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.
Should diamonds be seen as such highly sought-after, luxury goods, and marketed and sold at such extravagant amounts? While some individuals might be of the impression that diamonds are lavishly priced, because of limited supply, it is of my opinion that a very shrewdly-created cartel disguises the very reason for these “rare” gems seemingly being worth your “pretty penny”.
The history and popularity of diamonds in Africa all began in 1866 when the first diamond was found along the banks of the Orange River. In the next fifteen years, Africa became the leading supplier of diamonds in the world, exporting more than nations such as India and Brazil. The discovery of these highly valued and highly demanded diamonds brought an immense amount of trade into Africa, a continent known for its poverty. One diamond company in particular, De Beers, instantly became interested in African diamond mines. By 1888, the company controlled the entire market, connecting African diamonds to wealthy humans all over the world. In 1929, De Beers began marketing diamonds to the middle class as well and associated the diamond with engagement and marriage, increasing the demand of the diamond worldwide. Though the company felt they had a hold on the market, they were wrong. Soon Lebanese traders discovered the enormous profit they could make by smuggling diamonds out of the country. As a result illicit mining and trading increased throughout countries in Africa and especially in Sierra Leone. To make matters worse, the government seemed to overlook the problem, if not sometimes encourage it. One Sierra Leone leader, Siaka Stevens, encouraged illicit trading to gain more control over the diamond mines. Succeeding leaders did the same, and with a corrupt government, the country of Sierra Leone was very vulnerable for a rebellion. Instead of bringing the continent of Africa out of its years of poverty stricken hardship, the discovery of diamonds in Africa only brought more of a curse as it fueled civil war, created political instability between governments, and caused unimaginable human suffering for African citizens.
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)
Some of the highest producing diamond mines are countries in Africa. Countries that had some of the highest rate of conflict were Angola, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. The ...
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...
Minerals play an important role in our day-to-day life but we often not contemplate how the minerals are obtained. Minerals are scattered all over the world just like any other resources. Due to the natural processes of magma flow, hydrothermal gradients, sedimentation, and evaporation, Minerals are concentrated in various areas of the Earth’s crust. Obtaining these minerals for human use involves four general steps:
In 1867, huge diamond deposits were accidently discovered near the Orange River in South Africa. Cecil John Rhodes arrived at Kimberley Mine in 1874 and eventually began purchasing claims in the surrounding mines. Rhodes established DeBeers Consolidated Mines in 1888 to manage his assets. DeBeers allowed Rhodes and other suppliers to control the all-inclusive supply of diamonds by setting high market prices and regulating the output of diamonds into the market (Spar, 2006: 197). Ernest Oppenheimer gained control of DeBeers in 1929, after the death of Rhodes in 1902. The Central Selling Organisation...
The energy fields of crystals and gemstones are gaining popularity and attention as tools for the twenty-first century. This is a time of shifting human conscience and many forms of change. Using these tools can help you activate and aid this type of transformation with their abilities to amplify and balance the energy fields that surround our bodies. I believe we are more than just our physical bodies and we store information that roams at will each time that we release a thought. I have learned this from working with many types and forms of gemstones and crystals and I hope this little bit of knowledge I have shared with you gives you the motivation to explore the world of the precious stones all around us.
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 word engineer comes from the latin word ingeniare. ingeniare means construct or craftsmanship. Ever since the beginning of time we have had engineers. Engineering is the combination of math and science , solving world problems to help better the world around us. Being an engineer takes a lot of knowledge, creativity, and hard work. A typical engineer can clearly see a problem and is capable of fining a solution. A senior engineer or engineering manager usually doesnt do as much technical work, but usally lot of managing. Some of the first official engineers were military engineers. They were employed by the goverment to build such things as roads, bridges, and weapons. US mililary Academy at Westpoint was the first school to offer an education in enginnering. Engineering is a very broad field. Engineers are always at a high demand, we could never have enough brilliant minds making the world better. Engineers are needed everywhere. Engineering managers have to have a bachelor's degree or higher, they usually direct and seek solutions to problems and are sometimes called executi...
Engineers are valuable assets to any company because they think analytically. Engineers may advance to become technical specialists or to supervise a staff or team of engineers and technicians. Some eventually become engineering managers or enter other managerial or sales jobs.
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.
A Diamond is one of the two natural minerals that are produced from carbon. The other mineral is Graphite. Even though both of these minerals are produced from the same element ,carbon, they have totally different characteristics. One of the most obvious difference is that Diamond is hard and Graphite is soft. The Diamond is considered to be the most hardest substance found in nature. It scores a perfect ten in hardness. Because of its hardness a tiny Diamond is used as a cutting and drilling tool in industry. Even the Greeks called the Diamond “adamas” which means unconquerable. Diamonds also conducts heat better than any other mineral .
The value of diamonds lies in 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 focused on the retail markets for diamonds and other high-end jewelry.
An electrical engineer can work in a variety of engineering industries: Aerospace, Automotive, Chemical, Construction, Defence, Electronics, Consumer Goods, Marine, Materials & Metals, Oil & Gas, Pharmaceuticals, Power Generation, Rail, Telecoms, and Utilities. Electrical engineers can work for corporations, non-profit organizations, or government agencies. They can also become managers, patent attorneys, professors, or work in the financial