Big diamond finds harder to pull off

London

DIAMONDS are so hard to find that explorers have pretty much given up trying.

More than US$7 billion has been ploughed into the hunt for the gem since 2000, according to top supplier De Beers, and the results have been meagre, with no major finds. That's led producers including BHP Billiton Ltd to pack up their maps and drills and head for home. The amount spent looking for diamond-rich kimberlite formations underground has dropped by half since 2007, when exploration investment topped US$1 billion.