Mirny Diamond Mine: World’s Largest Open Pit Mine

MessageToEagle.com – The Mir Mine, also known as the Mirny diamond mine is the world’s largest open pit mine. Located in Eastern Siberia, Russia, the Mirny diamond mine has a depth of about 1,722 ft and a diameter of about 3,900 feet.

The mine is no longer active, but during its operational peak it produced over 10 million carats of diamonds per year. The mine was responsible for funneling diamonds into building the USSR and it left behind a pit that stretches almost a mile across the surface of the Earth.

The birth of the Mir Mine came out of Stalin’s desire to retain Soviet independence. After WWII, the USSR required large quantities of industrial diamonds to support the reconstruction of the country. The mine was found by Soviet geologist, Yuri Khabardin, whose exertion lead to a remarkable discovery.

Development of the Mirny diamond mine started way in 1957. This was by no means an easy task as everything was covered with snow. The Siberian winter lasts for seven months out of the year. This meant that for seven months of the year, the mine operators had to deal with temperatures that were so low as to freeze the rubber tires of the vehicles, causing the tires to break.

See also:

Where Do Diamonds Come From?

Door To Hell In Turkmenistan: Giant Darvaza Crater Has Been On Fire For Years

Huge Secret Deposit Of Extraterrestrial Diamonds Revealed

This made mining very difficult, but the Soviets did not give up. No poor weather or climate conditions were going to stop them from getting to those diamonds. Jet engines were used for thawing and digging out the permafrost.

Dynamite was also used for digging out the Kimberlite. The mining required immense efforts on part of the workers and the mine was usually covered at night. The prime objective was to prevent the machinery from getting frozen. But it was certainly worth the effort. The high quality of diamond found in the Mirny diamond mine contributed to Russia’s status as the world’s third largest diamond producer.

According to De Beers, world’s leading diamond company there was something odd about the diamonds coming out of Mirny diamond mine. These diamonds were all of a uniform size and shape and were dubbed ‘Silver Bears’.

While DeBeers could not understand how the Soviets were producing such a large quantity of gem diamonds of such uniform size, and supposedly from one mine that by DeBeers surveys should not be capable of such diamond production, they were, nevertheless, pressured to purchase them all lest the Soviets simply dump the diamonds on the open market, thus flooding it and bringing down diamond prices.

The Mirny diamond mine was closed in 2004 and the mystery of the Silver Bears was never solved.

MessageToEagle.com