Mir Mine

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Mir Mine (Russian: Кимберлитовая алмазная трубка "Мир"; English: kimberlite diamond pipe "Peace") is an abandoned open pit diamond mine located in Mirny, Eastern Siberia. The mine is 525 m deep and has a diameter of 1200 m.^[1] It was the first^[2] and one of the largest diamond pipes of the USSR. Mir Mine was discovered on June 13, 1955 by Soviet geologists Yuri Khabardin, Ekaterina Elagina and V.Avdeenko during the large Amakinsky Expedition in Yakut ASSR. It was operated for almost 50 years, finally closing on April 30, 2004^[3]while in operation, Mir Mine gave out 2 million carats anually. It takes trucks close to 2 hours to drive from the bottom to the top.

[edit] See also

• Udachnaya pipe

[edit] Bibliography

• Khabardin, Yuri (1999). The Way to the Diamond Pipe (in Russian). Moscow: Geoinformmark. ISBN 5-900357-23-6. 

[edit] References

1. ^ (Russian) Mirninsky GOK at Alrosa
2. ^ The Nature of Diamonds - Russia. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved on September 8, 2006.
3. ^ Mir Mine (Russian). Far East Geological Institute. Retrieved on September 8, 2006.

[edit] External links

• United States Mine Rescue Association
• BBC News Photo journal: "Postcards from Russia"
• "A Face of Mirny"

Coordinates: 62°31′45.92″N, 113°59′36.74″E