The Merlin diamond mine is one of only three diamond mines in Australia. The mine is located in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Au ...

of Australia, about 80 kilometres south of

Borroloola Borroloola ( local Aboriginal languages: ''Burrulula'') is a town in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located on the McArthur River, about 50 km upstream from the Gulf of Carpentaria. Location Borroloola lies on the traditional c ...

. The mine operated for a period of about three years from 2000 to mid-2003, during which time it produced about 500,000 carats (100 kg) of high quality diamonds. The Merlin mine has an unusually high proportion of gem-quality diamonds: 65% of production is gem-quality, and only 35% is classified as near-gem or industrial quality. This compares to a worldwide average of just 20% gem-quality diamond production at

diamond mines There are a limited number of commercially available diamond mines currently operating in the world, with the 50 largest mines accounting for approximately 90% of global supply. Diamonds are also mined alluvially over disperse areas, where dia ...

worldwide, and a mere 5% gem-quality production at Australia's largest diamond mine,

Argyle diamond mine The Argyle Diamond Mine was a diamond mine located in the East Kimberley region in the remote north of Western Australia. Argyle was at times the largest diamond producer in the world by volume (14 million carats in 2018), although the propor ...

. The high ratio of gem-quality diamonds is responsible for a relatively high value of $108

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

per carat (540 $/g). The known

ore grade Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically containing metals, that can be mined, treated and sold at a profit.Encyclopædia Britannica. "Ore". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 7 April 2 ...

at Merlin is about 0.2 carats (40 mg) per

tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United State ...

, although exploration continues under the mine's new owner. The largest diamond produced at the Merlin mine measured 104.73 carats (20.946 g), the largest ever found in Australia, and has been valued at over US$525,00

The mine and mining rights were sold by

Rio Tinto Group Rio Tinto Group is an Anglo-Australian multinational company that is the world's second-largest metals and mining corporation (behind BHP). The company was founded in 1873 when of a group of investors purchased a mine complex on the Rio Tint ...

, to Striker Resources, which explored the possibility of reopening i

Striker has since become North Australian Diamond

a company which operated the mine for a short period in 2006. Rio Tinto originally acquired the mining lease after a takeover of Ashton mining (November 2000) in which it also gained full control of the Argyle diamond mine. Ashton mining initially developed and operated the mine.

References

* https://web.archive.org/web/20050613115554/http://www.mbendi.co.za/indy/ming/dmnd/au/au/p0005.htm * https://web.archive.org/web/20050109042701/http://www.minesite.com/archives/news_archive/2004/june-2004/striker030604.htm * https://web.archive.org/web/20050221155155/http://nlc.org.au/html/wht_lrn_2003_oct02.html * http://www.nationalminingindustry.com.au/diamonds/au/archive/2009.htm

External links

Merlin Deposit Summary Report

Merlin
Diamond mines in Australia Surface mines in Australia Former Rio Tinto (corporation) subsidiaries Mines in the Northern Territory Companies based in the Northern Territory {{NorthernTerritory-geo-stub