Diamond Mines of the World | America
American Diamond Mines
Crater of Diamonds State Park
Diamond mining in the United States has met with limited success with one minor exception: Arkansas' "Crater of Diamonds." The Crater of Diamonds is an 888 acre State Park located in Murfreesboro, Arkansas. Crater of Diamonds is the only diamond mine in the world that is open to the general public. The park is situated over an 95 million year old eroded lamproite volcanic pipe that was created from magma rising to the surface due to the final shifting of the continental plates. The pipe consists of ash tuffs, lamproite and epiclastic crater sediments similar to the some of the lamproites in Western Australia.
The first diamond was found in 1906 by John Huddleston, who owned the property that became the State Park. Shortly after Mr Huddleston's discovery, a diamond rush turned Murfreesboro into a boomtown. After unsuccessful attempts at commercial exploitation, the area was used as a privately owned tourist attraction called the "Arkansas Diamond Mine." The state of Arkansas purchased the property and converted it into a state park in 1972. Unsuccessful diamond-drilling (below) was conducted in 1992 by several groups, including Rio Tinto.
Recent Finds
A 3.03 carat rough diamond was found by park visitor Shirley Strawn at the park in 1990. Known as the "Strawn-Wagner Diamond", the stone was cut into a 1.09 carat diamond (above) by Lazare Kaplan International of New York in 1997. The most recent find was by 9 year old Courtney Conder who found a 1.11 carat colorless diamond in June of 2006.
Crater of Diamonds State Park
209 State Park Road
Murfreesboro, AR 71958
Telephone: (870) 285-3113
www.craterofdiamondsstatepark.com
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