俄超大型钻石矿曝光 超过全球现有储量

Russian scientists are claiming that a gigantic deposit of industrial diamonds found in a huge Siberian meteorite crater during Soviet times could revolutionize industry.

The Siberian branch of Russian Academy of Sciences said that the Popigai crater in eastern Siberia contains "many trillions of carats" of so-called "impact diamonds" -- good for technological purposes, not for jewelry, and far exceeding the currently known global deposits of conventional diamonds.

Nikolai Pokhilenko, the head of the Geological and Mineralogical Institute in Novosibirsk, told the reporters Monday that the diamonds include other molecular forms of carbon. He said they could be twice as hard as conventional diamonds and therefore have superlative industrial qualities.

He said the minerals could lead to a "revolution" in various industries. "But they can't upset a diamond market because it is shaped by diamonds for jewelry purposes."

The deposit was discovered by Soviet scientists in the 1970s, but was left unexplored as the Soviet leadership opted for producing synthetic diamonds for industrial use. The deposit remained classified until after the Soviet collapse.

Pokhilenko said that the diamonds owe their unparalleled hardness to enormous pressure and high temperatures at the moment of explosion when a giant meteorite hit 35 million years ago, leaving a 60-mile crater.

The Siberian branch of Russian Academy of Sciences said in a statement that scientists discussed the issue at a roundtable in Novosibirsk over the weekend, saying that further studies will be needed to assess economic aspects of their potential exploration.

Pokhilenko said his institute is planning to send an expedition to the crater in cooperation with Russia's state-controlled diamond mining company Alrosa.

俄罗斯科学家表示，前苏联政府曾在西伯利亚地区一个巨大的陨石坑内，发现大型工业用钻石矿，而这一发现有可能引发工业变革。

俄罗斯科学院西伯利亚分院表示，西伯利亚东部的珀匹盖陨石坑内有“数万亿克拉”的“冲击钻”，是良好的工业钻石，而不是用来打造珠宝。这一储量比目前已知的全世界钻石矿储量的总和还超出很多。

新西伯利亚市地质与矿物研究院院长尼古莱-波克希伦科本周一告诉记者，这种钻石含有其他分子形式的碳，硬度是普通钻石的两倍，因此具有最高级的工业品质。

他说，这一矿藏会导致多个工业领域出现“革命”，“但不会扰乱钻石市场，因为这一市场是由珠宝钻石主导的。”

这一矿藏是前苏联科学家在上世纪70年代发现的，但前苏联领导人选择制造人造钻石用于工业用途，而没有对矿藏进行勘探。直到前苏联解体，这一矿藏也不为人所知。

波克希伦科说，3500万年前，一颗巨大的陨石砸向此处，导致发生大爆炸，也留下了一个60英里的陨石坑。因此钻石在爆炸时巨大的压力和超高温的作用下变得无比坚硬。

俄罗斯科学院西伯利亚分院在声明中说，科学家上周末在新西伯利亚召开的一次圆桌会议上讨论了这一矿藏，表示若要评估未来勘探工作的经济效益，还需要进一步研究。

波克希伦科说，研究院计划向该陨石坑派遣一支勘探队，与俄罗斯国有钻石公司阿尔罗萨共同开发。