Famous Diamond Mines

Executive Summary about Diamond Mines by Lawrence Reaves

The discovery of diamonds in 1867 in the Cape Colony of South Africa had a profound effect on the world’s supply of diamonds. Scientists learned that diamonds came from volcanoes. South Africa still maintains its position as the major diamond producer but there are other famous mines located in other areas.

In North America the oldest and most famous diamond mine is the Crater of Diamonds. De Beers Consolidated Mines are located in several African countries. The De Beers companies make up about 40% of the world’s diamond production.

The Kimberley Diamond Mines are known worldwide and are located in the town of Kimberley, South Africa. In 1866 Erasmus Jacobs discovered a small stone by the Orange River. It turned out that is stone was a 21.25 carat diamond.

The Williamson Diamond Mine, which is also known as the Mwadui Mine is located in Tanzania. It was the first significant diamond mine outside of South Africa. It is an operating pit mine and mainly produces diamond carats.

The Ekati Diamond Mine is Canada’s first diamond mine. It is only accessible by air except for 10 weeks each year when it can be reached by icy roads.

The Kollur Diamond Mine is located in Guntur District Golkonda, India. The Indian mines were eventually depleted and the diamond center shifted to Brazil where new diamond pipes were discovered.

Famous Diamond Mines

Executive Summary about Diamond Mines by Julie Shields

At the time of this writing there are no commercial diamond mines operating in the U.S. Today, there is one non-commercial (that is, unowned by any private company) diamond mining site in operation in the U.S.: Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas. There have been many famous diamond discoveries at this location throughout the decades, including the 40.23 carat Uncle Same diamond discovered at the Park in 1924.

The following are the world’s currently active commercial diamond mine locations: Angola (three mines), Botswana (four), South Africa (eight), Congo (one), Zimbabwe (one), Tanzania (one), Lesotho (one), Russia (five), India (four), Canada (six), Australia (three).

Artisinal mining is also called small-scale mining. This is what is typically used in poor areas and the people who do the mining are called “diamond diggers” who use their hands and very basic tools like shovels and sieves to find diamonds.

Hard rock mining involves creating underground diamond mines featuring “stopes”, or underground rooms that are supported by natural underground pillars.

Marine mining is a relatively new form of diamond mining which hasn’t even been around for 20 years yet. Offshore placer deposits are mined for diamonds; huge drills up to seven meters in diameter are used to drill down into the seabed and suck up the underwater material that contains the diamonds.

Open pit mining is used when the surface material, or “overburden”, that covers the diamond deposits is thin and prospectors find diamonds or what are called kimberlite pipes near or on the surface of an area.

If diamonds are found within alluvial, colluvial, or eluvial secondary deposits, Placer Mining is used for extracting them.

Check out my other guide on Diamond Wedding Ring and Conflict Diamonds