Diamond Mining in Minas

Gerais, Brazil
Andy Lucas, GIA

July 2, 2013
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These diamonds were mined from the Abaet River region in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Photo by Andy
Lucas, GIA

Brazilian diamonds were discovered around 1725 by gold miners along the banks of the Rio
Jequitinhonha, in the state of Minas Gerais. For more than a hundred years, the country
was the worlds most important diamond source, as the famous Golconda deposit in India
was nearly exhausted and South African mines were yet to be discovered.
Diamond mining in Brazil continues today, though largely overshadowed by the output of
other countries. But despite sporadic production, important stones continue to emerge from
Brazil. The country has long fascinated me. Following many visits to colored gemstone

deposits there, I took an August 2012 trip to Minas GeraisPortuguese for general mines.
What I saw led me to believe that the future of Brazilian diamond mining looks promising.
Brazil has several alluvial diamond sources, where stones are mined from the sands and
gravels of river banks. There are also some potentially important diamond pipes that may
warrant larger-scale open-pit or underground mining. Diamonds are mined in several
Brazilian states, including Mato Grosso do Sul, Bahia, and Rondnia. I visited an alluvial
diamond mine in Minas Gerais, which is famous for its gold and colored gemstones, as well
as other commercial minerals. Owned by GAR Minerals, the mine is located near the
diamond-bearing Abaet River and the town of Trs Marias. GAR Minerals has six
properties along the Abaet River and six others near the town of Coromandel on the Santo
Ignacio River, also in Minas Gerais. Each property is around 2 hectaresnearly five acres
and licensed for diamond exploration.

VIEW GALLERY The Abaet River mine in Brazil is a small open-pit operation. Photos by Andy Lucas, GIA

Coromandel is known for large stones with high clarity that are brown or colorless to nearcolorless. The brown stones can be turned colorless by a high-pressure, high-temperature
(HPHT) enhancement process. The GAR mines along the Abaet River mostly contain
smaller diamonds, but they have produced some large top-quality pinks.

Important stones GAR has mined in Coromandel include a 263 ct rough diamond that
yielded two 70 ct pear shapes, both H color. Coromandel also produced a 140 ct rough that
yielded a 10 ct E-color and a 56 ct H-color diamond, both with high clarity. Although the
Abaet River is the better-known source for pink diamonds, Coromandel has also produced
some specimens, including a 21 ct Fancy Intense pink rough crystal.
At the Abaet River, GAR has recovered a 26 ct crystal that yielded a 12.60 ct Fancy
Intense purplish pink cushion shape. The company also found a 7 ct rough diamond that
produced a 4.24 ct Vivid pink. Colorless stones from these mines weigh 10 ct or less. It is
believed that the Abaet River has supplied some of the most important pink to red
diamonds to come on the market in the last 50 years.
The entire length of the river, where GAR Minerals properties stretch approximately 40 km
along the bank, has considerable diamond potential. GAR is a fourth-generation familyowned business. Company officials anticipate their Abaet River properties will remain
productive for at least another two generations.
I visited a GAR mine near the Abaet on a working farm owned by the family. Getting there
from the town of Trs Marias required driving on a dirt road and then crossing a swaying
suspension bridge on foot. Like other GAR properties, it is an alluvial deposit with diamondbearing gravel. This entails small open-pit operations in which excavators remove the gravel
all the way down to bedrock and load it into trucks for careful examination. Because
diamonds are denser than most other materials in the gravel, depressions indicate where
valuable concentrations might be found. Once an area is mined down to the bedrock,
operations continue by following the alluvial gravel along the riverbed.
Trucks then haul the diamond-bearing gravel to a processing (or washing) plant, where
diamonds are separated from the gravels and other minerals, often referred to
as overburden. The processing plant uses a feeder to bring the gravel into an automated
system. There it is washed with a water cannon before separation. A vibrating screen then
removes coarse material, and sluices transport the remaining gravel to a worker who
washes it by hand while a sorter sifts through the material looking for the occasional

diamond.
In an effort to restore areas damaged by open-pit mining, GAR has implemented a formal
plan to refill the pits, while following guidelines set forth by an environmental

Brazil1. Excavators dig up diamond-bearing gravel.

Brazil2. Excavators load diamond-bearing gravel into trucks to be transported to a processing plant.
Brazil3. At the processing plant, water and gravity separate diamond from the gravel.
Brazil4. Final processing involves washing by hand with a screen and sifting through gravel for any overlooked
diamond rough.