Geologists from the Universities of Malaga and Granada in association with experts from Germany have confirmed for the first time the presence of diamond bearing rocks in the Serrania de Ronda.

A team of geologists had started a survey of rock formations in the Serrania 5 years ago as part of continuing research into rock types in Andalucia, and two years ago stumbled on small diamonds. Carlos Sanz de Galdeano of the University of Granada explained, “we weren’t looking for diamonds, it was a fluke, but there they were”.

The diamonds found are microscopic and for the most part not visible to the human eye, though may still be desirable to commercial miners for industrial uses such as cutting tips or polishing plates. In addition some jewelers use microscopic diamonds joining them together to create small diamonds though pricing is necessarily much lower than a single stone.

Two of the locations surveyed showed different sizes of diamond, the first containing micro diamonds hard to see without a microscope, while the second location found micro diamonds visible to the human eye under light. The density of diamonds was much lower for the larger size.

Asked if commercial mining of Ronda’s diamonds would be viable, Maria Dolores Ruiz one of the project leaders, said only that the discovery of diamonds was still in a preliminary stage and that the volume of rock needed to be crushed would be substantial and that only mining companies with experience of extracting micro diamonds would be able to assess viability.

As a side note, commercial extraction of micro diamonds has been ongoing in Kazakhstan for many decades, with huge impact on the local environment, and that type of mining in Andalucia may face significant obstacles from enviornmentalists and local government.

The survey covered the Betica range, which also includes Jubrique to Torrox and passes through the Sierra de las Nieves Natural Park,though it is understood the diamonds discovered were not within the park boundaries.