Diamonds were first found in South Australia at the Echunga Goldfield by gold panners in 1859. Reports of 50 saleable diamonds and possibly up to 200 diamonds are recorded through to 1900. Since then one diamond of reasonable size has been found (0.9 ct) at National Dam (Echunga) in 1987. A second place of significant diamond occurrence in the State is the Springfield Basin, where numerous diamonds and fragments were recovered from basal conglomerates of Permian age underlying Triassic carbonaceous sediments. A third locality is at Eurelia, where numerous microdiamonds were recovered from a cluster of kimberlite intrusive bodies. These latter are the only proven diamond source rocks so far found in South Australia. Numerous small occurrences of from 1 to several diamonds have been recorded throughout the State, and a number of zones with anomalous kimberlitic indicator minerals have been defined. Publication of the results of extensive State-wide detailed aeromagnetic surveys carried out in 1992-94 have recently increased the diamond exploration tempo. These survey locations include the ABMINGA area, where anomalies resembling the Ellendale kimberlite pipes have been delineated. More than 20 Exploration Licences (EL) have been taken up by companies on ABMINGA. Several other EL have been taken up in areas containing diamonds and/or kimberlites, many as a direct result of the South Australian Exploration Initiative (SAEI). Preliminary fact sheets published by MESA have also stimulated the rush for prospective ground. Offshore EL have recently been taken up in St Vincent Gulf and Spencer Gulf to test for placer deposits resulting from the shedding of diamonds from host pipes in the Mt Lofty Ranges and on Eyre Peninsula. A list of diamond occurrence localities, numbers, maximum sizes, indicator minerals and host rocks is included in Appendix A, which is derived from the MESA diamond database.