One of the greatest diamond exploration success stories of the twentieth century was that of Russia. In the 1930s Russian explorers recognized geological similarities between the ancient bedrock in Siberia and some diamond-rich parts of southern Africa. They began prospecting in the Sakha region and in 1954 discovered the first kimberlite pipe in the region, called Zarnitsa (Dawn); more than 500 additional kimberlites were discovered during the next two years. Mines were gradually developed, and by the 1970s Russia had become the world’s third largest diamond producer by volume, following Congo and South Africa. This major discovery increased the overall.
