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Africa is the richest continent for diamond mining, accounting for roughly 49% of world production. The major sources are in the south with lesser concentrations in the west-central part of the continent. The major producing countries are Congo Republic (Zaire), Botswana, South Africa, Angola, Namibia, Ghana, Central African Republic, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Zimbabwe. Political turmoil in some countries has led to highly variable production and severe degradation of the environment from uncontrolled mining.
Congo Republic (Zaire): With 18% of world production, this is the second largest producer of diamonds by weight (20 million carats in 1995) after Australia. Only 6% is of high gem quality; another 40% consists of small stones, called near-gem, that are cut in India. Mbuji-Mayi is one of the world's most prolific mines. In recent years production has been about 5 million carats per year.
The Jwaneng mine, in Botswana, is the most valuable diamond mine in the world. Its 1995 production of about 10.5 million carats had a value of about $1.2 billion.
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Botswana: This is the third largest producer of diamonds. De Beers discovered 3 world-class kimberlite deposits in Botswana between 1967 and 1973. The Orapa pipe, found in 1967, is the second largest economic kimberlite pipe in the world and produces about 5.5 million carats annually. The Jwaneng pipe was discovered in 1973 under the sands of the Kalahari Desert. With over 10 million carats produced in 1995, it was the second most productive mine for weight of diamonds but first for currency value. Two smaller pipes, Letlhakane 1 and 2, were discovered in 1968. Botswana's diamond reserves are immense.
In the early days, from 1908 to 1910, diamonds were recovered from the coastal sands in Namibia by workers crawling on hands and knees. |
Namibia: In 1908 a railroad worker found diamonds in the sand dunes near Kolmanskop, South West Africa (now Namibia), then a German colony. In 1909 almost 500,000 carats were produced there, and yields almost tripled in 5 years. The diamonds were small but of high quality. South Africa gained control of Namibia after World War I and sold the diamond deposits to Consolidated Diamond Mines (CDM), which was transferred to De Beers in 1929. In 1994 CDM was reconstituted as Namdeb Diamond Corporation Limited and is now jointly owned by the Namibian government and De Beers. The production, 1,300,000 carats in 1995, is from beach deposits.
Major diamond mines currently producing in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Angola, and Congo Republic (Zaire).
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Other significant African producers and their percentage of world production in 1996:
- Angola 1.8%
- Ghana 0.7%
- Central African Republic 0.6%
- Guinea 0.5%
- Sierra Leone 0.3%
- Zimbabwe 0.2%
Jwaneng and Namibia photos: Courtesy De Beers
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