Argyle: The Impossible Story of Australian Diamonds

by Stuart Kells

The remote Kimberley region of Western Australia has a rich history and unique geography. In the 1960s De Beers, the world's largest diamond company, sent gem-hunters to the area but they came away empty-handed. It was a vast region to survey, and they'd overlooked something vital. A few years later, a team of Australian geologists with a tiny budget searched for even tinier mineral clues. Those clues led them to the earth's largest diamond deposit and the world's richest source of rare pink diamonds. Based on in-depth research and interviews—including with Alan King Jones, Bill Leslie, and 'the father of Australian diamonds', Ewen Tyler— Argyle: The Impossible Story of Australian Diamonds details the almost overwhelming challenges with realising a diamond mining venture in Australia, shows how these obstacles were overcome, and explores the mine's impact and legacy.

336 pages, Paperback

Published May 3, 2021

About the author

Stuart Kells is a Melbourne-based author. His history of Penguin Books, Penguin and the Lane Brothers, won the Ashurst Australian Business Literature Prize.

Reviews

[Lee Kofman · Rating 3 out of 5]

well written yet utterly doesn't consider the environmental impact of mining.

[Josh Stanton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story of australia diamond history.