Kimberlite (rare Russian locality piece) ex Soregaroli Coll.

Item Description

Dr. Art Soregaroli purchased a very rare 18 piece group of kimberlite specimens from this well-known diamond pipe from Dmitriy Belakovskii of the Fersman Museum of Moscow in the early 2000's. Kimberlite is an igneous rock best known for sometimes containing diamonds. Kimberlite occurs in the Earth's crust in vertical structures known as kimberlite pipes as well as igneous dykes and sills. Kimberlite pipes are the most important source of mined diamonds today. The consensus on kimberlites is that they are formed deep within the mantle. Formation occurs at depths between 150 and 450 kilometres (93 and 280 mi), potentially from anomalously enriched exotic mantle compositions, and they are erupted rapidly and violently, often with considerable carbon dioxide and other volatile components (Wikipedia). This is a RARE kimberlite specimen from this Russian diamond pipe with a HIGHLY desirable diamond indicator species, a 4 mm red pyrope garnet and numerous oxidized brown olivine crystals and xenoliths or fragments of other rock/mineral types in the slabbed kimberlite matrix. This striking piece is shot through with xenoliths and fragments, making for an outstanding kimberlite specimen. RARE on the market in this form and quality.