Move is part of an increasing wave of investment by mining and energy groups into technologies that suck carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere and use it to make synthetic fuel.
About 27% of the diamonds at the company’s Orion South and Star exploration sites are type IIa, a category that represents less than 2% of all rough stones mined from kimberlites.
Geologists believe asteroids are packed with iron ore, nickel and precious metals at much higher concentrations than those found on Earth, making up a market valued in the trillions.
Miner will pay a special dividend worth $4 billion, or $2.43 cent a share, as it recorded its highest annual underlying earnings in the last five years.