The diamond industry illustrated
Cover title: Illustrations of diamond industry from "mining the ground" to "diamonds classified for shipment" "30 original photographs mounted on stiff card…
Public-domain full text preserved in the Mountain Man Mining Library. Original source: archive.org.
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He Diamond |Ndustry |Llustrated.
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An subsutting Hrs DQhliume of Lheloyraphic News y the Grgualana Ost Nianond ASiduty, in, valh wh operations, to the Yiblhic, aye GS. NMitddlebroc he ventures to think thal rt weil prove a interesting South Yrcan Souvenir, a well as being wie dome sense tMmoleuchve of the CAUCHS precerses by which the Diamond tb won prom the Lorvels of the earth: Chee Pictures abo, tt ts hoped, otetkingly Whetrate the mipolanee and extent of the mest valuable of Cape Slkenial SPudustries.
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him, on the somewhat laborious work of faking the Whews (underground ao well as on the} surface J whith wee now presented ko the Public'in brn Jou. Ohe " Premier Vids,
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THE MINE.—The "Blueground " after Blasting (Uaderground).
of Miners Underground.
THE MINE.--Native Miners Drilling Underground.
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THE MINE.—A group of Miners Underground.
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wav LL Diamond Miner who invented the " Shoot " proved a benefactor to the sha diy si ne le yet all imp ant mechanism there is hardly any necessity for the native labourer, or indeed 4 1,1] ETT 1d Ty truck ' : modus c te 6 Qh, 'eee the ard e hick Ae anyone, to har dle h Hite ground. 1€ tTYUCKS are p" cel lon; g'si( e the pnoot, ie hoards oO] W 11¢ 1 are drawn aside, and the soil drops into the vehicles to be push a or hauled to the Flat Sheet. i is well known ity for peculant labourers to manipulate the blue eround, the smaller the chances of hy) Eg
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.—Trucking " round *.to Flat sheet (Underground).
THE, MINE.—Flat sheet on 700 Level, bottom of Incline Shaft (Underground).
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THE 'MINE.—Flat sheet'on 800'Level,. bottom of Rock Shaft (Underground).
l towards the centre of all materiality, at the 800 feet level of ical, a wonderful example of man's mechanical, constructive skill
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NE.—Flat sheet on 700 Level, bottom of Incline Shaft (Underground).
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'THE 'MINE.—Flat sheet'on 800
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HIS view shows the blue ground which in process of time will help to form a broad expanse of wealth on 4 T the even surface of the floors" above. 'Those amateur explorers who have ventured into the De Beers i) ja section of underground " Darkest Africa," are not enthusiastic over the difficulty of negociating the ladder Hl 1/2 ways. But with a stalwart sure-footed miner bringing up the rear, the " clagev slipperiness " of each rung of ial} . i the ladder loses most of its terrors. 14 R
(Underground.)
Pov ecad in some portions of the mines the supports of the galleries and tunnels are composed of
enormously thick pillars of blue ground, yet a very large amount of timber is necessarily hrought into use, and thus an important Colonial industry —that of {ree-growing—is cultivated and encouraged ly the oper ations of diamond mining. In fact timber, as a staple antic 'le of commerce, is a sine qua jon of diamond mining, and in this, amongst numerous other respects, the great yates ss the Consolidated Mines of Cniqui al mid West, is an important aid to the trade and industry of the whole Cape Colony.
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THE MINE.—Ladder way on 600 Level, shewing " Blueground (Underground).
THE MINE.—Ladder way on 700 Level. Timbered. (Underground.)
the great cost entailed 1
underground working t
istory of diamond mining' better exemplifies the absolute necessity of underground
O'TITLING in the hi N working, than the ever present danger to
g "open working " of the overhanging main reef. Not alone 1v the removal of this gigantic obste acle, mt the constant risk to life and limb. makes he sheet anchor of the industry.
THE MINE.—Open Works, shewing Searching House in the distance.
ILIS is another view of the Open Mine, and those who have some knowledge of diamond mining will af} si once perceive that the removal of so much material—reef as well as diamondiferous soil—hby means of aerial gears, is a work belonging to the " middle ages' of the Industry, when we compare it with the vast engineering resources applied to underground working.
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N this view there is indicated a wise provision of Management, whereby, in the case of accident of any magnitude in the underground workings, the men there employed can reach the open with celevity, ai] the ramifications of the mine being so conducted as to converge to this point of safety, ;
Head Gear Incline Shaft, shewing Engine Houses and SkipTipping,
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) eae Head Gear of the Incline Shaft, complicated as it looks in this picture, is a marvel of simple ingenuity, the great object sought after being the quickest possible despatch in the tipping of the blud
ground into the trucks, and the uninterrupted forwarding of the latter to the floors. The wine houses
contain some of the finest machinery in the world, é '
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Engine Houses.
geand Cofnish Pump.
VITESSE Huge Boilers, whose yawning depths of ruddy heat suggest a fearful decensus averni, are an T illustration of concentrated force and power, for they supply steam for an immense quantity of machinery, including the Electric Light plant, some distance away, the Rock Shaft Winding Engine, the Man Cage, and the Cornish Pump which is in constant use in the Mine.
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VHIS Windine Engine of 150 horse-power is probably the finest piece of machinery in the whole of South vig Africa. It was constructed for the De Beers Consolidated Mines at the Grange Trou Works. of Durham, Hugland.
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Mechanical Haulage towards' Floors:...
