Research - Antarctica Hiding Diamond Deposits Under Its Icy Mountains

A new study has found that the coldest place on Earth, Antarctica - famous for its dry and cold weather, is hiding something valuable inside its icebergs and mountains. The land is precious which no one knows. A team of Researchers and Geologists have found a special type of igneous rock named as Kimberlite which is famous for containing diamonds in it, on the slopes of Mount Meredith in the Northern Prince Charles Mountains. The research team found three samples of the rock on the mountain and said , It would be strange if the found sample of Kimberlite do not contain diamonds. The presence of Kimberlite proves the existence of diamonds because Kimberlite is the only rock that contains diamonds in the form of xenocrysts which is then extracted through chemical process in the labs.

Mount Meredith Mountain in Antarctica containing Kimberlite Pipes

Kimberlite

Kimberlite is a igneous rock which is usually famous for containing diamonds. The name Kimberlite is named after a town of Kimberley in South Africa where the first 85.3 carat diamond was discovered in 1871. Kimberlite rock is usually found in USA, Australia and soon Antarctica will also be added in the list.

Kimberlite Rock Containing Diamonds in Xenocrysts form

How Diamonds Are Formed 

Diamonds are basically formed from pure carbon below the earth surface 150 Km below the Earth crust. The extreme pressure and heat from the liquid rock called magma when erupts out from volcano, the diamonds attached to Kimberlite rocks are forced to come out with many other minerals and crystals. The erupted magma cools down and it forms a carrot shaped pipes or thin layers of Kimberlite rocks.

Diagram showing different layers of earth where Kimberlite,
 Graphite and Diamonds are formed

The presence of Kimberlite rocks in Antarctica will force many Geologists and Researchers from all over the world to discover that place, but Antarctica cannot be mined for mineral exploration. According to the Antarctica Treaty signed in 1991, It is illegal to mine and explore Antarctica for minerals until 2041. Antarctica is rich in mineral which includes antimony, chromium, copper, gold, lead, molybdenum, tin, uranium, zinc and many more. In Future , Antarctica might also include diamonds in its mineral resource list.