Author 1:
Name & Surname: Chanturia V. A.
Company: Institute of Comprehensive Exploitation of Mineral Resources—IPKON (Moscow, Russia)
Scientific Degree: Academician

Author 2:
Name & Surname: Bondar S. S.
Company: Almazintekh — Consulting and Engineering (Moscow, Russia)
Work Position: Consulting Geologist

Author 3:
Name & Surname: Godun K. V.
Company: Almazintekh — Consulting and Engineering (Moscow, Russia)
Work Position: Deputy General Director

Author 4:
Name & Surname: Goryachev B. E.
Company: National University of Science and Technology MISiS (Moscow, Russia)
Work Position: Professor
Scientific Degree: Doctor of Engineering Sciences
Contacts: e-mail: beg@misis.ru

This is the first part of article. The last part will be published in “Gornyi Zhurnal” (“Mining Journal”), No. 3, 2015. By expert estimates, the diamonds supply will grow in the world average by 3.5–4% by 2019 and then will reduce by 1.5–2% by 2024 as a consequence of field maturation and transition from open pit to underground mining. At the average content of diamonds in primary deposits about 1 carat/t (2·10–5%) and nearly 100 % diamond content of the final product, diamond concentration in the recovery should reach 2·106. That high concentration is never approached in dressing of the other nonferrous and noble metals. The choice of beneficiation technology and equipment is conditioned, first of all, by relatively high density of diamonds as against most of country rocks and minerals, natural hydrophobic property and ability to luminesce under X-ray exposure, as well as by the requirement of maximum possible preservation of diamond crystals in disintegration and shipment. Recovery of diamonds is required to reach 92–98%. Diamond processing plants mostly use the methods of gravity and radiometric concentration, in particular, float-and-sink separation in cyclones and X-ray fluorescence separation. The economic criterion of a technology quality is the maximum yield of marketable product per ton, i.e., the ratio of input “commodity” to output “commodity” that should tend to unit. Enhancement of diamond ore extraction and processing efficiency requires creation and implementation of: 

— sound ratio of volumes of kimberlites extracted with open pit and underground mining methods; 

— new unmanned modes of underground extraction of kimberlites, including robotized mining machine complexes; 

— technologies of underground mining with backfilling using processing tailings; 

— underground application of movable/mobile processing plants using X-ray equipment to trace diamonds in kimberlites;

— technology of fine cleaning of diamond surface.

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