Diamond mines

DIAMOND MINES 

It is estimated that the world's ten largest diamond mines contains in excess of a hundred billion carats of recoverable diamonds. Hundreds of billions of carats that's worth Hundreds of Trillions of Dollars seems impressive, but the Popigai impact crater in  northern Siberia Russia contains "Trillions of Carats" of diamonds.  

What's even more astounding is that half of the world's biggest diamond mines are also located in Russia,  the largest being the Yubileyny diamond mine  situated in Sakha province in Yakutia. 

The second largest being the Udachny diamond mine , also situated in the Yakutia region of Russia.  The third biggest diamond mine in the world is the Mir diamond mine situated in the Yakutia region of Russia as well. This makes Yakutia and Siberia the most densely diamond encrusted region in the entire world. 

The Popigai Impact Crater

The trillions of carats diamonds of Popigai  are  mostly small polycrystalline stones which are unlikely to be  gem quality diamonds. Reason being, when the 8 kilometer diameter asteroid slammed into the ground,  with tremendous force, heat and pressure, the conditions needed to form diamond were present for a mere instant of time which actually converted the flakes of graphite graphite-garnet gneiss into diamond.  

Most of these diamonds are roughly 2.0 millimeters and under in size, more suitable for producing diamond abrasives than jewelry. That being said, Russia is also at the forefront of  "Russian Lab Created Diamonds" and other 'Diamond Simulants" that  imitates the appearance of a mined diamond, without the unique chemical characteristic and physical properties of the natural diamonds.. 

SOUTHERN AFRICA

The Orapa Diamond mine in Botswana on the other  hand holds the record for being the  largest diamond producing mine globally.  It is one of four mines owned by Debswana that is currently the world's leading producer of gem quality diamonds and responsible for about 30% of world output by value from its four mines. 

The Canadian owned Lucara Diamond mine also in Botswana produced the Lesidi la Rona which is a 1,109 carat diamond  and is the largest diamond found since 1905 which was sold for $53 million. 

The 1,109 carat Lesidi la Rona diamond 

About 711 kilometers south of Botswana lies the town of Kimberley  which is probably the world's most famous diamond producing area. The 'Eureka Diamond' was discovered on the banks of the Orange River near Hopetown, Kimberley in the Northern Cape.

This 428.50 carats 'De Beers Diamond',  was unearthed in Kimberley South Africa, as well as 'The Tiffany Yellow Diamond', which is without a doubt one of the largest fancy yellow diamonds ever discovered. Then there was also the flawless, 70-carat, step cut, champagne-coloured diamond, also found was found in the Kimberley Mine named 'The Kimberley'.

The Premier Diamond Mine  owned by Petra Diamonds situated in the small town of Cullinan near Pretoria, in Gauteng Province, South Africa, unearthed 'The Cullinan Diamond' which  is the largest gem quality diamond ever found.   'The Premier Rose'  comes from the same mine, and is one of the largest D-colour flawless diamonds in the world, weighing in at 137.02 carats. The magnificent 'Centenary Diamond'  was also found  at the Premier Mine.

Some 520 kiometers east, of Kimerley lies the Letseng Diamond mine in Lesotho that produced the 603-carat diamond named the 'Lesotho Promise'. It's production comes from two kimberlite pipes that produces the highest percentage of large diamonds, above 10 carats  of any known kimberlite mine, besides its average  carat output is nearly 20 times the industry production. 

In two years it produced over 330 carats of flawless white diamond. It can therefore be said that the Letseng mine which is majority owned by London based Gem Diamonds Ltd. is one of the richest diamond mines in the world. By implication Southern Africa have the largest diamonds, the most famous diamonds , and the most prized diamonds  in the world which even exceeds the large diamonds previously mined in India, and those of Russia. 

The 603-carat 'Lesotho Promise' diamond 

INDIA

India is no longer a source for rough diamonds because most of its diamond mines have been depleted decades ago and its production usurped by its colonial masters. Case in point, the famous Tavernier Blue diamond, was originally mined in India. 

This 116 carat Blue Indian rough was the head stone of  a Hindu God statue in Tamil Nadu as long ago as 1666.  It was subsequently stolen,  which was later sold by Jean-Baptiste Tavernier to  Louis XIV of France during 1668 for the equivalent value of 172,000 ounces of pure gold, and a letter of ennoblement. A few years later Louis XIV had his court jeweler Jean Pitau recut the stone and had it set as a hatpin. This new stone was known as the 68 carat "French Blue".  

In 1792 his great-grandson Louis XV had the "French Blue" recut for use as "The Medal of The Order of the Golden Fleece" but is was stolen and re-emerged in London some 30 years later as the Hope Diamond. A Chromolithograph shows that the 116 carat Blue Indian rough was cut to become the Brunswick, Hope and Pirie. 

Then there is the 'Koh-I-Noor Diamond' of India mined  during the middle ages. Legend  relates that the diamond is 5000 years old and was referred to in Sanskrit writings as the Syamantaka jewel.  The Koh-I-Noor was initially set in the famous Peacock Throne manufactured for Shah Jehan, but after the fall of the Persian empire found its way back to India. 

When the Britsh clashed with the Sihks, the Dutch East Indian Company claimed the diamond as a partial indemnity, and then presented it to Queen Victoria in 1850. Today the Koh-i-Noor diamond is in Britain illegally and is owned by the  British royal family as part of the Crown Jewels.

Then there is also the Mogul-cut rose, 300 Carats 'Orloff Diamond' with  exceptionally  pure clarity,  slightly bluish green  also mined in India which subsequently found its way into the Diamond Treasury of Russia in Moscow. 

Then there is the 140.50 Carats 'Regent Diamond' also discovered in India in 1698 with an uncontested reputation for the the most beautiful diamond in the world. It was acquired by Thomas Pitt, Governor of Madras, who sent it to England to have it cut to end up in The French Crown, of Louis Xv then in a sword then back to a crown for Charles X. Its current resting place id the Louvre in Paris.

In South Africa, diamonds was the fiefdom of Jews, the likes of Diamond baron Harry Frederick Oppenheimer and Ernest Oppenheimer  AKA Anglo American.  Initially Cecil John Rhodes protégé of the Jewish Rothschilds bought up claims of small mining operations with Rothchild money.  

Jewish brothers Harry and Barnett Isaacs (changes their names to Harry and Barney Barnato), bought worked-out diamond mines and mined the abandoned blue ground heaps. They later sold their mining company, the 'Barnato Diamond Mining Company' to Cecil Rhodes and together formed 'De Beers Consolidated'.

Later the Antwerp diamond Bourse, had become the most important diamond-trading center in the world and served for a very long time. Between 80 to 90% of the world’s uncut diamonds, and as much as half of all polished diamonds pass through Antwerp. At one time there were as many as 700 Jewish diamond-cutters in Antwerp, predominantly from the Hasidic community. 

So, with the Israeli connection with the Diamond Cartel in Palestine  and its Jewish Antwerp connections De Beers controlled diamonds and diamond-mining in South Africa for more than a 150 years. 

But all good things come to and end. When the Jain community of Palanpur in Gujarat began to migrate to Antwerp, they brought cheap labour and excellent diamond cutters and polishers skills from Surat - (The new diamond capital of the world). 

Essentially they “cut and polished diamonds in rupees and sold them in dollars” to the point that Indians now have come to control almost three-quarters of Antwerp's diamond industry. It is estimated that 9 out of 10 diamonds are polished in India, and have superceded Antwerp and Israel as the key diamond cutting centres of the world.