Sep 14, 2024 12:00:00

'A device that can discover giant diamonds one after another' actually exists and is in operation.

Since the 2010s, there have been frequent reports of 'giant diamonds being discovered.' In fact, most of the giant diamonds discovered since the 2010s have been discovered using an X-ray diamond detection device developed by a Norwegian company.

Diamonds | TOMRA

https://www.tomra.com/en/mining/segments/diamonds

TOMRA Mining sorting machine COM XRT 2.0 | TOMRA
https://www.tomra.com/en/mining/products/machines/com-xrt-2

In September 2024, the news that the second largest diamond in history, weighing 2,492 carats, had been discovered was widely reported. This giant diamond was discovered using an X-ray diamond detection device developed by the Norwegian company TOMRA.

According to a TOMRA

report , 21 giant diamonds weighing more than 400 carats have been discovered between 2014 and 2023, 13 of which were discovered using TOMRA's X-ray diamond detection equipment.

TOMRA has developed several X-ray diamond detection devices. The following video explains how

the COM XRT 2.0 works, which is particularly suited to detecting larger diamonds.

COM XRT D 2.0 - Diamond Animation - YouTube


The overall picture of COM XRT 2.0 looks like this.

First, unsorted ore is fed into the machine.

The ore is leveled onto a conveyor belt and transported to the X-ray irradiation position.

The ore is exposed to X-rays to determine whether it is a diamond rough or not.

Any ore determined to be rough diamonds is blown away into a different channel.

This allows the diamond rough to be separated from the mined ore.

The price of the COM XRT D 2.0 is not disclosed, but diamond mining company Gem Diamonds says that in the four years since introducing the COM XRT D 2.0, they have found diamonds worth 15 times their investment.