South African Study Aims to Fingerprint Diamonds

MINTEK, South Africa’s minerals science council, announced that it will be embarking on a geoscientific study to research the possibilities of origin-determination for rough diamonds. The project is aimed at determining whether trace elements can be used to discriminate between diamonds from different geographical sources. While MINTEK will first study South African diamond types, it foresees future international collaboration.

MINTEK will be working in conjunction with the South Africa Diamond and Precious Metals Regulator (SADPMR) on the project. Ashok Damarupurshad, Strategist at SADPMR, further clarified the goal of geochemical fingerprinting for individual diamonds. “If proven to be successful, diamond fingerprinting would help to reduce theft and illegal mining and help prevent ‘conflict diamonds’ from entering legitimate trade, which is the objective of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.”

The study will focus on both the physical and chemical properties of diamonds. Mintek is aiming for a comprehensive database of South African diamonds within 3 years.