Following the 1979 discovery of diamonds on Western Australia's Kimberley Plateau, the country became the world's largest supplier of industrial diamonds. The plateau, in a former gold-mining region, is underlain with Kimberlite, a diamond-bearing rock. Shown here is the Argyle Mine near Kununurra, a new community built to provide services in the area. Australia is also the world's leading producer of opals.
