World's oldest Diamonds have been found encased in a crystal in Western Australia, scientists say. The minuscule gemstones are 4.25 billion years old and could provide a rare glimpse into Earth's distant geologic past.

Quote from "news.nationalgeographic.com" National Geographic News - August 22, 2007

---Quote---
"No one would have really predicted that diamonds were in there," said Simon Wilde, a geologist at Curtin University of Technology in Perth and a member of the team that made the find.

The discovery suggests that seas of molten lava that covered primordial Earth had cooled down faster than had previously been thought.

The discovery is a shocker to geologists, many of whom believed that the molten lava and volcanic activity persisted on Earth's surface for at least 500 million years after our planet formed some 4.5 billion years ago.
---Quote---

A microscope image reveals tiny diamond fragments (center) encased in a zircon crystal. Scientists say the diamonds found inside the crystal are the oldest ever found, at some 4.25 billion years old.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/bigphotos/images/070822-diamonds_big.jpg
Source(s):
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/08/070822-diamonds.html

Permalink | Report