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The town was founded in 1955 when geologists came to exploit the area’s substantial mineral wealth. Consequently, Mirny’s defining feature is a 1 1/2 km wide, 500 m deep hole, which is the now-abandoned diamond mine.


The town is strictly off limits to outsiders without a special permit and the authorities regard any foreigners with considerable suspicion.

The mine is so big and giant that the airspace above the mine is closed for helicopters because of a few incidents in which they were sucked in by the downward air flow.


The development of the mine had started in 1957 in extremely harsh climate conditions. Seven months of winter per year froze the ground into permafrost, which was hard in winter, but turned into sludge in summer. Buildings had to be raised on piles, so that they would not sink in summer, and the main processing plant had to be built on a better ground found 20 km away from the mine. The winter temperatures were so low that car tires and steel would shatter and oil would freeze. During the winter, the workers used jet engines to de-freeze and dig out the permafrost or blasted it with dynamite to get access to the underlying kimberlite. The entire mine had to be covered at night to prevent the machinery from freezing.

Visit World’s Biggest Diamond Mine – Mirny (Mir Mine)