We’d like to share our passion and expertise for diamonds with you, which is why we’ve created the Blesq diamonds blog – read on for gripping tales and exciting news about the most precious gemstone on Earth.
Commercial and industrial diamond extraction
While the manual mining with shovels, sieves and washing pans is rarely carried out by individual searchers, small and medium-sized companies win their diamonds with excavators and mobile, semi-mobile or fixed washing stations. They use it to search for diamonds in different places depending on the season and yield.
Flat boats and ships are used to “suck off” the bottom of rivers and lakes. The material conveyed in this manner is mechanically filtered for diamonds on board.
Diamond mining in mega mines
The ten largest diamond mines in the world are located in Russia, Africa and Australia. The Mir mine in Russia, for example, has a man-made excavated hole 1,200 metres in diameter and 525 metres deep. A loaded truck takes two hours to drive up from the funnel. For safety, the Mir mine was switched from open pit to underground mining a few years ago. Only a few metres from the famous Mirny mine hole, diamond mining now continues at depths of up to 1,000 metres. In three shifts, the miners mill endlessly long shafts in the diamond-rich Siberian kimberlite with their enormous machines.
How the various mine operators worldwide extract the valuable rough diamonds from the enormous rock masses is manifold – and usually a strict trade secret. In addition to the grinding, sieving and washing processes in large machines, various fine and high-tech processes are used as well, from X-ray machines to chemical baths, in order to reduce the tens of tons of volcanic rock to its most essential substance: the precious rough diamond.
Safety and certificates in diamond mining
Diamonds should come exclusively from certified sources that guarantee the highest quality and protection for man and nature. The most important certificates are: Kimberley Process, GIA, RJC and CITES.
Blesq of course supports and complies with all these certificates.
