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Publisher-reported update

2026-08-26

The world production of diamonds in 1990 was more than 100 million carats (metric carats, or CM; 1 carat = 0.2 grams), compared to 75 million in 1985, and 15 million in 1950. This represents a more than 14% per year growth rate. The value of 1990 production was about US$4.5 billion (1992 US$), and diamond is the fourth-ranked commodity in the world in terms of value, after Fe, Au, Cu, and Zn. Primary sources of diamonds are the mantle-derived igneous rocks eclogite and peridotite, brought to the surface by rare ultrabasic magmas, kimberlite and lamproite being the most common. Secondary diamond deposits, such as the marine deposits of southwest Africa, are derived from primary sources by weathering processes that acted for several million years to transport and concentrate diamonds at favourable localities. Of approximately 5,000 known kimberlites world-wide, fewer than 50 are or have been mined successfully. There have been fewer than 15 major producers (more than 3 million carats/year), with only 6 major discoveries made in the last 50 years. The Point Lake pipe, the first discovered in the Lac De Gras kimberlite field in Canada's Northwest Territories, is potentially another…

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