Mir Mine (kimberlitic diamond pipe "Peace") is an abandoned open pit diamond mine located in Mirny, Eastern Siberia. The mine is 525 m (1722 ft) deep and has a diameter of 1200 m (3937 ft). It was the first and one of the largest diamond pipes of the USSR.
Mir Mine was discovered in 1955 practically by accident, as one of the geologists wanted to wash his hands, and not having some soap grabbed some sand from the soil and remained very surprised finding a bright stone in his hand.
The air zone within the mine is closed for helicopters as a few accidents occurred when they were "sucked in" by downward air flow. It was operational for almost 50 years, finally closing in 2004.
The city area around the mine was quickly built when the mine was discovered, for the workers to live in. The diamonds were mined with controlled dynamite explosions, and then the soil was transported to the surface with huge trucks. Imagine the pollution…
There are a lot of other huge diamond deposits throughout the Siberian territory. Another huge one is the Udachnaya pipe (lucky pipe) which is more than 600m (1970ft) deep.
