(ORDO NEWS) — Pink diamonds are rare treasures found among the earth’s gems. Their formation remained a mystery to scientists for a long time. But recent discoveries made in Argyll in Western Australia reveal the event that contributed to the creation of these amazing stones.
Diamonds are known to require enormous heat and pressure to form. All diamonds are varied, but colored ones are a real rarity. Only 0.01 percent of the planet’s gemstones are made from them. Pink, blue, green, purple, orange and red are extremely rare. While yellow and brown diamonds are a little more common.
Pink diamonds, according to scientists, are formed as a result of deformation of the crystal lattice. This process is one of three ways gemstones can be produced with defects, in addition to impurities and damage. The deformation changes the way the diamond reflects light, giving it its characteristic pink hue.
Researchers note that 80-90% of pink diamonds were discovered in the Argyle mine. This is the place where continents collided 1.8 billion years ago. This event created enormous pressure, and its location in the depths of the lithosphere provided enough heat necessary for the formation of pink diamonds.
But how did they get to the surface? In a new study, scientists have discovered a third, previously unknown ingredient needed to form pink diamonds. Rocks rich in diamonds in Argyll have turned out to be older than expected. Their formation occurred during the breakup of the supercontinent Nuna, when the outer layer of the Earth stretched.
This process created voids in which molten rock from the Earth’s interior could rise. This molten mass contained diamonds, and it exploded, throwing precious stones to the surface. Thus, a diatreme was formed – a type of volcanic pipe associated with gas explosions.
Now it will be easier for researchers to find pink diamonds, avoiding labor-intensive digging in the depths of the Earth. It will be enough to determine the parts of the earth’s crust that were stretched as a result of the breakup of continents. There may be a few rare treasures hiding right under our feet, waiting to be discovered.
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