Because of their beauty and physical characteristics, diamonds have been
regarded as symbols of love, beauty and eternity. The diamond is an extremely
rare mineral composed of pure carbon. It is well known for its extreme
hardness, brilliance, and thermal and electrical characteristics. The principal
use of diamonds is in jewellery, with the market increasing over 250% over the
past 15 years. However, not all diamonds are of gem quality, in fact most
diamond deposits contain a varying proportion of industrial and gem quality
stones.
Industrial diamonds make up about 60% of global production by weight, with
average prices varying between $US 0.50 - $US 5 / carat. Industrial diamonds
main use is in abrasives lens manufacture and wire drawing in electrical
circuits. Originally crushed diamonds were used for these purposes, however
synthetic diamonds are now being produced in laboratories and pose a threat to
the industrial diamond mine production globally. Alternatives to the use of
industrial diamonds in abrasives are manufactured abrasives such as cubic boron
nitride, fused aluminium oxide, and silicon carbide. Synthetic diamonds rather
than natural diamonds are utilised for more than 90% of industrial
applications. Russia, Botswana and South Africa are the world’s major gem
quality diamond producers, with Australia being a major industrial diamond
producer. Global production totalled 120 million carats in 2002.
World rough diamond estimated production 2002: gem and industrial diamonds
| Country | Mass (Carats) | % | Rank | Value (US$ mil) | Rank |
| Australia | 33 640 000 | 27.8 | 1 | 400 | 7 |
| Botswana | 28 396 926 | 23.5 | 2 | 2170 | 1 |
| Russia | 17 000 000 | 14.0 | 3 | 1470 | 2 |
| Congo | 16 000 000 | 13.2 | 4 | 400 | 8 |
| South Africa | 10 900 000 | 9.0 | 5 | 900 | 3 |
| Angola | 5 500 000 | 4.5 | 6 | 850 | 4 |
| Namibia | 1 400 000 | 1.2 | 7 | 450 | 5 |
| Canada | 3 980 000 | 3.3 | 8 | 430 | 6 |
| Ghana | 950 000 | 0.8 | 9 | 20.7 | 14 |
| South America | 800 000 | 0.7 | 10 | 70 | 11 |
| Guinea | 600 000 | 0.5 | 11 | 110 | 9 |
| Central African Republic | 550 000 | 0.5 | 12 | 90 | 10 |
| Sierra Leone | 300 000 | 0.2 | 13 | 70 | 11 |
| China | 300 000 | 0.2 | 14 | 30 | 13 |
| Tanzania | 152 234 | 0.1 | 15 | 20 | 15 |
| Subtotal | 120 469 160 | 99.6 | | 7481 | |
| Other countries | 530 840 | 0.4 | | 119 | |
| Total | 120 000 000 | 100 | | 7600 | |
Source: Business Day
