All over the world are different locations where you can find this precious jewel, Africa being the main location. How do we get diamonds out of the earth you ask? By MINING them!!! The definition of Mining is the act, process, or work of removing ores, coal, etc. from a mine, glacial deposit, etc.
Physical Properties of a Diamond
Hardness: Diamond is a perfect "10", defining the top of the hardness scale
Clarity: Diamond is transparent over a larger range of wavelengths more than any other mineral
Thermal Conductivity: Diamond conducts heat better than any other mineral
Melting Point: 3820 degrees Kelvin (the highest)
Lattice Density: Diamond atoms are packed closer together than are the atoms of any other substance.
Where are diamonds from?
Diamonds have been found in every single continent. Most of the diamonds today are mined in African countries. They were formed by molten lava millions of years ago. Before any diamonds are found you must look for its indicator minerals. Different indicator minerals are found as you go deeper into the soil. The indicator minerals of a diamond include garnet, chromite, ilmenite, clinopyroxene, olivine, and zircon.
What is alluvial mining?
Diamonds can be found in alluvial, or loose earthy material deposited by running water, formations. Alluvial mining is done by the open-pit method. The process involves removing the overlying barren ground, digging up the bearing ground, and then extracting the diamonds. In Sierra Leone the technology involves shovel and pan, with some hand sloshing to gravitate diamond to the bottom of the pan so that it can be sorted out.
What is kimberlite mining?
Diamonds can be found in volcanic pipes filled with a blue rock called kimberlite. when mining a kimberlite pipe the initially loose and eventually hard ore material is removed with large hydraulic shovels and ore trucks. Hard rock is drilled and blasted with explosives so the broken material can be removed. When deep the mining goes underground with vertical shafts descending to horizontal drifts, or passageways that enter the pipe. It requires 20 tons of kimberlite to yield a diamond on average.
How can you take part in this career?
Be a Mining Engineer!
Mining engineers mostly work in the mining industry, planning, designing and operating surface and underground mining operations. These mines, which are located in all 50 states and every country of the world except Antarctica, produce the minerals needed to help clothe, feed, and house the world's population.
To begin diamonds are can be found all over the world including countries like, Botswana, Canada, Namibia, Russia, South Africa, Australia, and Tanzania. Yet, diamonds are still quite rare and are only found from two dominant deposits. The primary deposits often consist of diamond-bearing “pipes” of volcanic rock called kimberlite. Deep within th...
...sumption, creates emission of greenhouse gases and other harmful chemical materials. Once released into the air, it can cause environmental problems, which in turn threatens not only the environment, but also the health of the people who live in it. In order to reduce the use of energy to help protect our planet and our health, the diamond mining industry has implemented renewable energy programs to monitor energy and carbon emission. Since its beginning, mining company PHP Billiton program has saved an equivalent of one million liters of diesel fuel per year at their Ekati Diamond Mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories. The health of the environment and the health of humanity are as one. Whatever we do to our planet, we do to ourselves. Reducing energy consumption of diamond mining not only helps protect our planet, but also helps protect the health of our people.
Valuing a diamond is a highly skilled task thus not traded on world frequently. (Valued on the basis of four criteria- 4C s carat clarity color and cut)
A beautiful precious diamond can last forever, but what most people do not know is that a majority of our diamonds come from Africa. The civil wars in Africa over diamonds began around 1961 and ended in 2003. Conflict diamonds were rampant and it would be difficult to say if any jewelry sold prior to 2003 was conflict free. Conflict diamonds are diamonds that have been mined and were controlled by African rebels. The rebels would use the profits from selling conflict diamonds to fund illegal activity and to purchase more weapons for their armies. While rebels had control of the diamond mines they killed approximately 4 million people and countless families were displaced.
It’s hard to imagine that a mineral could be fueling wars and funding corrupt governments. This mineral can be smuggled undetected across countries in a coat pocket, then be sold for vast amounts of money. This mineral is used in power tools, parts of x-ray machines, and microchips but mostly jewelry. Once considered the ultimate symbol of love, the diamond has a darker story. "Blood" diamonds or "conflict" diamonds are those mined, polished, or traded in areas of the world where the rule of law does not exist. They often originate in war-torn countries like Liberia, Sierra Leone, Angola, and Côte d'Ivoire were rebels use these gems to fund genocide or other questionable objectives. Even with a system known as the Kimberly process which tracks diamonds to prevent trade of these illicit gems, infractions continue as the process is seriously flawed. The continuation of the blood diamond trade is inhuman, and unethical, and in order to cease this illicit trade further action to redefine a conflict diamond, as well as reform to the diamond certification prosess is nessasary.
