Ants delivering small mineral particles to the surface is not unique to Arizona. It is known in many parts of the world. In a few instances, ant hill minerals have been used as a prospecting tool.

In prospecting for diamonds, geologists use “indicator minerals” to determine if they are on or near a kimberlite pipe – the host rock of many diamond deposits. The diamonds are brought up from the mantle by deep-source volcanic eruptions. There are often only a few carats of diamonds in many tons of kimberlite – but the kimberlite can be loaded with mantle-source minerals such as pyrope, garnet, and olivine.

So, instead of looking for diamonds, geologists look for these more abundant minerals to locate a pipe. Then they collect a bulk sample of the kimberlite to determine if the pipe contains diamonds. Geologists who do this type of work will often stop at any ant hill that they encounter to take a quick look for colorful bits of mantle minerals.