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Diamond Mines
The very mention of diamond evokes fantasies of fabulous riches and
dreams of love and power. Up to the Middle Ages they were so rare and
expensive that only royalty could afford diamonds. But in modern times
even ordinary people are able to possess a few, thanks to the discovery
of numerous diamond deposits elsewhere on the planet plus high, albeit
controlled, production.
Diamonds were discovered in India by the 4th century BCE. In addition
to the diamond legends, India yielded many legendary diamonds,
including the Koh-i-Noor, the Orlov, the Hope, and the Sancy. Today the
Majhgawan pipe, a primary source near Panna, is the India’s only
producing diamond source.
At one time, India appears to have been the only source of this
valuable gem until about the early eighteenth century when diamonds
were discovered in Borneo and later elsewhere, such as in South Africa
and Russia. Although ancient Sanskrit texts mention several areas where
diamonds were found, verifiable historical records are available for
only a few deposits. Mining activities in southern India – which in its
time was the leading producer of this gem and had yielded some of the
most famous stones in history – gradually declined and had become
defunct by the time diamonds were discovered elsewhere in the world.
The 1867 discovery of diamonds in the Cape Colony, now a province in
South Africa, changed forever the supply and marketing of diamonds. As
annual world diamond production increased exponentially, a once
extremely rare material became more accessible to Western society with
its growing wealth, science learned that diamonds came from volcanoes,
and everyone learned of Cecil John Rhodes, Barney Barnato, Kimberley,
and De Beers. Today South Africa maintains its position as a major
diamond producer. If not for the controlled production and distribution
of the South African diamond mines, diamonds could have been easily
devalued and lost much the mystique they hold for us today.
