The ancient Greeks believed that diamonds are the tears of God, and the Romans that diamonds are the fragments of a falling star. In fact, in the early diamond mining, only a few people know the formation mechanism of the diamond.
"Diamond carbon particles derived from the mantle, in the underground 200 km even deeper carbon under specific temperature and pressure is crystallized after the formation of a diamond." The Gongga apparently belonging to that part of the minority of the year. A diamond formation takes thousands of years of history. Diamond volcanic eruption is brought to the surface and hidden in the rocks formed by cooling to form a kimberlite the diamond rocks enrichment and reaches a certain size, "Gongga further explained that these rocks formed by ancient volcanic activity, diggers only possible to dig down to dig diamonds.
The Gongga mentioned is the primary ore mining methods. In fact, there is a secondary ore mining, the Kimberley rock weathering under natural conditions, the diamond will be left in the hillside, rivers and coastal. This secondary ore mining in some small-scale diamond mines in South Africa is still in the non-formal session. Many miners still filter the ore by hand, their day-to-day hard work is to look for diamonds "The biggest one.
Gongga first took us to visit a small mine. Did not imagine the noise from machinery and full of people, only a few looked like a family of black men and women are putting under the hot sun were doing shovel, knocking stone sorting work. Can be called at the scene, able to see the machinery is a big iron pot and a handle can be rotated up gear. A worker has been stripped cobblestone earth and rock into the wok, then add the water, a person shake the handle, the big iron spin up, then add water to the rotation, about two to three hours, you can be stuck in the iron outermost stone pot collected, according to the law of centrifugal force, the most important diamond should be left on the far outside.
"As long as you are a citizen of South Africa, have no criminal record, to pay 100 yuan in local currency and signed a contract for a value of 100 million land use and environmental protection, can be drilled enclosure Amoy, Gongga tells us," the plain Ice Age glaciers digged, so here is the original form a diamond formation. "
From this artisanal diamond field not far, you can see some excavators, trucks busy, Gongga say that is a private mining site, but the consortium funded or bank credit, can scale mechanical mining. The miners pulled out a charming little box, open slowly poured into the palm of your hand could be so a few no bright light, translucent gray stone.
"What can I buy it?" I asked. "No, all diamond trading should be permitted by the State line. Gongga replied very seriously.
