Distribution and Utilization of Diamond Resources in China

Diamond is the hardest substance on earth, and it is not only aprecious gemstone but also has many important industrial uses.Compared with foreign countries, diamond resources in China are relatively scarce.The diamond production in China is only 0.1 percent of the world.At present, there are only three diamond fields with economic value in Mengyin of Shandong Province, Wafangdian of Liaoning Province and Yuanshui River basin of Hunan Province.On the basis of the distribution characteristics of diamond resources around the world, the deposit types, resource distribution, reserves, development and utilization of diamonds in China are summarized by using the methods of field research, literature retrieval and expert consultation.The results show that there are mainly two diamond deposit types in China, kimberlite diamond primary deposits and alluvial diamond placer deposits respectively.The most important diamond deposits are kimberlite diamond primary deposits, which distribute in Wafangdian of Liaoning Province and Mengyin of Shandong Province, and locate in North China Craton.The diamond primary deposits exhibit in groups with regularity and reserves account for more than 95percent.Primary diamond deposits are first to be discovered in Shandong Province, which is the second largest area with diamond resources in China, where Wangcun mine is being mined and the diamond placer has been abandoned. Diamonds reserved in Liaoning Province rank the first in China, accounting for more than half of the country's reserves, but high quality diamond resources have nearly been exhausted.Since the economic benefit of mining is low, diamond placer deposits in Hunan Province have been stopped.In recent years, a significant progress has been made on diamond deposit exploration in China.There are more than one million carats of diamonds reserved in Wafangdian, which is not worthy of being explored and mined.In general, the available diamond resources in China are inadequate, and it is extremely urgent to find new diamond deposits.