Australia: Excavating giant pink diamonds

An Australian mining company has found a 12.76-carat diamond. This is the largest pink, rough diamond ever found in Australia.

This rare diamond was found at the Argyle mine of Rio Tinto in eastern Kimberly, western Australia.

Rio Tinto said the diamond named Argyle Pink Jubilee - worth an estimated millions of dollars, is being cut and polished in Perth. It will go on sale next year, after being exhibited around the world including New York and Hong Kong.

Argyle Diamond Pink Jubilee

The cutting and polishing process will start on February 21, scheduled to take place in 10 days. After that, the diamond will be assessed by an international team of experts.

Argyle Pink Jubilee is a bright pink diamond. Its color is similar to The Williamson Pink's pink - a diamond found in Tanzania that is attached to a precious brooch to become Queen Elizabeth II's wedding gift.

The representative of the Rio Tinto company also said that "there has never been" a diamond of such a large size. More than 90% of the world's pink diamonds originate from Argyle mines.

"It took us 26 years to find this gem at Argyle mine. This is great and it's hard to repeat," said Josephine Johnson, a member of the mining company.

In 2010, a 24.78-carat "fancy intense pink" diamond was sold at a record price of $ 46 million, the highest price ever paid for a diamond, to an English businessman at auction in Geneva.