South African Diamond Mine Kimberley - North Cape

Kimberley is the present capital of Northern Cape provence in South Africa. Starting out as a mining/boom town, Kimberley became ground-zero for the historic South African diamond industry. It all started in 1866 on a farm near Hopetown, a young shepherd named Erasmus Jacobs found a small white pebble along the bank of the Orange River. That white pebble was passed on to a neighboring farmer named Schalk van Niekerk who sent it to Grahamstown to be identified by a Dr W.G. Atherstone. The pebble turned out to be a 21.25 carat diamond, dubbed the "Eureka."

In 1871, an even larger 83.50 carat diamond was found on the slopes of Colesberg Kopje, leading to the first 'diamond rush' into the area. Miners began arriving by the thousands, and the hill began to disappear, replaced by a gigantic open-pit mine known as the "Big Hole."
Kimberley began as a town called "New Rush" and was renamed Kimberley on June 5th 1873. Kimberley was named after the British Secretary of State of the Colonies, John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley. A diamond trader/speculator from England, named Barney Barnato systematically bought up pieces of the Big Hole to eventually create the 'Kimberley Central Mine.'

THE MINERAL DIAMOND

Diamond is the ultimate gemstone, having few weaknesses and many strengths. It is well known that Diamond is the hardest substance found in nature, but few people realize that Diamond is four times harder than the next hardest natural mineral, corundum (sapphire and ruby). But even as hard as it is, it is not impervious. Diamond has four directions of cleavage, meaning that if it receives a sharp blow in one of these directions it will cleave, or split. A skilled diamond setter and/or jeweler will prevent any of these directions from being in a position to be struck while mounted in a jewelry piece.

As a gemstone, Diamond's single flaw (perfect cleavage) is far outdistanced by the sum of its positive qualities. It has a broad color range, high refraction, high dispersion or fire, very low reactivity to chemicals, rarity, and of course, extreme hardness and durability. Diamond is the April Birthstone.

In terms of it's physical properties, diamond is the ultimate mineral in several ways:
Hardness: Diamond is a perfect "10", defining the top of the hardness scale, and by absolute measures four times harder than sapphire (which is #9 on that scale).
Clarity: Diamond is transparent over a larger range of wavelengths (from the ultraviolet into the far infrared) than is any other solid or liquid substance - nothing else even comes close.
Thermal Conductivity: Diamond conducts heat better than anything - five times better than the second best element, Silver!
Melting Point: Diamond has the highest melting point (3820 degrees Kelvin)
Lattice Density: The atoms of Diamond are packed closer together than are the atoms of any other substance
Tensile Strength: Diamond has the highest tensile strength of any material, at 2.8 gigapascals. However, that does not quite translate into the strongest rope or cable, as diamond has cleavage planes which support crack propagation. The strongest ropes can likely be made from another material, carbon nanotubes, as they should not suffer from the effects of cracks and break. Still, if a long, thin, perfect crystal of diamond could be manufactured, it would offer the highest possible pulling strength (in a straight line - don't try to tie it in a knot!)
Compressive Strength: Diamond was once thought to be the material most resistant to compression (the least compressible). It is the material that scientists use to create the greatest pressures when testing matter. However, the rare metal Osmium has recently been shown to be even less compressible (although it is not as hard as diamond). Diamond has a bulk modulus (reciprocal of compressibility) of 443 GigaPascals (GPa). The bulk modulus of the metal osmium has recently been found to be 476 GPa, about 7% greater than diamond.