Last year, the world’s total global reserves of diamonds totalled 1.7 billion carats, according to Statista.
And three of the nations with the top five largest reserves are on the African continent.
Diamonds are formed when carbon atoms are squeezed together under high pressure deep underground.
Scientists say most diamonds are at least a billion years old and some of them more than 3 billion years old.
1. Russia
Russia, the world’s largest country by area, is home to the world’s largest diamond reserves.
It is estimated there are still 650 million carats to be mined.
Most of the mining is done in the Yakutia region, home to the famous Mir and Udachny mines. Russian diamond mining is managed by the state-controlled company Alrosa.
2. Botswana
Botswana has around approximately 160 million carats worth of diamond reserves with its main mines being Orapa and Jwaneng mines.
Earlier this year one of the largest ever single diamonds was unearthed at a mine in Botswana.
The country’s president Mokgweetsi Masisi unvield the gem which weighed half a kilogram and came in at 2,492-carat.
It was the biggest diamond found since 1905.
3. Democratic Republic of Congo
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) comes in third with an estimated 130 million carats held in reserves mainly in the Kasai and Lualaba regions.
The DRC has been through a period of instability which means, unlike Botswana, minining companies have been reluctant to invest there.
4. Australia
Australia is estimated to have around 120 million carats worth of diamonds in reerve.
Its largest diamond mine, Argyle, stopped production in 2020, but the country is known for specialising in coloured diamonds.
5. South Africa
South Africa comes in fifth with 80 million carats in reserves.
The country is one of the world’s main diamond mining, with iconic mines like the Kimberley and Venetia mines.
Diamonds are measured using carats, or ct, and one carat equals 0.2 grams. They are divided into points hence the term 1ct or one carat. Weight and size are not related as some diamonds are less dense than others.
Industrial diamonds appear to be formed deep in the Earth’s mantle – the layer that sits between the crust and the Earth’s core. It’s only volcanic erruptions that push them to the surface.
London’s Natural History Museum explains that the mantle’s temperature can be anything from 1,000°C (1,832°F) near the crust to 3,700°C (6,692°F); combined with the pressure of being so far underground- 160 kilometres – appear to create the perfect conditions for the creation of the gems.
However, no scientist can travel that far underground, so we don’t know exactly how diamonds are created.
Diamonds have also found their way to the planet via meteorite impacts and they can be grown in a lab using extreme heat and gas.
According to the World Diamond Council these are the top five countries which dominate the globe’s diamond reserves:
- Russia
- Botswana
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Australia
- South Africa