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Learn how to recognize kimberlite so you can search for diamonds
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Kimberlite can be easy to identify if you know just what to look for. Kimberlite deposits are highly sought by geologists, miners, and rock hunters because they’re where diamonds are most commonly found. In fact, kimberlite pipes, dikes, and other deposits have become some of the most important sources of diamonds in the world. Read on to learn more about kimberlite and how to identify it.
Things You Should Know
- Kimberlite is a volcanic rock containing isolated pieces of rock or crystal that were pushed up out of the earth’s mantle by magma.
- Kimberlite can be identified by its fine-grain texture, its blue or yellow color, and/or the presence of diamonds and other gems in the rock.
- To confirm that you’ve found kimberlite, send a sample to a local geological company or university for a thin section and geochemical analysis.
Steps
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References
- ↑ https://www.wired.com/2017/05/crazy-eruptions-spit-diamonds/
- ↑ https://geologyscience.com/rocks/igneous-rocks/kimberlite/?amp
- ↑ https://geology.mines.edu/laboratories/thin-section-laboratory/
- ↑ https://www.usgs.gov/news/science-snippet/air-look-deep-underground
- ↑ https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/can-usgs-do-survey-or-study-my-private-property
- ↑ https://www.wired.com/2017/05/crazy-eruptions-spit-diamonds/
- ↑ https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/theres-a-plant-that-shows-you-where-diamonds-are-buried/
- ↑ https://www.gia.edu/gems-gemology/summer-2019-kimberlites-earths-diamond-delivery-system
- ↑ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0925963520301060
- ↑ https://www.gia.edu/gia-news-research/historical-reading-diamond-fields-south-africa-1868-1893
- ↑ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/diamonds-unearthed-141629226/
- ↑ https://www.gia.edu/gems-gemology/summer-2019-kimberlites-earths-diamond-delivery-system
- ↑ https://geologyscience.com/rocks/igneous-rocks/kimberlite/?amp
- ↑ https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/lamproite
- ↑ https://www.science.org/content/article/death-supercontinents-brings-diamonds-surface
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