The Rush Gets Under Way

Initially, diamond digging took place along the Orange and Vaal rivers. Then, in 1870, word got out that impressive finds were being made on farms farther inland between the two rivers. Thus, the river diggers began their rush to the area where Adrian van Wyk’s farm was located. Unknown to Van Wyk and his neighbors, their farms were located above extinct volcanoes. The diamonds were discovered in so-called blue ground found within ancient volcanic pipes.

Meanwhile, hastily constructed tent villages sprang up, which were soon followed by corrugated-iron structures. With insufficient water and no infrastructure, these villages were basic, to say the least. The new arrivals put up with clouds of dust, swarms of flies, summer days that reached over 106 degrees Fahrenheit [40°C], and winter nights that were sometimes below freezing. They endured all this discomfort in the hope of making a big fortune.

What happened to Adrian van Wyk after his farm was overrun by the diamond diggers? Initially, he gave the diggers permission to work a portion of his farm for a small fee payable monthly. But as more and more diggers invaded his farm, the situation became too unruly for Van Wyk to control. When a mining company offered him 2,000 pounds for his farm, he gladly accepted it, signed the papers, and left for more peaceful pastures.

Not far from Van Wyk’s was another farm, owned by two brothers surnamed De Beer. Their name was used to register the De Beers Consolidated Mines, still functioning as the world’s largest diamond producer. The city of Kimberley embraces the area on which those humble farms once stood. Activity on the De Beer brothers’ farm became very intense, and men dug a pit so deep and wide that it became known as the Big Hole.

Prior to South Africa’s early diamond discoveries, these precious gems were being mined in India and Brazil. But not enough could be found to satisfy the world market. With the discovery of great quantities of diamonds in South Africa, the modern diamond industry was born.

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PREMIER MINE

In 1903 a diamond mine began to function about 20 miles [30 km] east of Pretoria, South Africa. It was aptly named Premier Mine. Two years later, when the mine pit was 30 feet [10 m] deep, a laborer pointed out a shiny object on the rocky wall. His manager carefully climbed down and cut out the object with his penknife. In his hand he held the largest rough diamond ever mined; it was the size of a man’s fist. This massive 3,106-carat diamond was named after the mine’s discoverer, Thomas Cullinan. When cut, the Cullinan diamond produced nine large gems and 96 small ones. One of these portions, the Cullinan I, or the Star of Africa, is the largest cut diamond in the world. It graces the British royal scepter, as seen on this page. After a century Premier Mine continues living up to its name by producing many large, high-quality diamonds.

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The British royal scepter

The rough Cullinan diamond, the size of a man’s fist

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THE BIG HOLE AT KIMBERLEY

During the four-year period from 1869 to 1873, the population around the present-day city of Kimberley grew from a handful of farmers to about 50,000 people. Many of these were fortune hunters who came from all corners of the globe. Thousands walked 650 miles [1000 km] from the dock at Cape Town. Using picks and shovels, they turned a hill into the biggest hole ever dug with human hands. When digging finally stopped, the crater had a depth of 787 feet [240 m]. Underground mining continued to a depth of 3,600 feet [1,097 m]. By 1914, when all mining ceased here, “25 million tons of soil” had been removed, according to the Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa. From all that rock and soil, the same source adds, three tons of diamonds were extracted at a value of more than 47,000,000 pounds.

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The Big Hole in 1875. The ropes were used by hundreds of different mine claimants to lower workers into the pit and hoist up diamond-bearing ore