits.

“There are volcanoes full of pink diamonds that have not been explored yet.”

According to CNN, this series of events, according to the study, indicates that ancient continental crossings may be important in finding pink diamonds, and may direct exploration for other deposits.

“Most diamond deposits are found in the middle of ancient continents because the volcanoes that host them are exposed on the surface and found by explorers.”declared olierok.

“Argyle lies at the seam between two ancient continents, and these edges are often covered in sand and soil, leaving the possibility that similar pink diamond-filled volcanoes remain undiscovered.” said lead study author Dr. Hugo Ollerock, a researcher at the John de La Terre Center at Curtin University in Perth, Australia.