The Udachnaya pipe (, literally lucky pipe) is a diamond deposit in the Daldyn-Alakit kimberlite field in Sakha Republic, Russia. It is an open-pit mine, and is located just outside the Arctic circle at . History Udachnaya was discovered on 15 June 1955, just two days after the discovery of the diamond pipe Mir by Soviet geologist Vladimir Shchukin and his team. It is about deep, making it the third deepest open-pit mine in the world (after Bingham Canyon Mine and Chuquicamata). The nearby settlement of Udachny is named for the deposit. , Udachnaya pipe is controlled by Russian diamond company Alrosa, which planned to halt open-pit mining in favor of underground mining in 2010. The mine has estimated reserves of of diamonds and an annual production capacity of . See also Mir mine Volcanic pipe References External links Satellite photo of the Udachnaya pipe Diamond mines in Russia Diamond mines in the Soviet Union Diatremes of Russia Open-pit mines Science and technology in the Soviet Union Sakha Republic Surface mines in Russia