Statistics

Since commercial production of the Argyle mine commenced in 1983, over 670 million carats of diamonds have been produced, with a peak production of 42.8 Mcts in 1994. For more information, please view the Argyle Diamonds Production Table.

The decreasing production is a result of the declining grade over the first 10 years of production as well as the narrowing profile of the pipe and associated overburden that needs removing with increasing depth.

The Argyle production consists of 5% gem and 70% near gem with the remaining 25% of the volume being industrial diamonds. The entire gem and near gem diamonds are polished and account for more than 95% of the value of Argyle's rough diamond sales.

The average size of Argyle's rough diamonds is less than 0.10 carats, but the production is not limited to these small sizes with both large and high quality diamonds represented. More >