They are the rare corners of the world, those unique locales where high society meets abject poverty, where international corporations co-mingle with local corruption, and where your next marriage proposal just might lay covered in 5 meters of mud. They are the ever-shrinking diamond mines of the world, each with their own story, quirks, dangers, and promise. Spread out throughout some of the most distant nooks of the planet, Pyrodes thinks a good diamond mine ranking is just what can get the imagination muscles working and give us a great excuse to snoop around places where we have no business at all. And, surprisingly, despite the stories from the movies and magazines that have ingrained themselves into the collective conscience of the morally confused yet materially compelled population of the razzle dazzle classes, most diamond mines out there, from Africa to Siberia to Australia, have their own flavor that often trump the stereotype. So, with that introduction in mind, let’s explore our top 5 favorite diamond mines…after the jump…

5. Orapa: The Orapa mine is the crown jewel of the Bostwana diamond stash, which already accounts for one third of the nation’s GDP; indeed, it is the largest diamond mine on earth by land area, spanning a full 1.8 square kilometer pit about 240 kilometers west of Francsitown. Orapa, literally the “resting place for lions,” is a city unto itself with hospitals, schools, and parks for its over 3,000 employees. Started in 1971, it is the oldest and the grandest of the mines operated by the famed Debswana Company, a local partnership and meager legal underling of the international leader in diamond excavation and sales: Da Beers. Da Beers, the South African corporate giant,  owns so much of the international diamond market through its family of local companies, that it not too long ago settled a suit with the US Department of Justice for fixing the price of diamonds in cooperation with General Electric. But, more about big scary natural resource barons later in the list.

4. Argyle: Nestled in the Kimberly region of Western Australia, Argyle is the world’s leading diamond mine by sheer volume of stones excavated. Yet, more than that, it is the only place on the globe where the elusive pink diamonds are found. Every year, this one place churns out a full one third of the world’s diamond production. The mine is owned and operated out of London by the Rio Tinto Group, a company which digs up every kind of resource imaginable from the northern slopes of Canada to the grasslands of Zimbabwe.

Rio Tinto as well has not escaped controversy during its long history. During the days of World War Two, many of its mines were used to fund the Axis powers of Germany and Italy. And, the company currently faces widespread criticism over its treatment of unions and the environment across the world, especially in Oceania and Southeast Asia. Yet, there are, as always, even more shady companies to come.

3. Crater of Diamonds State Park: At the heart of the world’s most horse-ridingest democracy lies the most democratic and populist of the diamond mines. Just outside of Murfreesboro, Arkansas is a state park where anyone can go and, for a nominal fee, start digging for their own shiny retirement plan. It is the only mine on the planet that is open to the public. In the park’s 30 year history, over 75,000 diamonds have been unearthed by eager picnic patrons, and the discoveries continue at rate of about two diamonds per day (even though many of these diamonds are less than gem quality). It is owned and operated by the Arkansas and US government, which is perhaps the only organization out there with the cojones to put Da Beers in its place.

2. The Mirny Mine: Far out in Eastern Siberia, just below the Arctic Circle is the tiny town of Mirny. This little burg primarily owes its existence to the deep, deep hole that bears its name: the Mirny Diamond Mine. This is the deepest mine on the planet, taking trucks nearly two full hours to drive to the bottom. The hole’s drop is so deep (there is a youtube video below that lists it in the number five slot of the world’s coolest holes) that a number of helicopters have actually been sucked in by the downward draft of air created by the mine, leading the government to establish a local no fly zone in the area.

Mirny is recently defunct, but it is still owned by that Russian powerhouse: Alrosa. Alrosa, one of the largest companies in the world, deeply connected with the Russian government, are experts at the diamond market. Having long stockpiled diamonds to increase demand (sometimes along with Da Beers, to the chagrin of EU regulators), the company has taken aggressive steps in recent years to expand and challenge its South African rival. Alrosa mines are popping up throughout Asia and Africa, not to mention a smattering of other enterprises elsewhere in the world. So, the world is being taken over by the mining interests…..well, almost. Alrosa still hasn’t gotten its hands on our number one pick.

1. The Cinta Larga Forbidden Lands: OK, these guys are awesome. Along the Bolivian/Brazilian border, deep within the “Roosevelt Reservation” (so called because the tribe within is said to have shadowed Theodore Roosevelt on his expeditions through the region without being seen), lies one of the largest untapped diamond stashes left on earth. Brazilian and international diamond cartels are biting at the chop to get to it and dig their big holes, but there is just one problem. You see, there is a hostile tribe in these here parts that seen to kill any folks that look like they might even be thinking about a shovel while strolling through their jungles. But the Cinta Larga Indians are not immune to the diamond craze either. No, on the contrary, they have the game quite figured out. The government of Brazil allows the tribe to excavate diamonds on their own and sell them piece by piece to the central bank of Brazil. But, these rules haven’t stopped large scale heists by the adventurous types. In 1999, several foreigners snuck in under the radar and made off to Belgium with an estimated $50 million in diamonds. This is truly the last frontier of diamond exploration, replete with cowboys, Indians, large scale financial interests, and small indigenous tribes holding them at bay with some bows and arrows. It’s a movie plot if we ever head of one, and thus earns the number one spot on our countdown.

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