Diamond deposit of the Mir kimberlite pipe: main research stages, specific features and results of exploration

The Mir kimberlite pipe, a diamond deposit, was discovered on June 13, 1955. The pipe is located in the MaloBotuobinsky diamondiferous area of the Yakutsk diamondiferous province. Currently, it is one of the largest and best known diamond deposits in Russia and the world. Timely exploration of the deposit in the second half of the 20th century made it possible to start its development using open-pit mining, which lasted for more than half a century and reached a depth of over 500 meters, thus laying the foundation of the diamond mining industry in Russia. The paper provides the results of a step-wise study of the geological structure and mining of a diamond deposit, i.e. the Mir kimberlite pipe, including the new exploration data of the deep levels. The newly obtained data on the geological structure of the deposit to the depth exceeding 1500 m proves that the morphology of the tube shows a definite pattern when the ore body is increasing in its volume with depth as compared with the results of the previous exploration stages. The material composition of kimberlites and their productivity change insignificantly. In general, the exploration results of the deep levels allowed us to confirm a significant increase in reserves of the kimberlite ores and diamonds with a total volume of over 60 million carats. This makes it possible to make plans for the underground mining of the deposit for several decades and to proceed with the design and construction of the Mir-Gluboky underground mine.