Rio Tinto Officially Opens Argyle Underground Mine
April 30, 13
(IDEX Online News) – Rio Tinto has opened the new Argyle underground diamond mine in the east Kimberley region of Western Australia. 
The move to an underground operation from open pit mining will guarantee mining at Argyle until at least 2020.
Rio Tinto said the average annual production over the life of the underground mine is likely to be 20 million carats per year.
The $2.2 billion underground mine uses the latest in block caving technology.
The Argyle mine has produced around 800 million carats of rough diamonds over the last 25 years, including a small but consistent supply of rare pink diamonds.