Best Coordinates for Diamonds: 7 Real Sites Checked

There is no single best coordinate for diamonds. Diamonds are mined at a short list of named points, each sitting on an ancient continental core and a volcanic pipe that carried the stones up. In 2025 the Kimberley Process counted 98.8 million carats of rough production worldwide, and Russia, Botswana, Angola and Canada made most of it (Kimberley Process, 2025 global summary). Arkansas State Parks says Crater of Diamonds State Park, at about 34.03°N, 93.67°W, is the only place in the world where the public can search for natural diamonds in their original volcanic source.

Below you get seven real sites with coordinates and their status, the country output behind them, the geology that explains why the map points cluster, and two calculators: one converts degrees, minutes and seconds to decimal degrees, the other turns carats into rough sales value. Coordinates are rounded to two decimals, which is good to about one kilometre. Check each one on a satellite map before you rely on it.

Real coordinates for diamonds: 7 sites and their status

The table lists producing or historic points whose status we checked against company, regulator or state sources in October 2026. A carat is 0.2 grams, the unit all diamond output is counted in. A kimberlite is a rare volcanic rock that forms narrow pipes; a lamproite is a related rock that hosts diamonds at Crater of Diamonds.

Note that the bases differ: the Botswana figure in the table is De Beers’ operations only (15.1 million carats), while the country total in the Kimberley Process chart below is 15.5 million carats.

Two more producing areas are worth knowing even though we give no point for them. South Africa’s Venetia mine is one of De Beers’ operations, and South Africa as a whole produced 5.6 million carats in 2025. De Beers reports Namibia’s output from recovery vessels at sea, so a land coordinate does not describe it.

The old version of this page listed the Orapa and Jwaneng pair under one Botswana point. They are about 360 kilometres apart, so each now has its own coordinates.

Where diamonds are mined: output by country

Country totals show where the producing coordinates cluster. The Kimberley Process, the scheme that certifies rough diamond shipments, publishes production for each participating country. Its 2025 summary puts world output at 98.8 million carats worth US$9.23 billion, an average of US$93 a carat. In 2024 the same scheme recorded 107.9 million carats worth US$9.53 billion (Kimberley Process, 2024 global summary).

Chart

Rough diamond production by country, 2025

Million carats, eight largest producers

Russia is first by volume with 31.5 million carats, about a third of the world total. Botswana, Angola and Canada follow within a narrow band of 14 to 15.5 million carats each. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is fifth by volume at 8.9 million carats, but its average value was far lower per carat.

Volume is not value. A carat from Namibia was worth US$344 on average in 2025, a carat from Lesotho US$331, and a carat from the Democratic Republic of the Congo only US$5. That gap matters when you compare coordinates, because a mine on a low-value pipe needs far more carats to earn the same revenue.

Why those points work: cratons, kimberlite and lamproite

Diamonds form in the mantle, well below the crust, and reach the surface only inside fast-rising volcanic rock. Geologists call this pattern Clifford’s rule: primary diamond deposits sit on old, stable parts of the continents called cratons. A Ukrainian geophysics paper notes that the rule holds for most deposits, though a few productive ones lie outside Archean cratons and the more precise link is to thick, cold mantle roots under the crust (Aryasova and Khazan, Geofizicheskiy Zhurnal, 2013).

• Craton: a block of continent that has stayed stable for billions of years. The Slave craton holds the Northwest Territories mines, the Kaapvaal and Zimbabwe cratons hold the southern African ones, and the Siberian craton holds Yakutia.
• Pipe: kimberlite or lamproite magma punches through the crust in narrow pipes. Most pipes carry no diamonds or too few to mine, which is why a pipe is a target, not a result.
• Indicator minerals: pyrope garnet, chromian diopside and picroilmenite survive weathering and wash downstream. Sampling them in stream sediment and glacial till gives a trail that leads back to a pipe. The Northwest Territories Geological Survey reports exactly this work in its exploration overview, with indicator-mineral results followed by ground magnetic and resistivity surveys (NWT Geological Survey, 2016 exploration overview).

Crater of Diamonds shows the same chain at small scale. The Arkansas Geological Survey describes the site as the eroded top of a lamproite volcanic vent, and says the soil that yields all the park’s diamonds comes from pyroclastic lamproite, the fragmented ash and lapilli rock, not from the solid lamproite (Arkansas Geological Survey, Crater of Diamonds geology).