The African Diamond Trade is a large cycle of exploitation. An estimated 65% of diamonds mined worldwide originate in Africa (Cahill 2009). In 2016, the U.S. diamond industry grew 4% to reach $40 billion, approximately half of a global $80 billion industry (DeBeers Group 2017). But how do these diamonds make it from African river banks to American engagement rings? According to Time Magazine, there are 6 steps that take diamonds from the ground to the jewelry store; exploration, mining, sorting, cutting and polishing, manufacturing, and retailing (John and Jones 2015). Each of these steps adds value to the final product that is offered in jewelry stores worldwide but this value isn’t added fairly to those who create the most value.
In Zaire, or the Democratic Republic of the Congo, many children wake up to go mining for diamonds instead of going to school. When we think of diamonds, we tend to think of a precious gift that is a rarity which is tended to be given in proposals or other special occasions. The truth is, diamonds are quite common in west and central Africa, but to profit more off these blood diamonds the industry markets them off to be much more rare than they actually are. Blood diamonds, why are they called blood diamonds? Possibly because they are made by the bloody hands of small children who are in physical, mental, and emotional harm from working this burdensome job every day.
Out of all the earth’s major natural resources, diamonds are the most sought after and most mysterious. Throughout history, the virtuosity and resistance of diamonds have caused fighters and lover’s great pain and happiness. For centuries, the value of the diamond commodity became increasingly popular. However, it wasn’t until the mid 1900s, when diamonds permanently made their signature as the world’s most indispensable symbol of love and affection (Howard, Vick 2008). Soon after, diamond rings became the 21st century standard of engagement rings. Without a doubt, everybody in society knows how valuable this commodity is. Nonetheless, what truly makes this commodity more valuable are the stages it goes through from the diamond mines to th...
Every diamond mine will encounter different challenges and the different challenges will impact differently on the environment. A few common environmental impacts will be highlight which most diamond companies create.
Santarossa, B. (2004, January 13). Diamonds: Adding lustre to the Canadian economy. Retrieved November 06, 2017, from https://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-621-m/11-621-m2004008-eng.htm
Rubies are actually formed deep beneath our planet Earth’s first layer, the crust. This relative high heat under the conditions of about 620 to 670 degrees Celsius (1148 to 1238 degrees Fahrenheit.), is just about the heat needed to create these gemstones. The most necessary mineral used to form rubies is corundum, the essential element in rubies, and chromium, that gives them their red value and color.
The value of diamonds lies on their physical properties that make them suitable for many applications. Natural diamonds are only of high value if they are scarce in nature. Realizing this, De Beers Consolidated Mines was formed to control the supply of diamonds from mines across the world. The diamond market is influenced by mine production, rough diamond distribution, preparation/cutting, and retail markets. The project will be concentrating on the retail markets for diamonds and other high end jewelry.
One very important piece of information is that gemstones and crystals are grown during the cooling, formative stages of Earth’s development and so it has lead me to the conclusion that they are gifts from nature. According to physics, gemstones and crystals consist of natural balances and solid sta...
Diamonds were created million years ago, when the earth was formed, the material experienced pressure of 5million times the atmosphere at sea level and temperatures between 1000~1200degreesC. These conditions caused carbon in the layers inside the planet to crystallize into diamonds. The diamonds moved up to the earth’s surface through volcano eruptions. This is why many Diamond mines are near volcanoes. Diamonds occur in two types of rock: Kimberlite and Lamprolite. Diamonds are mostly found in South Africa, India, Brazil, Russia, Australia, and Arkansas. Right now about 100million carats are mined each year. Today the largest cut Diamond in the world is the Cullian I at 530.2ct .
Mining is the process or industry of obtaining minerals from the earth. Topics in this paper I’ll be specifically discussing are pros and cons of mining, structures of a mine, mining in general, California gold rush, diamonds in Africa, and comparison of diamond and gold mines.