Rio Tinto’s (ASX, LON, NYSE: RIO) last pink, red, blue and violet diamonds from its iconic Argyle mine, in the remote east Kimberley region of Western Australia, smashed records on Thursday.
Mining ended at Argyle in November 2020, after 37 years of uninterrupted production, during which the mine became the source of about 90% of the world’s prized rose-to-magenta hued stones.
While pink diamonds became Argyle’s signature, the mine sporadically produced small blue and violet diamonds that, with the operation now closed, will be extremely unlikely to see in a collection again, according to experts.
Rio Tinto’s entire 2021 “Once in a Blue Moon” tender collection of 24.88 carats of blue and violet diamonds held in 41 lots was won by a single bidder, the Hong Kong fancy coloured diamond specialist, Kunming Diamonds.
For the rest of this article: https://www.mining.com/rio-tinto-sells-last-argyle-diamonds-at-record-highs/