The Mir open pit diamond mine was discovered in 1955 by the Amaka expedition, led by Yury Khabardin. Extraction began in June 1957.
Mir is a kimberlite diamond-bearing open pit mine. The diameter of the pit at its top is 1,200 metres by 1,100 metres, while the diameter at the base is 70 metres by 190 metres.
Mir was Russia's first commercial diamond mine.
Open pit mining ended at the site in 2001, at a depth of 525 metres. According to experts, the operation is an example of mining engineering at its finest.
Over the period the mine was in operation, the volume of the overburden (surface material covering the valuable deposit) was 140.4 million cubic metres, and 67,928 tons of ore was extracted.