Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1895-09-07
NHERE DIAMONDS ARE FoUNE.
The Process OF Mining rs Conducted In South
Africa-The story of an Unexpected
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! among tine 'cuTloSllleS VI N"''
merce" none. perhaps, is more curl
Gus than that the major portion OF the
produce exported from South Africa
/ is simply used for the adjournment OF
! ladies. Out of total value exported
of E7,50O, 900, ostrich feathers and dia-
monds account for Ea,0O0,OOO. TWEEN.
| ty wears ago all known diamonds had
come to Europe or the United States
| from inmemorial eastern stocks or
from the scanty produce Of mines 10
| Brazil and elsewhere, which were cal
eulated to yield not more than t5O,-
600 worth in the year To-day, stu
ated in the midst OF wide stretching
plain atIording At all points Il sea-llne
horizon OF Hat "veldt, we ind this
town OF Kimberley with y large Eu-
ropean population of wealthy and
well-to.do people, and "a large native
population earning every year more
than El,000,0O0 sterling in wages
And from this mining oasis in the ag-
| ricultural desert has been sent In the
last fifteen wears something like f40,-
900, 600 worth of diamonds in the
rough, which, with the cost OF cutting,
setting, and selling, must have taken
from the pockets of consumers some
thing approaching El0O, 900.
AS all the world knows, the south
African diamond mines have their own
story OF unexpected discovery ut the
least as startling us that Of any gold
field or other rich mineral deposit in
the world. In 1867 the first diamond
was found, the favorite TOY OF Il little
Boer girl, which she had picked out
from among the roots OF an old tree.
Its genuineness was not long in doubt.
and in a few months the he'd Of the
Vaal river was known as profitable
diamond region. Prospecting became
the rage. and here and there on the
open, flat, grassy yeldt diamonds were
found ia spots with common peculiar
tiles OF soil and so forth la three
years time the secret OF the diamond
deposits had been so far fathomed as
to prove that they were strange circu-
lar deposits. or patches OF peculiar
earth isolated from one another and
few in number. These were ut once
rushed, " and regulation digging
community took possession Of tbs new
district. Private individuals, preyi-
Gus proprietors. and governments
fought for the claim TO these new min
eral riches, but despite these sqnab-
bles the practical work was carried on
of marking out these circular patches
in diggers' claims over the HAT sur
face. At first the rule was each Dig
ger for himself; and with pick and
shovel diamonds were brought O. grass
in such prOfusion that the whole min
ing world WAS startled b. q discovery
exceeding in magnitude, real and
prospective, any previous find But.
as men dug deeper In their claims. 50
they found il necessary to arrange and
amalgamate with their neighbours
moreover, the deeper they went the
more necessity for machinery to hoist
the soil 10 the surface And then. as
they passed on through the top .yeI.
low, they came upon blue soil
which was vet more rich IN diamonds.
Suffice it % say, that in ten years
time each one Of these greater circu.
lar areas had been so fnr emptird II
soil as to represent great quarries one
hundred to two hundred Yards across.
and three hundred or four hundred
feet deep. Early in the digging the
geologist stepped IN % point out THAT
these circular basins were evidently
species Of volcanic crater, followed
ont in the surface rock bv slD,cr.aneAu
action ana filled no to Gle surface
with blue diamondjfcrpns mud. Tie
walls Of these basins are locally known
as 1.-The reefs, and In their greed 10
secure all they could the older miners
cut out all the blue right up Ii the
reef. When, however, the cuttings
got down deep the walls Or reefs 81.
gan total in, owing to the tIsinlegrat.
ing action Of boiling sun and heavy
rain, covering up In their fall llrgg
areas OF valuable blue. At first tic
digging was simple and cheap the
mere turning up and searching " loose
soil; second stage when the soil had
to be cut out and hauled M to Tho
surface with the aid Of machinery. /,
third stage brought the miners to
stiiiened blue, which had not only ID
be brought TO the surface. but then
spread about and broken M by hand
labor and exposure to tile wgather
and at the present moment All around
the mines are to be seen LITERAL miles
OF the blue, laid out in SHALLOW Iay.
ers over the open veldt. With these
more extended operations came more
elaborate machinery for hosting. for
spreading on the floors" and far
sorting. Now ro:nd eacn gr>ACba4in
or quarry IS a circle Of steam. engines
working wirc.ropc lifts up and down
to the bottom Of the quarry;and round
the brink run locomotives ana trains
Of trucks whlsking the "blnp' u
brought up away to be spread outIika
50 much manure over the veldt, and Ia
be taken thence, when duly dis into.
grated by the weather, broken IN by
hand, and narrowed and rolled. t6 M.
washing places, where IL IL an scnt NJ
hydraulic action through q series az
rotatory sieves and pulsators on Tia
principle Of, in successive mpchenicaI
operations, washing away ain dfrt
that IS lighter than diamonds. the
washers are so arranged that the ont.
fall OF each portion is graduated II
size, and falls on series Of SORTING
tables. At these stand five or ak ~
the principal men owners and direc-
tors accompanies among them-spread
safFN Il A