Scientists have raised the prospect of diamonds being mined in Antarctica

January 5, 2014 5:40 pm

The search for a girl’s best friend at the bottom of the world

By Anjana Ahuja

Scientists have raised the prospect of diamonds being mined in Antarctica, writes Anjana Ahuja

The ups and downs of Hollywood’s greatest love affair were charted through bling. Gifts from Richard Burton to Elizabeth Taylor included the 69-carat Taylor-Burton diamond, the 33-carat internally flawless Elizabeth Taylor diamond, and the exquisite Taj Mahal diamond, once owned by a Mughal emperor.Charles Taylor, a former president of Liberia, once proffered diamonds to another famous beauty, Naomi Campbell. The model later revealed the “dirty stones” were brought to her in the middle of the night by a henchman. Mr Taylor evidently forgot that, as well as the usual four Cs – cut, colour, clarity and carat – the successful handover of sparklers requires class and courtesy.

Now comes news that the limited supply of these valuable stones may not be so limited after all. A group of scientists has revealed the discovery of kimberlite deposits in the Prince Charles Mountains in eastAntarctica. Kimberlite is a volcanic rock that is prized as a carrier of gems; the carrot-shaped kimberlite “pipes” that pierce the Earth’s crust can be studded with crystals of diamond, spinel and olivine formed in the crushing pressures and searing heat of the planet’s interior. Diamond mines are, in effect, kimberlite mines; the rock is named after Kimberley in South Africa, home of the first diamond rush.

There is no guarantee that the Antarctic kimberlite contains such treasure, but the prospect of diamonds glittering beneath the vast white continent is almost too romantic to contemplate. The find has prompted speculation that Antarctica could be mined, despite the inhospitable terrain and the uncertain rewards. This could not be done for at least 27 years – international law forbids it – but the world’s diamond reserves, found mainly in Russia and Africa, are forecast to last fewer than 20 years. China has previously expressed interest in mining the Moon. Antarctica is cheaper; and who would bet against Beijing, which took part in last week’s Antarctic rescue and has announced plans to build its fourth Antarctic base station, developing a clean extraction technology to break the ice?

For now, Antarctica is the world’s most protected continent, thanks to the 1991 Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, which designates the continent as “a natural reserve dedicated to peace and science”. The protocol bans commercial mineral extraction. It is up for renegotiation in 2041, however, making it conceivable mineral extraction permits could be issued to raise funds to preserve the rest of the continent. Infractions already happen; about 40,000 tourists visit each year. Thirty nations, including Russia, have base stations there and seven – the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina, Norway and France – have made territorial claims.

We do not, in fact, need to ravage the continent to feed our lust for diamonds: scientists can make them. A diamond “seed” is placed in a closed chamber containing carbon – and then the kind of heat and pressure produced inside the Earth is simulated; or layers of carbon are built up chemically. Man-made diamonds are identical, chemically, to natural diamonds, with the same hardness, refractive index and density. But to consumers, the stones are emphatically not the same.

While I rather covet a lab-made diamond as a glamorous way of flashing my science credentials, consumers have proved reluctant to order engagement rings from companies in industrial parks. These businesses struggle with marketing: they bristle at terms such as “synthetic” or “artificial” because of the implied fakery.

Natural diamonds remain associated with the best and the worst of humanity: they symbolise love and they fund wars. The biggest and most beautiful stones command escalating prices, and this will continue as the demand for depreciation-proof, ultra-rare status symbols rises in the face of a finite supply. A new record was set in November, when the 59-carat Pink Star, the biggest pink diamond ever graded, was sold in Geneva to a mystery buyer for £51.7m.

And what could be more covetable than jewels from the bottom of the world? If Burton were alive today, he would surely be bidding millions for the privilege of placing the Antarctic Diamond at his lover’s throat.

The writer was named best science commentator at the 2013 Comment Awards