The Washington times., 1904-12-25
BRAzIL'S GREAT
DIAMOND FIELDS
Dredging Company Organ
lz'd in New York.
BRILLIANTS VERY WHITE
Worth More Than Stones Taken
From the Cape
Mines.
BRILLIANTS VERY WHITE

The great diamond districts of Brazil
are attracting more and more attention
in this country as well as in Europe.
1t was but recently that dredging
company was organized in New York
for the F-.Fpose af exploiting diamond
mines in the famous districts around
the city of Diamantina. AS the name of
this town indicates. it is the capital and
center of the most prominent diamond
fields in South America.
Diamantina lies $50 miles from Rio
de Janeiro. and has now population
or 10000 souls. The city is destined to be-
come IN the near future a second Kim
periey. 1t was founded in the last years
OF the seventeenth century as gold
mining camp. and as far back as 1729
diamonds We're taken from the ground.
Four distinct kinds of diamond mining
are practiced in the Diamantina district
The first is the most ancient and
simplest Near the top of the sierra the
small streams are steep in their descent
and have precipitous rocky sides Their
beds are filled with bowlders and in
the inteTstices the diamond-bearing
gravel Is found. This gravel is called
the "formacao," and is easily recognized
by an experienced miner. for the reason
that it contains certain minerals whose
presence indicates the diamond
Washed When Rains Come.
The formacao is prospected for IN
the dry season, and as soon as found is
dug out and piled nearby the water
When the rains interrupt the digging
the miners work up the gravel The op-
Grafton is simple. The gravel is first
washed in a 'bacu." an excavation a
yard wide and yard and a half long,
on the bank of pond or stream. It's lip
| IS 4 few inches above the surface of the
water and it deepeI.s slightly to the rear
"A cubic foot or more of gravel is placed
| in the back end, and the workman
| dashes water against it out of a large
concave wooden plate, giving it a pecu-
liar rotary fling This rapidly separates
the lighter and larger stones from the
smaller and heavier ones. When con-
centration by this rough and easy meth
Cd is as complete as possible the gravel
! is worked with the "batea''
This unique instrument is a wooden
dish about thirty inches in diameter,
| with sort Of pit al the bottom Filling
the "batea" with tE4 concentrate and
water, the workman agitates the con-
tents. whirling and shaking them, mean
/ while pouring and scraping the lighter
| gravel from the top as fast as he sep
arates it. The operation is similar to
| the old-fashioned gold panning but it
requires even greater skill on account of
the danger of losing diamonds. AT the
| end OF the process the diamonds are
simply picked ont by hand from the re
| naming minerals. The native Diaman-
tina miners know no better method
Sent Mostly to Europe.
The rough diamonds are usually sold
by the small miners TO buyers from Dia-
| manttna, who frequent the hanlets and
| camps near the mines. The prices of
/ these diamonds differ much Seventy
niireis tsi0} q carat is an approximate
average Practically all tie stones
| which d. not remain in Brazil are sent
| to London. Paris and Amsterdam. AL
| though the United States is the greatest
diamond-consuning market in the world.
| taking about one-ha1f OF the south AZ
| rican production, few Brazilian stones
are imported directly. and yet, Brazil
ian diamonds are worth. on an average
| nearly so per cent more taan the Cape
| stones, being, as rule, much winter
Until about thirty years ago there was
no diamond-cGtting in the district 1t is
iIO" tdAIlSu Ol1 eSlEHSiNtly IN DI3n0n-
tina and the neighboring villages The
quaint little mills are supplied with
power by overshot water wheels. The
process of cutting does not differ from
| that employed in Europe. The machin-
cry is all imported from Amsterdam
Product Falls Of.
Previous to 1863 Brazilian mines pro-
duced nfne-tenths of all the diamonds
| in the world. Up to 1871 the output of
diamonds in Brazil averaged I64. GOO
carats per annum- From 17s0 to 1886 the
State of Minas Geraces (the State of
Mines) yielded $3.50. eco 900 worth of dia-
monds and gold In 1872 the slaves were
freed, and following upon this most of
the mines were abandoned Thus for
years no work was done III Brazil, and
in the meantime the De Beers mines
were opened and exploited
Brazil has not yet produced many
large diamonds; among the paragons
one may cite the Star of the South
weighing 255 carats rough and 125 when
cut. which was found at Bagagem in
1853. and the Dresden diamond, discov-
cred in the same locality in 1857 Both
I stones belong at present to an Indian
prince. and were sold. the first for $780,
coo and the second for 100000.
Last year Brazil exported diamonds
to the value of over 81 900, 00o Carbon
ates or black diamonds, are also found
in large quantities around the city of
Diamantina. They are used for dia-
mond rock drills.
The largest carbonate or black dia-
mond ever seen waI found in 1885 in a
mime near Bahia; II weighed 3150 carats
and was al first sold for $4,000 and Il
little later again for $25.0G0. Taken to
Paris. it WAS broken into small pieces
and used for industrial purposes.
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