Friday, August 24, 2007

Oldest Diamonds

SYDNEY: Scientists have discovered what they believe are the world’s oldest diamonds beneath the Australian outback in a surprise find that could force a rethink about how the Earth formed. The diamonds are believed to date back more than four billion years, making them almost as old as the 4.5 billion year old planet, according a report from Australian and German researchers in the scientific journal Nature. “We’re still stunned, it was the last thing we expected to find,” geologist Alexander Nemchin from Western Australia’s Curtin University of Technology told AFP.
The diamonds were found trapped inside zircon crystals from the Jack Hills region in the remote north of Western Australia state.