The Green Forest tribune., 1910-03-11
WILL DIG DIAMONDS
NEW YORK CAPITALISTS INTER
 ESTED IN STATE FIELD.
Reports of Experts Show Pike County Deposits to Be Both Genuine
 and Extensive.

and Extensive.
 Little Rock.-A special news article in the New York World contains the following interesting comment:
 "Diamond mining has now been added to the long list of American in dustries Whether it will rival that of South Africa, or even Brazil, is yet to be proved. Some bankers of Little Rock, Ark, represented by Samuel w. Reyburn, president of the Union Trust Company of that etiN and some New Workers, headed by August linsser, president of the Yorkville bank, have just formed close company, of which Charles $. Stifft, prominent jeweler of Little Rock, is vice president, and will put up a mining plant at a cost of $20o,- GOO to see if they caa make conner cially profitable the one isolated unique diamond mine near Murfreesboro, ln Pike county, Arkansas.
 Within an area of less than 100 acres there exists one of those rare freaks of geological formation which produces the diamond. It is not long, extending vein, like deposits of gold or silver or coal, but small neck or pipe of igneous rock forced up by volcanic action from a great depth.
 "Scientists believe that in past ages this was the opening of a volvano, but the cone was long since washed away by erosion, leaving the checked up pipe The diamond bearing rock, therefore, extends straight downward instead of under a wide area.
 Favorable Reports by Experts.
 "Within the last hree years there have been found on the surface of this region 700 diamonds, varying in size | from mere cpihs to six and one-half carats, the average being about one carat. Led on by these discoveries, the owners of the ground began careful in vestigation, summoning the best scient- | ists in the world.
 "Dr George F. Kunz, one of Tiffa- | ny $ foremost gem experts, made several visits to the region, the last in the pres ent month, to examine thoroughly into every phase of the deposit. John T. Fuller, one of the noted engineers of the South African diamond mines, is now in Pike county, experimenting the install lation of extensive machinery to open up the new American discovery. "The DeBeers company sent for him recently to return to his farmer posi- tion as manager of the Du Toits Pan mine in South Africa, but he declined and cabled that he had decided to cast his lot with the Arkansas field. | (" T believe the discoveries in Arkan- sas promise great results. l have been over the region and made close personal examination. Some of the stones found have been cut by different houses, and proved to be of fine quality. The whites are very white and clear, the browns | good brown. I consider them equal to the South African stones in quality. C.. Mr. Fuller is a very able engineer, and has plenty of experience in the | South African mines. Like many of | the men out there, he is an American by birth, having come originally from | Scranton, Pa.
 /" The surrounding conditions are ia. | vorable to innings, there being within easy reach plenty of water and coal. In some parts of the African field coal costs $40 per ton, and the expense of obtaining water is enormous In Arkan- sas the Little Missouri river is close at hand, and coal and timber are in abund- | ance.
 Warns Against Stampede. T toll ,,1a tiful the diamonds may be in the rock below, but the surface discoveries give every indication of good bearing be- neath Chemically and mineralogically | the rock much resembles the South Afri can rock, although there are certain | points of difference. It decomposes in the same manner; in fact, more readily than the South African.
 "' understand that the property is in sound, conservative hands, and that extensive development is planned. It should be distinctly understood by the | public that the occurrence of diamonds near Murfreesboro is an isolated one, and that it does not resemble a mineral vein or lode in any respect.
  | monds are imbedded, are not uncom- mon but very few are diamond bear ing Indeed, the great majority of these rocks, found all over the world, show no | trace of diamonds. Even in South Afri- ca many peridotite pipes, resembling valuable ones, carry no diamonds, while in many diamond-bearing pipes some | portions are found to be richer in dia- monds than others.
 "In an official report on an analysis l of the Arkansas diamonds made by Dr. Kunz and H. $. Washington in 1907, the following description is given:
 |" White stones are common, the white being exceptionally pure and free from all tints of color, and usually abso- lutely pellucid, like the so-ealled river stones of South Africa. A considerable number are found tinted brown or are a rich cinnamon brown. while others are | yellow, some of these being a pure lemon color. v