Why output at these coordinates keeps changing

The coordinates do not move, but what comes out of them does. Natural Resources Canada reports that Canadian mines produced 13.3 million carats worth C$1.47 billion in 2024, down 17% in volume and 30% in value from 2023. It links the trend to mine closures, exhausted high-capacity sections of mines, lower ore grades and weaker demand as lab-grown diamonds compete (Natural Resources Canada, Diamond facts). Canada’s 2025 count recovered a little, to 14.1 million carats, but at only US$63 a carat.

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Change in rough output, 2024 to 2025

Million carats, six producers

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Canada rough diamond production, 2017 to 2024

Million carats

The biggest single change is Diavik. Rio Tinto said the mine had exhausted its economic reserves and held a celebration on its final day of production on 26 March 2026. Four pipes were mined, beneath Lac de Gras and about 220 kilometres south of the Arctic Circle, by open pit and underground methods (Rio Tinto, 26 March 2026). The company will sell the last rough through 2026 and beyond.

De Beers shows the same softness at a larger scale. Its 2025 production was 21.7 million carats, down 12% from 24.7 million in 2024, and the fourth quarter fell 35% as Jwaneng and Orapa shut for maintenance in response to market conditions (Anglo American, 5 February 2026). A low carat count at a famous coordinate can therefore be a decision to hold back supply, not a sign that the ground has run out.

Which coordinates can you actually dig?

If you want a point you can walk up to, Crater of Diamonds State Park near Murfreesboro is the answer. Arkansas State Parks says visitors search a 37-acre plowed field, the eroded surface of the crater, and that any rock or mineral found is the finder’s to keep. It also says more than 37,377 diamonds had been found by visitors by 13 January 2026, since the park opened in 1972, including the 40.23-carat Uncle Sam, the largest diamond ever unearthed in the United States (Arkansas State Parks). The three colors found there are white, brown and yellow.

Dividing 37,377 by the 54 years from 1972 to 2026 gives about 690 registered diamonds a year, or under two a day for all visitors combined. That is our own arithmetic on the park’s total, not a published average, and it says nothing about your own odds. Most finds are small, and the park does not publish visitor numbers beside the find counts.

Every other point in the table is industrial or private ground. For a wider list of places the public can search, see our guide on where you can dig for diamonds.

How to read and convert diamond coordinates

Lists of diamond coordinates online mix formats, and a small mistake moves you a long way. One degree of latitude is about 111 kilometres, so a swapped sign or a missed minute can put a point on the wrong continent. Coordinates come in two common forms: degrees, minutes and seconds (for example 64° 30′ 0″ N), and decimal degrees (64.50). South latitudes and west longitudes are negative in decimal form. Digital map tools use decimal degrees on the WGS84 datum, the same system GPS uses.

The converter below turns the three numbers for one angle into decimal degrees. Enter the degrees as a positive number and set the sign to 1 for north or east, or -1 for south or west.

How explorers turn a craton into a drill target

A craton covers millions of square kilometres, so explorers narrow it down in stages rather than guess a coordinate. The usual order is regional geology and airborne magnetic or gravity data to find round anomalies, then indicator-mineral sampling along streams and in glacial till, then ground geophysics on the best trains, and last a drilled core to test the rock for diamonds. Many magnetic anomalies turn out to be other rocks, such as magnetic granite or pegmatite; the NWT survey notes that exactly this explained several drilled targets in one program.

Satellite data helps at the first stage. Multispectral imagery can map surface structure, soil and vegetation patterns over a large tract before a crew is sent, and it can flag zones where several signals overlap. It cannot see a diamond or a pipe 100 metres down. Satellite results are exploration targets that sit ahead of a resource estimate, and they need ground sampling and drilling to confirm. Farmonaut’s satellite-based mineral detection works at this screening stage, from a KML, KMZ or polygon you supply.

How open-pit and underground methods compare also decides which coordinates stay in production. Diavik used both beneath a lake, and Gahcho Kué is mined in successive pit cuts. Planning drilling for such ground is a separate job, covered in our note on diamond drilling companies in Canada, and public exploration spending data are in our guide to Canadian exploration spending.

