Diamonds can be created through both geologic forces and man-made processes. However they are made diamonds have many uses. In the first part of this essay we will look at the geologic forces involved in the making of a diamond. Next we will examine the man-made processes. In closing we will take a brief look at the many uses of diamonds.
As we begin to look at how diamonds are formed it’s important to understand a little about the composition. Graphite which is used for pencil lead and a lubricant is pure carbon just like a diamond. So the hardest mineral and one of the softest share the same composition. The difference is in the bonding. Diamonds have covalent bonds that form a three dimensional structure. Graphite also has covalent bonds that form together in sheets with much weaker electrostatic bonds. These bonds also known as van der Waals bonds are what makes graphite so soft (Charles C Plummer).
Natural diamonds are formed at both a high pressure and temperature at depths of 140 to 190 kilometers (87 to 120 miles) in the Earth’s mantle. Minerals that contain carbon provide the carbon source and growth periods occur from 1 billion to 3.3 billion years. This is a significant number that represents twenty five to seventy five percent of the age of the earth. The diamonds are moved close to the Earth’s surface through deep volcanic eruptions of magma (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamondwikipedia).
Now let’s take a closer look at the processes which move diamonds from deep within the earth to a place closer to the surface, where they can be mined. Gas-rich magmas otherwise known as molten rock, force their way up from the mantle and erupt explosively at the surface. Sometimes during this process they swee...
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...al essay and that it opened your eyes to other uses of diamonds. It can also instill a since of awe when you think about the incredible amount of time earth made diamonds take to form. It is also interesting that like watching bird fly and copying flight, we found ways to duplicate the earth’s processes.
Works Cited
(http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/earth/rock-minerals/diamonds/diamond-formation. n.d.
AuthorLastName, FirstName. Title of the Book Being Referenced. City Name: Name of Publisher, Year. Type of Medium (e.g. Print).
Charles C Plummer, Diane H. Carlson,Lisa Hammersky. "Physical Geology 14th edition." n.d. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamondwikipedia. n.d. http://geology.com/articles/diamonds-from-coal/. n.d. http://literary-devices.com/. 2010. 12 September 2013.
LastName, First, Middle. "Article Title." Journal Title (Year): Pages From - To. Print.
Deep within African mines, elusive diamonds lay enveloped in the Earth’s crust. Possessing much influence, beauty, and tension, nature’s hardest known substance causes parallel occurrences of unity and destruction on opposite sides of the globe. Diamonds, derived from the Greek word "adamas", meaning invincible, are formed deep within the mantle, and are composed entirely from carbon. Moreover, only under tremendous amounts of heat and pressure can diamonds form into their preliminary crystal state. In fact, diamonds are formed approximately 150km- 200km below the surface and at radical temperatures ranging from 900-1300 C°. When these extremes meet, carbon atoms are forced together creating diamond crystals. Yet how do these gems, ranking a ten on Moh’s hardness scale, impact the individual lives of millions of people besides coaxing a squeal out of brides-to-be? These colorless, yellow, brown, green, blue, reddish, pink, grey and black minerals are gorgeous in their cut state, but how are these otherwise dull gems recognized and harvested? Furthermore, how and why is bloodshed and violence caused over diamonds in Africa, the supplier of approximately 65% of the world’s diamonds? (Bertoni) The environmental, social, and economic impact of harvesting, transporting, and processing diamonds is crucial because contrary to popular belief, much blood has been spilled over first-world “bling”.
The Quartzite at Kamiak Butte is a very hard rock. It measures about a 7 on Moh’s hardness scale.2 Kamiak Butte is present today because of how hard this rocks composition is. It does not erode very easily.2 Quartzite has a sugary texture and carries an orange/tan color on the butte.2 Quartzite is everywhere around Kamiak butte.
...sumption, creates emission of greenhouse gases and other harmful chemical materials. Once released into the air, it can cause environmental problems, which in turn threatens not only the environment, but also the health of the people who live in it. In order to reduce the use of energy to help protect our planet and our health, the diamond mining industry has implemented renewable energy programs to monitor energy and carbon emission. Since its beginning, mining company PHP Billiton program has saved an equivalent of one million liters of diesel fuel per year at their Ekati Diamond Mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories. The health of the environment and the health of humanity are as one. Whatever we do to our planet, we do to ourselves. Reducing energy consumption of diamond mining not only helps protect our planet, but also helps protect the health of our people.
