Diamond

  • What is it and where is it formed?  Diamonds are pure carbon and the hardest mineral of all.  Diamonds are formed by pressure deep inside the Earth. Volcanoes push them closer to the surface. They are found in igneous rock and on river bottoms where erosion dropped them.

  • How and where is it mined?  Diamonds are mined using open-pit or underground mining.  Diamonds are found with other minerals.  After mining the diamonds, water pushes them across a table that has grease on the bottom.  The minerals get a coating of water and just wash away but the diamonds that don’t coat with water, drop to the bottom, and get stuck on the grease.  At the end, the diamonds are taken off of the greasy table, cleaned, sorted, and sold.  Diamonds are mined in Africa, India, Russia, Brazil, Australia, and the United States [Arkansas].

  • What is it used for?  Diamonds are used to polish other surfaces and in jewelry.  They are also used in industry to cut things because of their hardness.  Diamond cutting edges are on tools and medical equipment.

  • Interesting Information:

    • A person who cuts and polishes diamonds is called a lapidary.

    • The carat of a diamond is equal to its weight.

 diamond

Diamond
Photo by Eric Greene,
courtesy of Treasure Mountain Mining
Mineral Characteristic What the
mineralogists say		 Kid's Guide:  What it REALLY means!
Chemical Symbol C This stone only has carbon in it.
Color Colorless, white, grey, yellow, and many other colors These are the usual colors for a diamond.
Streak White If you crush a diamond, you will get white dust every time.
Transparency Transparent to opaque Diamonds can be clear, foggy, or you might not be able to see through them at all.
Luster Adamantine The surface of a diamond shines brilliantly.
Cleavage Perfect If you break a diamond, it will split cleanly and evenly each time.
Fracture Conchoidal If you break a diamond, the surface will look like smooth rings.
Magnetism None It will not attract, or be attracted to, a magnet.
Hardness 10 It is the hardest mineral of all and can only be scratched by another diamond.
Specific gravity 3.52 If you held it, this stone would seem a little bit heavier than its size would make you think it would be.
Crystal Shape Cubic

Cubic