▶ Explains what AI does in mineral exploration, where it fails and how to check any claim. · 4:37

What a mine’s rough output is worth

Revenue depends on the carat count and the price per carat, and the second varies by a factor of more than 60 between the lowest and highest countries in the Kimberley Process data. The chart shows the 2025 averages. The calculator below multiplies your own carats by an average price. It gives gross sales value only, before mining cost, tax, royalties and the discount that rough parcels sell at. Rough diamond prices are set by sorting and tender, not by an exchange, so use a parcel value you have been quoted.

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Average rough value per carat, 2025

US$ per carat, selected producers

Rights, access and permits before you visit any coordinate

A good coordinate gives you no right to dig. In most countries the state owns minerals, and an exploration licence, a claim or a lease decides who may sample or drill. Even where you hold a licence, you usually still need the surface owner’s permission and, in northern Canada, agreements with Indigenous governments. On private farmland and forest in the United States, mineral rights and surface rights can belong to different owners, so check the county recorder and the state geological survey before any sampling.

• Title check: who holds the mineral rights at the point, and is the ground already staked or leased.
• Access: written permission from the surface owner or the regulator, and an assessment of water, soil and habitat.
• Public data first: geological surveys publish maps, drill results and indicator-mineral data; for Ontario, see our walk-through of public geoscience data before staking.
• Reclamation: a closure plan should exist before the first hole is drilled, as Diavik’s did.

Never use mercury or take samples from ground you have no permission to enter. For help screening a licence area or planning a survey, request a quote or contact the team.

▶ Shows how land access can block ground that looks good on a survey. · 2:05

Frequently asked questions

What are the best coordinates to find diamonds?

There is no one coordinate. The named, checkable points are Jwaneng (24.52°S, 24.70°E) and Orapa (21.31°S, 25.37°E) in Botswana, Gahcho Kué (63.43°N, 109.19°W) in Canada, and Crater of Diamonds State Park (34.03°N, 93.67°W) for the public. Anything without a craton, a pipe and an indicator-mineral trail behind it is a guess.

Where is the best place to find diamonds in the United States?

Crater of Diamonds State Park near Murfreesboro, Arkansas. Arkansas State Parks says it is the only place in the world where the public can search for natural diamonds in their original volcanic source, and visitors keep what they find.

Which country produces the most diamonds?

Russia, with 31.5 million carats in 2025 by Kimberley Process figures. Botswana made 15.5 million, Angola 15.2 million and Canada 14.1 million. By average value per carat, Namibia and Lesotho lead.

Is Diavik still producing diamonds?

No. Rio Tinto reported the final day of production on 26 March 2026 after 23 years and more than 150 million carats. Closure work continues to 2029, and the remaining rough is being sold.

Why are diamonds found on cratons?

They form in thick, cool mantle roots that sit under old, stable continental crust. Kimberlite and lamproite magma carries them up fast enough that they do not turn to graphite. Most primary deposits fit this pattern, though a few lie outside it.

Can a satellite find diamonds?

Not directly. Satellite imagery can screen a large area for structure, soil and vegetation patterns that sit near pipes. Confirming a pipe needs indicator-mineral sampling, geophysics and drilling. Treat any satellite result as an exploration target, not a resource.

What is the best way to strip mine for diamonds?

Open pit is used while ore is near the surface. Diavik combined open pits and underground mining, and Gahcho Kué works in successive cuts. Any pit needs an environmental assessment, topsoil storage, tailings control and a reclamation plan, and none of it can start before a licence is granted.

How do I convert degrees, minutes and seconds to decimal coordinates?

Divide the minutes by 60, the seconds by 3,600, and add both to the degrees. For south and west, make the result negative. The converter on this page does the sum for you.

Do coordinates from a list or a video guarantee diamonds?

No. A coordinate only tells you where a geologist has already found something, if it is true at all. Without mineral rights, a licence and a sample result, the point is not a finding.

How much do diamonds from different countries sell for?

The Kimberley Process 2025 averages for rough were US$344 a carat in Namibia, US$128 in Botswana, US$86 in Russia, US$63 in Canada and US$5 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Gem quality, size and shape change the price of any one stone.