Copiah signal. (Hazlehurst, Miss.) 1888-1899, 1891-10-29
GEOLOGY % DIAMOND rislps.



pimsnslsas % the Rims~sasy msmss I.
semah Aasin&.
Ths principal dlamand mines In soath
Africa are within space Of two milss
square. and there Ia every reason to bee
heve that they are connected Of ~.
mote depth. because the peculiar pipe"
OF chimney fos matioa Of each mine has
besn clearly shown down 10 . depth Of
over Kix hundred fest and che
walls % the mines trend toward the
central one.
From the surface Indications Il was
difficuit 10 determine the geology % The
country, and bad Il not teen for the &C.
eidental hnding % diamonds In the sur
face soll there was nothing % Indicate
g peculiar diamond hearing formation.
The surface soil was a hard red clay
about ten feet In depth. and beneath
this. after the mines were opened. were
found the measures Of the sul~earbon
sroas. which extended down to . depth
% two hundred aud ninety-Ave feet
Beneath these measures an anstratified
easaltie rcck vas found. which shoald
be classed an an amvwsialoiini dolsrlte
with much agate Distributed through L.
When the mines were ~Hll op~ned u
became easy ~ observe the uptiltsd
strata 81 the subearbanlferUos meas
urea which were tilted all sround the
mines a. " an upheaval had occurred
from one central polnt
This was true ~ each mine and 10
exactly what has taken place. for
through the hard dolerits and the even
measures above Il aud FROM snsne an.
Known source, nature in same gigantic
thrne forced up these pipes rs vents OF
safety q strange material which con.
iainsd the diamonds II any overflow
~ this eruption occurred no sign oi u
exists now. but the overflow may have
besn washed away by storms into the
valley ~ the Naal river and thus &C.
count Tor the presence ~ diamonds
there. IL " also proha ole that similar
mines exist elsew here. and perhaps In
brazil and India they may yet hs found
The foreign material iurccd up. a. de.
scribcd, was called blue" by the miners
on account 81 L. color. aud IL now
known 20 consist ~ a hydrous mag.
nesiah eonglomerais with silica a. a
base, and contains nearly al the chem.
heal elements known
Large detachsd bouldeFs OF alslerite
also occui Ia the "blne." which deeom-
poses rapidly Ia scales on exposure Ia
the atmosphere, clearly evidencing the
actlon ~ fire % great intensity.
and. a. " strangely 81 contradict the
vulcanic origin Il the mines. pebbles II
agate, plainly water worn. are f0un
side Nv side "a ith pirccs ~ charred wo-.i
and other organic matter showing the
effects II heat
Al a depth ~ over thrve hundred feet
q section u trce. nearly destroyed by
fire, was found. the wOosl being ~ an
unknown variety A the Kimberley
mine was the richest. n has been most
worked, and description Of this mine
would apply ~ the others When hrst
opened the mine had an Area ON the
surface 81 about fourteen acres. and
diamonds we're found only within this
arva Beyond the well defined limits Of
the mine black shale ~ the sab-earhon.
iferous era occurred. and a. the mins
was opened 10 = greater depth this ma
tsrial fen in and greatly hindercd the
progress u mining This shall. was
called BY the miners 'rerf This reef
continued to assume an angle OF rest.
until the original surfaee AREA had been
increased o. thirty acrrs. when a depth
81 six hundred aud afty feet had been
reached Had this been better under
stood in the hrst instance different
methods Of mining would have been
followed. aud the mine, which was
worked IA the open quarry plan. would
have been worked. - II Is now, By out
side shafts and headings
No pen can adequately describe the
appearances u the Kimberley mine. IL
i the larges, hole made by man aud la
the shortes, space ~ ,ine. for the In.
csntve 90 work was there the dia-
mond A spectator standing on the
edge looks down aud sees men, looking
like ants In sire. az work. aud during
the blasting hours he can ia perfect
safety witness the explosion Of thou.
sands 81 pounds Of dynamite. and note
the rending Of masses of blue aud rock.
which would fall far below him A.
an honor % the late ''Chinese'' Gordon
when he visited the mines. the writer
saw the Kimberley mine illuminated
at night with thousands 81 improvised
lamps assisted with eolorcd fires aud
displays II fireworks The weird 20.
feet produced was grand. for the eye
eould not property measure distance Al
night aud the twinkling lamps bu,
served b. hsightsn the effect Jewel
srs' Weekly.