Why are all the most valuable diamonds produced in South Africa?

The story of South African diamonds can be traced back to 1870, when a farmer named Adriann van Wyk owned a farm near Kimberley in the Northern Cape Province. , it all started when he found his children playing with some diamonds.

This incident triggered an extraordinary wave of diamond discoveries. Diggers came from all over the world, and the farm slowly disappeared into the red dust caused by the treasure hunters' crazy search for treasures.

A year later, people made a major discovery on the nearby Colesberg hill, which set off a new craze, and it was the largest of all diamond excavations.

The diggers worked independently, and the conditions became extremely difficult and dangerous. The mine looks like an inverted anthill, with more than 30,000 people digging, moving and hammering on it, all while shouting. But only two men, Cecil John Rhodes and Barney Barnato, made the real fortunes and brought some order to this chaos.

Diamonds are first brought to the surface by volcanic eruptions, and most are found in a type of rock tube or "throat" called kimberlite. Because these pipes were formed by ancient volcanic activity, miners had to dig as far down as possible to reach the diamonds, until the hill became a hole—today, simply called the Big Hole. (The Big Hole).

Kimberley's famous Diamond Cave

Today, Kimberley's Great Cave is a famous tourist attraction, covering an area of ??17 hectares and a radius of 1.6 kilometers. More than 22 million tons of soil were dug out from here, yielding 14,504,566 carats of diamonds (approximately 2,722 kilograms). It was not until 1914 that all the stones here were dug out. At that time, the open-pit mine was 215 meters deep and the mining tunnel was 1,100 meters deeper. Currently, seepage and rainwater have flooded half of the hole.

Geologists have also discovered other kimberlite pipes containing diamonds, and there are still many large holes around Kimberley and other parts of South Africa today. Cashberley has become a famous scenic spot, and many South African tourist routes include this diamond tour.

The largest diamond in the world

To date, the largest diamond discovered in the world comes from the town of Cullinan outside Pretoria, South Africa. Premier Diamond Mine. This diamond is extremely beautiful, blue-white in color, flawless, and named after its discoverer Thomas Cullinan in 1902. The First Diamond Mine is still in operation and still produces gem-quality diamonds.

This Cullinan diamond weighs 3106 carats, which is equivalent to the size of a fist. But the confusing thing is that one side of it is very straight and seems to have been divided into two halves. Perhaps the remaining piece was part of a larger piece, but the other half was never found.

The Cullinan Diamond was cut into a 530-carat Star of South Africa and several other smaller diamonds, all of which are currently set in the Queen's Crown.

Cullinan is a charming old mining village and a delightful place to visit. A tour guide can easily arrange a mine tour for you.