Research has shown that pink diamonds were created during the division of the supercontinent ‘Nuna’. /nature
Australian scientists have discovered that pink diamonds, known as the world’s rarest diamonds, were created during the breakup of the supercontinent ‘Nuna’. Pink diamonds were initially colorless like regular diamonds, but turned pink as they were reflected during the collision of continents.
On the 19th (local time), Hugo O’Learyuk’s research team at Curtin University in Western Australia discovered that pink diamonds from Western Australia were created during the breakup of the supercontinent Nuna about 1.3 billion years ago, and were initially nearly colorless. It was announced in the international academic journal Nature Communications.
Geologists believe that three to four supercontinents have existed on Earth for billions of years. Among these, the supercontinent named ‘Nuna’ is estimated to be 12,900 km from north to south and 4,800 km wide. Nuna is also called the supercontinent of Colombia. According to geologists, a supercontinent called Nuna existed 1.8 billion years ago, ‘Rodinia’ about 1 billion years ago, and ‘Pangaea’ about 300 million years ago, but plate tectonics As changes occurred and the plates continued to move, it split into several continents as they exist today.
According to the researchers, pink diamonds were formed 150km underground like ordinary diamonds, and were initially colorless. Then, about 1.85 billion years ago, the two continents that currently form northern and western Australia split and merged into a supercontinent called Nuna, turning pink.
Hugo Olleruk, the first author of the paper, said, “When two continents merged into a supercontinent, an intercontinental collision occurred, and this collision changed the crystal structure of the diamond.” He added, “During this process, it reflects light differently, turning it pink.” “It has changed,” he said.
He explained that this is why more than 90% of pink diamonds come from the Argyle diamond mine in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The Argyle Mine, which began mining in 1983, is famous for producing 90% of pink diamonds, the most valuable diamond. The Argyle mine ceased operations in 2020.
Researchers analyzed diamond-containing rock samples from the Argyle Mine to study when and how pink diamonds rose to the surface. They used radiometric methods to date the surrounding rocks and found that the pink diamond settled on the Earth’s surface between 1.31 billion and 1.25 billion years ago. “This coincides with the time when Nuna began to break up into smaller continents,” Olleruk said. “It also suggests that the two continents are connected.”
Of all diamonds submitted to the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), less than 3% are classified as colored diamonds. Among these, pink diamonds are known to be the rarest naturally occurring diamonds and are therefore expensive. A 10.57-carat pink diamond auctioned this year had an estimated price of $35 million (about 46.5 billion won).
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