It was the anthills that confirmed their suspicions, glinting inexplicably under the harsh sun of the Australian outback. The geologists had explored the land for a decade, suspecting there might be something precious lurking under the barren, sun-baked earth. Trekking through the outback on foot, they squinted more closely at those sparkling flecks. They were diamonds, shards that the insects had inadvertently ferried to the surface from a deposit, or pipe, below.
What even that team of seasoned diamond hunters couldn’t have guessed then was the size of the seam they’d identified, a few kilometres south of Lake Argyle. When formal operations began in 1983, four years after the initial find, the diamonds from this single mine virtually doubled world production overnight. Named in the lake’s honour, the Argyle mine has produced 865 million carats of rough in the four decades since. Where the shimmering anthills once stood as the only sign of life, there is now a vast gash in the red-brown earth, with steep, stepped walls carved by the mine.
Denne historien er fra December 2019-utgaven av Robb Report Singapore.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Denne historien er fra December 2019-utgaven av Robb Report Singapore.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
BREAKING DOWN WALLS
Georgina Atkinson, managing partner of Origin Private Office, on the evolving landscape of high-end real estate.
Aged Gracefully
The Benromach 50 Years Old by Gordon & MacPhail is a delicious single malt, touched by love, passion and the human hand.
This Month's Feed
Only the best dining and drinking spots in Singapore.
Small-scale Thinking
Architect Todd Saunders wants to change the way we approach hospitality design from the ground up.
Todd Snyder Is Exactly Where He Wants To Be
\"Our whole goal is to present product in a way that guys get it and understand it, versus 'Here's some crazy aspirational brand-you go figure it out on your own'.\"
Depp Dive Into Sauvage
Johnny Depp on music, scents and the mystique of creativity.
Time For Poetry
Pascal Raffy on his love affair with the 202-year-old house of Bovet.
One of a Kind
The incomparable Lange 1 turns 30 this year and A. Lange & Söhne marks the occasion with its trademark understatement.
P For Personality
Enhance your swing, and inject your personal style while you're at it, with TaylorMade's new P-770 and P-7CB irons.
The Short-hop-adventure-craft Category Takes Off
Inside the flight deck of Pivotal's Blackfly eVTOL, an ultra-smart ultra-light with eight propellers, electric propulsion and no pilot's licence required.