Massive Diamond-Filled Meteor Crater Worth 'Trillions' Of Pounds Found In Russia (PHOTOS)

'Trillions' Of Pounds Of Diamonds Discovered In Russian Meteor Crater

A massive field of diamonds worth trillions of pounds has been discovered underneath a meteorite crater in Russia, scientists have announced.

The industrial-quality diamonds have the potential to revolutionise the tech and manufacturing industry - if they can be taken out of the Earth cheaply enough to make it worthwhile.

They were found in the 62-mile wide Popigai Astroblem crater in Siberia, which was created after an impact 35 million years ago.

They were created by the enormous heat and pressure placed upon reserves of graphite by the impact, and comprise the largest diamond field in the world.

The dense stones will not be usable for jewellery, but will be invaluable for industries including manufacturing and mining.

The diamonds were first discovered in the Soviet 1970s, but its existence was not disclosed until now.

The Russian Academy of Sciences now says that trillions of carats of diamonds are now known to be there - and are "twice as hard" as normal diamonds.

Nikolai Pokhilenko, head ot the Geological and Mineralogical Institute in Novosibirsk, said the reserve could spark a "revolution" in diamond production.

Russian news agency RIA Novosti said that scientists are now calling for the diamonds to be mined, in co-operation with the state-owned Alrosa diamond mining company, which is itself the largest in the world.

However others have questioned the profitability of mining the material, since most diamonds used in industry are manufactured artificially.

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