Should diamonds be seen as such highly sought-after, luxury goods, and marketed and sold at such extravagant amounts? While some individuals might be of the impression that diamonds are lavishly priced, because of limited supply, it is of my opinion that a very shrewdly-created cartel disguises the very reason for these “rare” gems seemingly being worth your “pretty penny”.
A beautiful precious diamond can last forever, but what most people do not know is that a majority of our diamonds come from Africa. The civil wars in Africa over diamonds began around 1961 and ended in 2003. Conflict diamonds were rampant and it would be difficult to say if any jewelry sold prior to 2003 was conflict free. Conflict diamonds are diamonds that have been mined and were controlled by African rebels. The rebels would use the profits from selling conflict diamonds to fund illegal activity and to purchase more weapons for their armies. While rebels had control of the diamond mines they killed approximately 4 million people and countless families were displaced.
It’s hard to imagine that a mineral could be fueling wars and funding corrupt governments. This mineral can be smuggled undetected across countries in a coat pocket, then be sold for vast amounts of money. This mineral is used in power tools, parts of x-ray machines, and microchips but mostly jewelry. Once considered the ultimate symbol of love, the diamond has a darker story. "Blood" diamonds or "conflict" diamonds are those mined, polished, or traded in areas of the world where the rule of law does not exist. They often originate in war-torn countries like Liberia, Sierra Leone, Angola, and Côte d'Ivoire were rebels use these gems to fund genocide or other questionable objectives. Even with a system known as the Kimberly process which tracks diamonds to prevent trade of these illicit gems, infractions continue as the process is seriously flawed. The continuation of the blood diamond trade is inhuman, and unethical, and in order to cease this illicit trade further action to redefine a conflict diamond, as well as reform to the diamond certification prosess is nessasary.
The African Diamond Trade is a large cycle of exploitation. An estimated 65% of diamonds mined worldwide originate in Africa (Cahill 2009). In 2016, the U.S. diamond industry grew 4% to reach $40 billion, approximately half of a global $80 billion industry (DeBeers Group 2017). But how do these diamonds make it from African river banks to American engagement rings? According to Time Magazine, there are 6 steps that take diamonds from the ground to the jewelry store; exploration, mining, sorting, cutting and polishing, manufacturing, and retailing (John and Jones 2015). Each of these steps adds value to the final product that is offered in jewelry stores worldwide but this value isn’t added fairly to those who create the most value.
In Zaire, or the Democratic Republic of the Congo, many children wake up to go mining for diamonds instead of going to school. When we think of diamonds, we tend to think of a precious gift that is a rarity which is tended to be given in proposals or other special occasions. The truth is, diamonds are quite common in west and central Africa, but to profit more off these blood diamonds the industry markets them off to be much more rare than they actually are. Blood diamonds, why are they called blood diamonds? Possibly because they are made by the bloody hands of small children who are in physical, mental, and emotional harm from working this burdensome job every day.
Every diamond mine will encounter different challenges and the different challenges will impact differently on the environment. A few common environmental impacts will be highlight which most diamond companies create.
"Sedimentary Rocks and the Rock Cycle." South Carolina Geological Survey, n.d. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.
One very important piece of information is that gemstones and crystals are grown during the cooling, formative stages of Earth’s development and so it has lead me to the conclusion that they are gifts from nature. According to physics, gemstones and crystals consist of natural balances and solid sta...
Diamonds were created million years ago, when the earth was formed, the material experienced pressure of 5million times the atmosphere at sea level and temperatures between 1000~1200degreesC. These conditions caused carbon in the layers inside the planet to crystallize into diamonds. The diamonds moved up to the earth’s surface through volcano eruptions. This is why many Diamond mines are near volcanoes. Diamonds occur in two types of rock: Kimberlite and Lamprolite. Diamonds are mostly found in South Africa, India, Brazil, Russia, Australia, and Arkansas. Right now about 100million carats are mined each year. Today the largest cut Diamond in the world is the Cullian I at 530.2ct .
The field of geology has many different branches. Some of these areas have hardly anything in common. The one thing that they all include, though, is that each one concentrates on some part of the Earth, its makeup, or that of other planets. Mineralogy, the study of minerals above the Earth and in its crust, is different from Petrology, the st...
Mining is the process or industry of obtaining minerals from the earth. Topics in this paper I’ll be specifically discussing are pros and cons of mining, structures of a mine, mining in general, California gold rush, diamonds in Africa, and comparison of diamond and gold mines.