Recent advances in ion microprobe instrumentation and techniques have enabled the mapping of C isotope ratios across the whole of a polished plate of a natural diamond from Guaniamo, Venezuela. The resultant map of C isotope variation closely matches the cathodoluminescence image of the growth structure of the diamond and, therefore, indicates an extremely limited scale of diffusion of C atoms since the time of diamond formation. This result was compatible with the limited mobility of N atoms shown by the IaAB aggregation state of the diamond. Inclusions in the diamond were eclogitic, in common with many Guaniamo diamonds with temperatures of formation of around 1200C. At such temperature the IaAB aggregation state indicates a mantle residence time on the order of 1Ga. Such temperatures of formation and mantle residence times were common to many natural diamonds; thus the extremely limited diffusion of C isotopes shown by the mapping indicates that many diamonds will retain the C isotope compositions of their initial formation.

Diffusion in Diamond. I. Carbon Isotope Mapping of Natural Diamond. Craven, J.A., Harte, B., Fisher, D., Schulze, D.J.: Mineralogical Magazine, 2009, 73[2], 193-200