Diamonds

Strong, dazzling, and precious. The ever-elusive diamond has inspired dreams of wealth, power, and beauty throughout modern history. Diamonds have an intrinsic value, not only for their rarity, but also for their extreme hardness and fiery beauty. Written for geologists and diamond prospectors, this guidebook provides a general overview of diamond exploration and exploitation. The text covers how to find, recognize, and evaluate the potential of diamond deposits. As examples, the book reviews the history of some important diamond discoveries in the western United States and Russia. Much of the book is focused on geology of common diamond host rocks, including kimberlite and lamproite. In addition, it reviews the occurrence of some unconventional host rocks that have produced some notable diamond discoveries. The material found in diamond deposits provide a foundation for discussing some of the most fundamental problems of theoretical geology, such as the timing of geological events and the development of eratonic areas.