Diamond mining in south africa after more than 150 years of intensive mining following the discovery of the eureka diamond on the banks of the orange river in 1867, south africas diamond industry remains among the top 5 largest producers in the world. Though the global history of diamonds dates back around 3. Diamond mining takes place in a wide variety of environments across the world from canada to africa. South africa occupies the southern tip of africa, its coastline stretching more than 2,850. Alluvial diamond mining is the term used to describe the process through which diamonds are recovered from such deposits of sand, gravel and clay. The mine is an open pit of a 32ha surface area with a depth of about 1,073 meters out of which 747 meters are currently being mined. Pdf hydrogeology of the venetia diamond mine, south africa. As a leading global manufacturer of crushing, grinding and mining equipments, we offer advanced, reasonable solutions for any sizereduction requirements including, advantages and disadvantages of diamond mining in south africa. South africa and canada, as well as from local mines. Radsa%20resourcebased%20african%20development%20strategy. Aug 01, 2017 the cullinan mine is one of the most famous diamond mines in the world and south africas third richest diamond mine. There is a large economic impact of diamond mining in south africa as diamonds provide a lot of money to the economy, which provides better living conditions.
Diamond mining in south africa intelligence and info. South africa can be considered the birthplace of the modern diamond industry. In this section we examine the contribution of the mining sector to south african output in terms ofthe real value addedcontributed by the three aggregate southafrican mining sectors. Coffey mining sa pty ltd 2006030152079 vat number 415 023 9327 block d, somerset office estate, 604 kudu street, platinum group metals ltd technical report on the exploration of the waterberg extension project, south africa latitude 23 14. But their wages do not reflect the value of their work. South africa is the fourth largest diamond producer in the world. Pdf diamond mining activities and land degradation in. Coffey mining sa pty ltd 2006030152079 vat number 415 023 9327 block d, somerset office estate, 604 kudu platinum group metals ltd technical report for the update on exploration drilling at the waterberg joint venture and waterberg extension projects, south africa latitude 23 14 11s, longitude 28 54 42e. Endeavour mining corporation latitude 6 5216 n, longitude. Bodies of 10 illegal diamond miners found in south africa. Koffiefontein mine, koffiefontein, xhariep district, free state, south africa. The following illustrates the changes which have occurred in the method of diamond mining in south africa in the last thirty years. The mean annual rainfall for the area is 344mm and the mean annual.
Diamond mining activities and land degradation in the boteti sub district, botswana. Koffiefontein mine, koffiefontein, xhariep district, free state, south. History of diamond mines in south africa diamonds were first discovered in cape colony in the year 1867. Formalindustrial alluvial diamond mining formal also known as industrial alluvial diamond mining is characterised by high investment, strict regulations, government investment and is conducted by formal mining companies. Platinum group metals ltd technical report on the exploration. In 1886, on the farm of langlaagte, the rapidly growing diamond industry was eclipsed by the discovery of gold. The rainbow group of mineral claims are centred on latitude 4945. Group of farms for sale as diamond mine in south africa, 600ha in the kaapvaal craton. United states geological survey, 2003 mineral study, south africa pdf. Diamonds today are mined in about 25 different countries but around 49% of diamonds come from south africa. Royal african diamonds, diamond wholesalers south africa africa travel channel duration.
Codebook final 091105 peace research institute oslo. South africa, and attended by representatives of the diamond industry and. Diamond miners who work in smallscale mining panning or digging for diamonds produce about 15% of the worlds diamonds. Advantages and disadvantages of diamond mining in south africa. Monastery mine, clocolan, thabo mofutsanyane district, free state.
Diamonds are also mined alluvially over disperse areas, where diamonds have been eroded out of the ground, deposited, and concentrated by water or weather action. From west africa to south africa and everywhere in between there are massive quantities of natural resources contained within the continents interior. Mining in south africa began with chance discovery of a diamond on the banks of the orange river in 1867. By the 1880s, the mines around kimberley produced around 95% of the world diamonds. There are a limited number of commercially available diamond mines currently operating in the world, with the 50 largest mines accounting for approximately 90% of global supply. That occurred in the 1870s when mining began in several diamond pipes near the town of kimberley. Were currently tracking over 40 diamond mines in south africa. The properties are underlain by beaufort sediments intruded by dolerite sills and dykes and at least one known kimberlite pipe as well as a number of kimberlite fissures. There was a diamond rush with more than 100,000 diggers over the next year.
Organized mining activities such as industrial or commercial mining. Up till 1877, one person could have but two claims in the kimberley unless he was the discoverer of a mine, in which case he was entitled to hold two in addition to his discovery. South africas diamond rush had been underway for a few decades, and now another boom began in the territory to its. A diamond mine, working a kimberlite pipe located along a kimberlite dyke. An estimated one million diamond diggers in africa earn less than a dollar a day. Because africa has had a low local human density for a long period of time, it has been colonized and the treasure trove of natural resources discovered. Some of the primary products extracted and exploited by the mining sector include. Ladybrand district, free state province, south africa.