WISELORS to the Diamond Mields for the first time, are much puzzled by the broad acres of dark blue V ground which oceupy so enormous a brats around the mines. The gs spectacle which they present is, perhaps, not so picturesque as a varied landscape of grassy slopes and corn fields, just before harvest time : but onee the importance of the industry comes to be appreciated, this noble " spread" of valuable rock is estimated at something approaching its trne value. It is, indeed, a splendid object, lesson as to the beauty of well-ordered utility, and the accumulated fruits of thoughtful: y planned, systematised industry.
The loading up cf this diamondiferous soil on to the trucks which % carry it to the washing mapping) is an operation ancl requires the most vigilant, argus-eyed attention from the Over sees fe the ground i SO finely pulverised that there is a better opportunity ion eal offered to the watchful thief, of " patna 2 Ganond glistening in the mass of "blue." Therefore it is that white overseers are maa yyed in abundanee, one to every gang of eight or ten natives, so that the responsible task of supervision may be wisely distributed, and consequently as efficiently performed as possible. In this departme nt, employment is given by the Company to large numbers of deserving white men, whose chief Nene nation is not me soheaieen skill, but sobriety, vigilance, and honesty.
The Floor Employees at their Mid-day Meal.
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THE FLOORS.—Loading " Blue" for the Washing, Machines.
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, ROM the pot at which the mechanren! haulage terminates, the blue ground is "trucked" to the 1 i ] le ) fe Tac ] . : : : W washing machine by horse or mule draughtage, and the quadrupeds employed in this work look
l-fed as the carefully-groomed roadsters of
as any squire inold England. The rails on which the trucks glide smoothly along, are laid and fixed by experienced workmen, so that the load drawn by any
sleek and well
A 7 ae . Laas i ; i; single horse is made as easy and light as possible, and even in the hottest sub-tropical day, a tram-horse in
De Beers or IXimberley has quite luxurious time of it, compared with the experiences of a London van or eae Mpa a. ae ny ' : , . tram victim of long hours, poor feed, and wretched shelter. The stabling accommodation of the Company
would satisfy the most exacting member of the S.P.C.A.
THE. FLOORS.—No.
Machine.
VHE Washing Machinery naturally constitutes a very important part of the whole winning, as here we have brought to our view, for the first time, an inkling of the value of the material resevied from the bowels of the earth. Here the ground which has been pulverised by its exposure to the weather, and has undergone other treatment. is emptied into the large revolving pans, where the dross is separated from the valuable deposit,"' composed of carboniferous products, garnets, &e. In the intervals of repose, the washing machinery is a study in mechanical science, but When in full action the observer cannot
but think that man's ingenuity has been brought to the highest perfection in order to add to and distribute the natural wealth of the world.
process of diamond,
THE FLOORS.—Trucking "Blue" to the Washing Machines.
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THE FLOORS.—Pulsator Machine and. Yard.
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JHE Pulsator Machinery and Sorting Rocms require a close and patient inspection before all the T minutice of this very important branch of the industry can be thoroughly appreciated. A conspicuous feature in the picture is the tall electric light post, and it might be mentioned here that all the Works, both underground and on the surface, are lit np by means of electricity.
THE FLOORS.—Pulsator Machine and. Yard.
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THE FLOORS.—Sorting the Gravel for Diamonds.
i HE Sorting Process is one of exceeding delicacy, requiring great practice and dexterity in the detection of
. worthless fragment of illusive mica as compared with a genuine bit of " rough goods." The picture clearly enough shows how the gravel is spread out on the tables and in what manner the Sorters separate the valueless deposit from the gems so rich and rare.
Sorting the.Gravel for Diamonds.
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HIS is beyond doubt a splendid exhibition of diamonds, in the Valuing and Classifying Rooms at the Head
T Offices of the Company. It is not, however, an unusual thing for favoured visitors to see a display of "rough goods" representing a quarter of a million sterling in value, the diamonds ranging from 200 or 800 carats down to the smallest ' pin-heads" of crystal, and representing a productive and wage-earning capacity which no single Company in any other part of the world can equal.
Head Offices—" De Beer's Consolidated Mines, Limited."
Steam TFram.—Employees returning from work.
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ELS Steam Tram is an mdication of progress, a proot of population in the healthful township which has T been evolved out of the inner consciousness of the creators of beneficent Amalgamation. It is not the Ultima Thule of the powerful principle of "the boiling kettle" which greatly rules the world, but it isa wonderful application of that grand discovery of traction power by steam, im a spot so remote from Huropean civilisation. Whistle and bell having signalled the completion of another day's toil, Steam, like a good spirit, earvies the labourer and artisan, black as well as white, from the arena of toil to the dwellings of rest, quiet
id refreshment
Native Quarters.—The Compound,
LL. Diamond Mining Compound, in all its infinite variety of life, scene, color:, and animation, cannot be T described ; it must be seen. Imagine a combination of groupings representing Kafir kraaldom, curiously blended with the signs and portents of civilization, the dusky skin, the picturesque garb, and the striking customs of the Basuto, the Shangaan, or the Matabele, mingling with hints of Britisl pastimes and amuse} ments, and fragmentary illustrations of European sartorial arrangements, and all these elements amid af population of from 1.500 40 2,000 native labourers ; then you have a vague idea of the De Beers Compound Music in one corner; chaffering in another; gossipping here; the polities of the Kraal theres} and promenaling anl dancing to the music of the resonant reed, giving motion and liveliness "0 the "town within a town.' All these are some of the prominent features of the scene. But in every nook and corner, discipline, justice to the native, healthy vigour through abstinence from intoxicating drink, alacrity} to the call of duty, cheerfulnees, and all the best characteristics of Mankind when being rescued from barbarism, are here to he witnessed. i
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