The Opelousas courier., 1891-10-31
GREAT DIAMOND FIELDS
sEARcHING FOR THE GEMS I'm
SOUTH AFRICAN MINES.

cautions Against Theft.
Writing about the diamond mines of
Kimberley, South Africa, Randolph
churchill says in the New York Herald
The De Beers and the Kimberley
mines are probably the two big
gest holes which greedy man has over
dug into the earth, the area of the for
ner at the surface being thirteen acres,
with q depth of 40 feet, and the area
and depth Of the latter being even
greater.
These mines are no longer worked
from the surface, but at shafts sunk at
some distance, from the original holes,
and penetrating to the blue ground by
transverse (Hvings at depths varying
from FIVE hundred to twelve hundred
feet. The blue ground when extracted
is carried in small iron trucks to the
efoors.n These are made by remove
ing the bush and grass from a fairly level
piece of ground, the land is then rolled
and is made as hard and as smooth Is,
possible. These ttfoors" are about SIX
hundred acres in extent. They are Gov
cred with blue ground to the depth of
about a foot, which for 8 time remains
on them without much manipulation.
The heat of the sun and moisture 0
have a wonderful effect upon it. Large
pieces which were as hard as ordinary
| sandstone when taken from the mine
soon to crumbie. At this
| stage of the work the winnowing of the
| diamonds assumes more the nature OF
/ farming than of mining the ground; the
| ground is continually narrowed 10 assist
pulverization by exposing the larger
pieces to the action of the sun and rain.
The blue ground from Kimberley mine
| becomes quite we'll pulverized IN three
months, while that from De Beers re-
auires double that time. The longer the
ground remains exposed tine better it is
for washing. The process OF exposure
being completed the blue ground is then
carried to a very large, elaborate and
costly washing machine, in which by
means of the action of running water the
diamonds are separated from the or
dinary earth. It may be mentioned that
IN this process one hundred loads of blue
ground are concentrated into n load
OF d~iamondiferous stuff.
Another machine called thesspulsator'
then separates this latter stuff, which
appears to be q mass of blue and dark
colored pebbles of all shapes, into four
different sizes, which then pass on to
the sorters. The sorting is done on
tables. frst while wet by white men,
and then when dry by natives. The
assorters work with a kind of trowel and
their accuracy in detecting and separat
ing the diamonds from the eight differ
emit kinds of mineral formation which
reaches them is almost unerring. Tit
diamond occurs in all shades OF color
from deep yellow to blue white, from
deep brown to light brown, and In
great variety of c%olors, green, blue, pink
brown, yellow, orange, pure white ant
4 The most valuable are tn
nure white and the deep orange. aTh'
stones vary in SIZE from that OF a pins
head upward. the largest diamond We
found weighed 428 IL carats. It wa
cut and exhibited at the Paris Exhibi
ton, and after cutting weighed 2z5 L;
carats.
After the asserting, the diamonds are
sent daily to the general Office undeF a.
armed escort, and delivered to the valu
ators IN charge of the diamond depart
ment. The first operation is to clean tn
diamonds Of any extraneous matter b
boiling them in a mixture of nitric an
eulphuric ACIDS. When cieansed the
are carefully assorted again In respect t
size, color and purity. The
the De Beers Office where they are the
displayed offers a most striking sigh
It is lighted By five large windows, IN
dernesth which runs a broad counte
covered with white sheets of paper 0
which are laid out Vulnerable glisteniH
heaps Of precious stones OF indescrih
able variety. In this IS concel
! trated some sixty thousand carsts, th
daily production Of the consolidate
mine being about Eve thousand FIVE hun
dred carats. When the diamonds has
been valued they are s3ld o. parcels1
| local buyers, who represent the leadln
diamond merchants Of Europe.
The size of q parcel varies from q fe
/ thousand to tens Of thousands Of carats
IN one instance two years ago nearly
quarter Of q million Of carats were sol
In one lot to one buyer.
The company sustains d c~onsiderabl
loss annually, estimated nov ct from ta
to fifteen per cent, from diamonds bein
stolen from the mines By natives an
others. 10 check this loss extraord
nary precautions hare been resorted t
The nasives are engaged for period
three menths, during which time TIL
are confined ID d compound sIrroundt
! by a high wall. On returning home fro
their days work they have to strip 9
all their clothes, which they hang
pegs Ill q she'd. They then proceed
the searching room where their mouth
their hair, their toes, and every portie
/, Of their bodies are subjected to 80 elal
e crate examination. White rnen won
, never submit TO such q process, but tt
native sustains the indignity with chez
3 full ~equaninaity, considering only Z
Y hiph d which he earns. After pas
J; ing through the searching o tht
PASS to their apartments In the cor
pound, where they find blankets
which to wrap themselves for The nigh
During the evening the clothes viii
they have left behind them are careful
and infinitely searched and are restorl
q to their owners Id the morning
!. In addition to these arrangements
., law al exceptional rfgor Furnishes wi
9 great severity illicit diamond buyin