South Africa Starts Diamond Fingerprinting Project

South Africa’s minerals science council, MINTEK, and the South African Diamond and Precious Metals Regulator (SADPMR) are launching a geo-scientific project to study the possibility of determining the origin of individual rough diamond crystals.

The study will explore whether trace elements — elements found at the parts per million and sub-parts per million level — allow to differentiate between diamonds from different geographical areas when physical characteristic data is combined with chemical data.

During the analysis of trace elements, a Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) is used. The technology is capable of analyzing elements at the parts per trillion level in a diamond.

In the past, chemical-physical analysis of diamonds was dismissed as impossible, however, advances in the LA-ICP-MS technology and other technologies made profiling of diamond sources seemingly possible.

"If proven to be successful, diamond fingerprinting would help to reduce theft and illegal mining and help prevent 'conflict diamonds' from entering the legitimate trade, which is the objective of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme," said Ashok Damarupurshad, Strategist at the SADPMR. "In other words, it would help to enforce controls on the international diamond trade. It is for this reason that the SADPMR has provided initial funding for the establishment of the lab at MINTEK.”

However, before any successful fingerprinting can be established, a large database containing samples of different diamond sources must be established.