Argyle diamond mine of tunnelling, the Argyle underground block cave development was officially completed. In 2013, Argyle is estimated to produce 10.2 million carats with an average per carat price of $25/carat. The Argyle diamond mine is also notable for being the first successful commercial diamond mine exploiting a volcanic pipe of lamproite, rather than the more usual kimberlite pipe; much earlier attempts to mine diamonds from a lamproite pipe in Arkansas, USA were commercially unsuccessful. The Argyle mine is owned by the Rio Tinto Group, a diversified mining company which also owns the Diavik Diamond Mine in Canada and the Murowa Diamond
Kelsey Lake Diamond Mine settled the lawsuit but in September 1997 Redaurum decided to liquidate its diamond properties to concentrate on exploration. The mine was operated sporadically until the operation was acquired by McKenzie Bay International Ltd. in 2000. McKenzie bought the mine management firm Diamond Co. from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, transferred all its assets to a subsidiary, Great Western Diamond Co., and invested $2 million in new equipment for the mine. In 2001, McKenzie tried to sell the mine to focus on mining vanadium after the price of that metal rose dramatically. However, due to a dispute with the landowner over royalty payments,