At the time these mines were surveyed, 6 mines in eastern cape were observed to have ore mineralization in an outcrop, shallow pit, or isolated drill holeknown as an occurance mine. South africa immediately became the leading producer of gemquality diamonds and held that position until the 1920s, when production growth in the democratic republic of congo earned that country the title of top diamondproducing nation. In our study of south african producer services, the recurring difficulty of aggregation and disaggregation of economic sectors has further. Largescale and profitable mining started with the discovery of a diamond on the banks of the orange river in 1867 by erasmus jacobs and the subsequent discovery and exploitation of the kimberley pipes a few years later. Why is the cullinan diamond mine in south africa famous.
The mine rose to prominence in 1905, when the cullinan diamond the largest rough diamond of gem quality ever found was discovered here. The mindat manualadd a new photorate photoslocality edit reportcoordinate. The premier mine is an underground diamond mine owned by petra diamonds. The most important source is kimberlite a volcanic rock named after the diamondmining town of kimberly that occurs in vertical, champagneglass or funnelshaped. Economic sustainability diamond mining in south africa. The underground mine is located in cullinan, gauteng province of south africa. It is first known to have been seen at the house of a dutch farmer named jacobs, in the northern limits of the cape colony, and south of the orange river. The first known finding of a diamond in south africa was as recent as 1867, and this diamond was found by accident and could not for a time obtain any credence.
Largescale and profitable mining started with the discovery of a diamond on. Diamond mining in south africa intelligence and info africa. As africas largest online mining information service, africa mining iq is the definitive resource for diamond mining in south africa, providing indepth analysis, project intelligence and key contact details for the countrys diamond mining projects. Founded after the discovery of diamonds on farms in the area in 186971, the mining camp of kimberley grew as a result of the intensive digging of the diamondbearing pipe at the hill called colesberg koppie. It is situated in the town of cullinan, 40 kilometres east of pretoria, gauteng province, south africa. Lichtenburg, ngaka modiri molema district, north west, south africa.
The borehole core drilled by trp is cut by diamond saw and the. In africa alone, diamond mines exist in a wide variety of ecosystems the african savannah in southern africa, the karoo biome in south africa, the namib desert and the benguela marine ecosystem in namibia. Mining in south africa was once the main driving force behind the history and development of africa s most advanced and richest economy. I therefore think that mining in south africa is currently economically sustainable. These include the labour force, which primarily comes from young men from other african states they would come for the summer and provide temporary labour. Diamonds were first discovered on the koffiefontein farm in 1870. Because children are considered an easy source of cheap labor, they are regularly employed in the diamond mining industry.
In 1926 a diamond was found on the farm elandsputte. South africa has remained a consistent producer and now mines a few million carats of gemquality diamonds per year. The mindat manualadd a new photorate photoslocality edit reportcoordinate completion reportadd. Map of south africa and main facts about south africa. Diamond mining in africa child labor conflict diamonds. Mining in south africa was once the main driving force behind the history and development of africas most advanced and richest economy. Alluvial diamond resource potential and production capacity. The cullinan mine is one of the most famous diamond mines in the world and south africa s third richest diamond mine. The complete diamonds dataset, the reduced set, and the replication data for the jcr article. Pdf venetia mine is located in the northern part of the limpopo province. Before then, almost all diamonds were mined from unconsolidated sediments, mostly by artisanal methods. However, most alluvial diamond deposits are spread across huge geographic areas which cannot be.
Kimberley, city, diamondmining centre, and capital of northern cape province, south africa. Spatial location longitude and latitude of the mine sites, and. This research on the diamond industry on the south african west coast is therefore a continuation of the broader sadc research initiative into the extractive industry. Kasai is the central region of democratic republic of the congo, known mostly for its diamond mines. Endeavour mining corporation ity mine, cote divoire latitude 6 5216 n, longitude 8 0630 w technical report for the ity gold mine, cote divoire, west africa lead qualified person. An overview of producer services in the mining industry in. But the diamond mining also has negative impacts on economic sustainability in south africa as well. Established in 1902, it was renamed the cullinan diamond mine in november 2003 in celebration of its centenary. Monastery mine, clocolan, thabo mofutsanyane district, free state, south africa. Map of south africa gps coordinates, latitude and longitude. Southern africa npc and all its rights are reserved.
The power of the mine open knowledge repository world bank. One of the youngest of the worlds major cities, johannesburg was founded in 1886, following the discovery of gold. Large concentrations of alluvial diamond deposits are mined on an industrial basis. Grim reality tarnishes glitter from the mines in africa, to polishers in india, to retailers in the west, follow a diamonds global path to market. Other localities such as orapa, botswana and jagersfontain, south africa. A look at the background of mzansis most soughtafter stone. Johannesburg, city, gauteng province, south africa, that is the countrys chief industrial and financial metropolis. Dec 03, 2015 inside the worlds richest diamond mine.
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