Diamonds
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Rio Tinto owns and operates the Argyle Diamond mine in Western Australia, famous for its pink diamonds sold by an international tender process. Though accounting for 90 per cent of world output of pink diamonds, they represent less than one per cent of the mine's output. Rio Tinto also owns a 60 per cent interest in and manages the Diavik diamond mine in the Northwest Territories of Canada, 200km south of the Arctic Circle, and in Murowa, Zimbabwe.
Production details for these operations are as follows:
| Operation | Rio Tinto share | Commodity | Total annual production, '000 carats (as at December 31 2008) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Argyle, Australia | 100% | Diamonds | 15,076 |
| Diavik, North America | 60% | Diamonds | 5,535 |
| Murowa, Africa | 77.8% | Diamonds | 205 |
| Rio Tinto share of total diamond production, '000 carats (as at December 31 2008) | Diamonds | 20,016 |