New Type of Large Diamonds Found in Frozen Lava in Russia

Geologists have found a new type of diamond in the frozen lava eruption of the Tolbachik volcano in Kamchatka. The diamonds are large and of a new type, the Ministry of Science of the Russian Federation reports.

“The solidified lava of the Tolbachik eruption (2012-2013) carries within it a new and never-before-seen type of diamond. They are named — Tolbachik diamonds.

According to the Russian geologists these unique diamonds are not formed in the magmatic melt but are created by volcanic gases under pressure and as a result of crystallization under the influence of electrical discharges of lightning,” the report read.

The statement by the ministry further read that, “From a small sample of solidified lava there were several hundred diamonds recovered – that’s a lot! This is the number of diamonds that can only be compared with abnormally high enrichment of diamond lava rocks on the field of Dachin in India (77 diamonds in a 1-kilogram sample) and an unusual magmatic rock in Canada (1,500 diamonds in 28-kilogram sample).”

In size the Tolbachik diamonds are large enough for the lava rocks — from 250 to 700 microns. All of these facts have allowed geologists to conclude that at least some of the lava yields are diamondiferous.