Women at the dawn of diamond discovery in Siberia or how two women discovered the Siberian diamond province

Exploration for diamonds in the Soviet Union started in the 1940s; however, it was not until the beginning of 1950s that the government acknowledged a strong need for locally mined diamonds. In this paper, based on publications from Russian literature, we recount a story of two female geologists, Larisa Popugaeva and Natalia Sarsadskhih.Natalia was the head of the mineralogical laboratory who implemented a new methodology to search for mineral indicators of primary diamond deposits. Larisa was a young geologist who joined Natalia's team in 1953.The work of these women led to the discovery, in 1954, of the first diamond deposit in the country – the kimberlite pipe ‘Zarnitsa’. In 1954, Natalia was unable to go into the field and, therefore, the discovery was made by Larisa. Credit for this discovery, however, was claimed by the higher officials from the Amakinskaya expedition, one of the largest diamond exploration organizations in the country. Multiple efforts to restore justice did not succeed, with Larisa only being awarded the title of the ‘Discoverer’ in 1970 and Natalia not until 1990. This paper provides a description of Larisa's and Natalia's lives up until the discovery of Zarnitsa, and a few significant events after.

Satellite applications in diamond exploration and mine monitoring

SYNOPSIS Satellite-based applications for the monitoring of diamond exploration, operational mines, and post-closure mine sites is gaining traction. A variety of imagery is used to detect both kimberlite and alluvial deposits. Hyperspectral data is utilized mainly for primary deposits, and elevation models for secondary deposits. The data is used to constrain the exploration and ground truthing efforts, resulting in savings on both cost and time. Operational mines benefit from near-real-time monitoring of mining and related activities, including include environmental and security aspects. Satellite imagery can also be used to detect illegal and artisanal diamond diggings, with particular value for ethical sourcing validation in the supply chain. Post-closure monitoring of dumps and rehabilitation reduces the on-site presence of staff. The limitations of satellite applications are related mainly to the cost of obtaining images and the resolution or number of bands available on a detection platform. Keywords: remote sensing, satellite, monitoring, diamond, exploration, kimberlite, alluvial.

Diamond Exploration and Resource Evaluation of Kimberlites

Kimberlites are the main source of natural gem-quality diamonds. The intrepid diamond explorer faces three major problems. First, finding a small, usually less than 300 m diameter, kimberlite, which is often highly weathered. Second, evaluating the quantity of diamonds within a kimberlite that often consists of multiple phases of intrusive and extrusive kimberlite, each with potentially different diamond grades. Third, evaluating the rough diamonds, the value of which is dependent on carat-weight, shape, colour, and clarity. Modern advances in mantle petrology, geophysics, geochemistry, geomorphology, and geostatistics now complement historical exploration knowledge and aid in selecting prospective target areas, resource estimation, and evaluating kimberlite-hosted diamond deposits.