Peace mine, located in the eponymous village in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), was closed in 2004. Dimensions developed kimberlite pipe dazzling. The depth is 525 meters and the width 1200. This place is the second largest excavated hole in the world, after Bingham Canyon Mine.
The hole is so big that the airspace above the mine is closed for helicopters because of incidents in which they were drawn downward air flow.
Mining began here in 1957, in extremely harsh climate conditions. Winter temperatures were so low that car tires and steel collapsed and the fuel freezing. During the winter, the workers used jet engines to warm the permafrost or blasted it with dynamite to access the main KIMBERLITES. All mine is completely covered at night to prevent freezing equipment.
During the short summer months, the permafrost would have turned into mud, making the entire mining operations in swimming in a swamp. Buildings had to be raised on stilts so that they were not flooded in the summer.
During the peak years of operation the mine produced 10 million carats of diamonds annually, of which a relatively high proportion (20%) had a quality gemstone. This care company De Beers, which at that time was distributed by the majority of diamonds in the world. The company was forced to buy large quantities of high-quality Russian diamonds to control the market price.
For De Beers mine Peace was mysterious and frightening mystery. Huge amounts of products were not compatible with the relatively small size of the shaft. By the 1970s, when the world was supposed to produce a smaller and smaller number of diamonds, the Soviet Union only increased the supply of the precious stone. Finally, in 1976, De Beers had requested a tour of the mine, to satisfy curiosity.
Permission was granted, but the Soviet Union continued to delay the visit and by the time the team reached the delegates of the mine, their visas have expired. They had only 20 minutes to visit the Peace. A brief tour given nothing to shed light on the mystery of diamond production.
