Antarctica Likely to Host Diamonds, Researchers Say

Reuters reported that a type of rock that often contains diamonds has been discovered for the first time in Antarctica. As yet, no diamonds have been found, but researchers believe that they are likely to be there.

However, don’t expect an influx of miners to the region — mining is currently banned on the inhospitable continent.

As quoted in the market news:

‘It would be very surprising if there weren’t diamonds in these kimberlites,’ Greg Yaxley of the Australian National University in Canberra, who led the research, said in a telephone interview.

Writing in the journal Nature Communications, an Australian-led team reported finding the kimberlite deposits around Mount Meredith, in the Prince Charles Mountains in East Antarctica. Kimberlite is a rare rock where diamonds are often found; it is named after the South African town of Kimberley, the site of a late 19th-century diamond rush.

That does not mean Antarctica will soon see its own diamond rush. Antarctica is not only forbiddingly cold and remote but also protected by a treaty that preserves the continent for scientific research and wildlife, from penguins to seals. The 1991 environmental accord banned mining for at least 50 years.

Click here to read the full Reuters report.