Russia is about to start tapping into a huge source of diamonds that could supply the world market for the next 3,000 years.
Scientists estimate there are 'trillions of carats' lying beneath a 35million-year-old asteroid crater in Siberia - more than ten times the global stockpile.
The Kremlin has known about the reserves under the 62-mile-wide impact zone since the 1970s.
But it has kept it a secret until now because it was already reaping big profits in what back then was a heavily controlled market.
The official news agency, ITAR-Tass, said the diamonds at the site, known as Popigai Astroblem, are 'twice as hard' as the usual gemstones, making them ideal for industrial and scientific uses.
According to The Christian Science Monitor, the institute's director, Nikolai Pokhilenko, told the agency that the new source would cause a radical shake-up in the precious stones market.
The stones at Popigai are known as 'impact diamonds' which result when an object like a meteor strikes an existing diamond deposit.
They are also unique, which will make them even more sought-after in high-precision scientific and industrial markets.
Diamond production was booming in Russia in 2007 when output reached $1.35billion, 98 per cent of which was exported to Belgium, Israel, South-east Asia and the USA.
But the bottom fell out in 2009 when polished diamond production fell to an unprecedented low of US$350 million during the economic crisis.
With world markets starting to show signs of resilience, this may explain why Russia has chosen now to reveal its hidden treasure.
【新闻快讯】
据英国《每日邮报》9月17日报道，俄罗斯日前公布了一个20世纪70年代发现的钻石矿。该矿位于西伯利亚东部地区的一个直径超过100公里的陨石坑内，储量估计超过万亿克拉，能满足全球宝石市场3000年的需求。
科学家们表示，这个被称为“珀匹盖”(Popigai)的陨石坑的历史超过3500万年，它下面的钻石储存量估计是全球其他地区钻石储量之和的十倍。俄罗斯之前一直隐瞒这个发现，目的是防止钻石价格被压垮而损害自己的钻石业利益。
“珀匹盖”的钻石又被称为“冲击钻石”，是类似陨石一样的物体撞击现有钻石矿后形成的产物。它的硬度是普通宝石的两倍，因此在工业和科研方面的应用价值特别高。上周末，俄罗斯官员与媒体会面时表示，政府将允许位于该矿附近的新西伯利亚地质与矿物学研究院的科学家揭开这个宝藏神秘的面纱。
新西伯利亚地质与矿物学研究院院长说，新资源可能会对宝石市场产生较大冲击。“我们说的是数万亿克拉，相比而言，为大众所熟悉的俄罗斯雅库特钻石矿的储量只有10亿克拉。而且，冲击钻石因其独特的表面和更大的体积，其价值更高。”
俄罗斯的钻石产量2007年达到顶峰，价值13.5亿美元，98%的产品出口至比利时、以色列、美国和东南亚。但因经济危机影响，其钻石产量2009年跌至谷底，产值仅为3.5亿美元。目前世界经济已经出现复苏的迹象，这或许是俄罗斯当局选择现在公开这个秘密的原因。
