American Diamond Mines

Crater of Diamonds State Park

Diamond mining in the United States has met with limited success with one minor exception: Arkansas' "Crater of Diamonds." The Crater of Diamonds is an 888 acre State Park located in Murfreesboro, Arkansas. Crater of Diamonds is the only diamond mine in the world that is open to the general public. The park is situated over an 95 million year old eroded lamproite volcanic pipe that was created from magma rising to the surface due to the final shifting of the continental plates. The pipe consists of ash tuffs, lamproite and epiclastic crater sediments similar to the some of the lamproites in Western Australia.

The first diamond was found in 1906 by John Huddleston, who owned the property that became the State Park. Shortly after Mr Huddleston's discovery, a diamond rush turned Murfreesboro into a boomtown. After unsuccessful attempts at commercial exploitation, the area was used as a privately owned tourist attraction called the "Arkansas Diamond Mine." The state of Arkansas purchased the property and converted it into a state park in 1972. Unsuccessful diamond-drilling (below) was conducted in 1992 by several groups, including Rio Tinto.