25-4-2019
Rio Tinto owned Argyle mine in West Australia dug up a 28.84-carat diamond – the largest in the mine’s 35 years history. Only 20 of plus-20-carat size in the last three decades of operations had discovered, which takes up around 0.00007 percent of Argyle's production.
The rough is named Argyle Octavia™ for its unique octahedral shape. “It will go to Antwerp, and through our auction process, and the market will determine its value,” Andrew Wilson, General manager of Argyle Diamonds said, adding that the diamond would be sold without cutting and polishing.
Argyle mine has been operating since 1983 and has produced more than 800 million carats of rough diamonds. However, the 28.84-carat-rough won’t be enough to stop the mine’s closure scheduled in next year.