With an expected value of £13billion, this could be the most expensive hole in the world. Dubbed ‘Diamond City’, Mir mine in eastern Siberia is so huge it creates a vortex potentially strong enough to suck helicopters into its depths.
At 1,722-feet-deep and with a diameter of nearly one mile, the crater makes it look like the nearby town of Mirny has been struck by a meteorite.
Its riches were so vast it helped transform the USSR from a war torn and impoverished nation into a post-WW2 global superpower.
Although the open cast mine ceased operation in 2004, it was replaced with a series of underground tunnels which produced more than six million carats of rough diamonds in 2014.
Mir mine’s £13billion worth is based on adding the total value of the diamonds it has already produced to the remaining reserves.
The air space above the pit, located 5,000 miles east of Moscow, is closed after alleged incidents of helicopters being sucked downwards. Thankfully, no crashes have been reported.
It is owned by Russian company Alrosa, which produces about a quarter of the world’s diamond output.
In 2010, a construction company called AB Elise announced plans to build a gigantic domed city in the disused mine.
The firm said it would use solar energy to power homes for 100,000 people.
Presumably the underground mine operation would have to stop before this dream could become a reality.
At its peak, Mir mine produced on average two million carats of rough diamonds a year, worth at least £20million, and with nearby mines was responsible for 23 per cent of the world’s rough diamonds.
The largest ones were the size of golf balls, including the 130.85 carat Olonkho diamond, worth about £250,000.
The diamond deposits were discovered by three geologists – Ekaterina Elagina, Uri Khabardin and Viktor Avdeenko.
When the news was relayed back to Moscow, digging began.
Jet engines were used to blast holes in the permafrost and dynamite was used to excavate the surface rock and loosen the kimberlite ore.
The three geologists were awarded Russia’s highest award, the Lenin Prize for their efforts.
After Russia was left devastated by WW2, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin used the money made from Mir mine to help rebuild the country and turn Russia into a global superpower to rival the USA.
The area in Siberia where the mine is based is home to some of the harshest weather conditions in the world. Winter can last up to seven months and temperatures can often drop as low as -40 degrees Celsius.
This made mining difficult and after jet engines failed to sufficiently melt the perma frost dynamite was also used.
The rapid development of the first diamond mine in the Soviet Union worried the South African De Beers company, who until that point had been distributing most of the world’s diamonds.
After being granted permission to visit Mir mine and learn its secrets the company’s executive Sir Philip Oppenheimer and chief geologist Barry Hawthorne were deliberately delayed for so long upon their arrival in Moscow that by the time they arrived at the mine their visas were due to expire.
This meant the pair managed to view the site for just twenty minutes.
This pit is deep enough and it attracts the helicopters passing over there
Authorities urge users to be much careful
There are factories located in the pit proximity as to process the minerals extracted from the site 
Airplane view of the site and its surroundings
Daily Mail
