8/20/2023 0 Comments South africa diamond rushUnemployed Skhumbuzo Mbhele concurred, adding: “I hadn’t seen or touched a diamond in my life. When I returned home with them, (the family was) really overjoyed,” said the 27-year-old father of two. “This means our lives will change because no one had a proper job, I do odd jobs. The discovery was a life changer, said one digger Mendo Sabelo as he held a handful of tiny stones. The people traveled from across South Africa to join villagers who have been digging since Saturday, after a herd man who dug up the first stone on an open field, which some believe to be quartz crystals, put out the word. Company shifts to focus on independent marketing and branding 2002 The Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act provides for equitable access to and sustainable development of South Africa’s mineral and petroleum resources 2003 Kimberley Process Certification Scheme is established to stem the flow of conflict diamonds 2003 First women employed in mining positions 2004 Mining Charter comes into effect 2005 Market forces drive diamond prices resulting in unprecedented price volatility.More than 1,000 fortune seekers on Monday flocked to the village of KwaHlathi in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province in search of what they believed to be diamonds after a discovery of unidentified stones in the area. De Beers closes all mines 1939 -ġ945 Diamond mines close for duration of World War II 1947 Diamond is forever ad campaign created by the US advertising agency, NW Ayer and De Beers changes the world diamond market causing demand for diamonds to increase 1957 -ġ984 Harry Oppenheimer heads De Beers 1970s World annual diamond production reaches 50 million carats 1978 Finsch diamond mine opens in Northern Cape 1979 Premier is opened up below the Gabbro sill, a 70m geologic intrusion of barren rock which cuts through the pipe some 400m below surface 1982 NUM formed – the first black union in mining in 40 years 1983 NUM wins collective bargaining rights from the Chamber of Mines 1990s World annual diamond production reaches 100 million carats 1990 Nelson Mandela freed from prison 1992 Venetia diamond mine opens in the now Limpopo province 1994 South Africa holds first democratic elections 1996 The Mine Health and Safety Act introduced to address worker safety 2000 De Beer’s market share falls to less than 60% from 90% in the 1980s and the company no longer has control of the market. The two biggest are presented to King Edward VII in 1908 and now form part of the British Crown Jewels 1910 Union of South Africa formed 1914 Premier is shut down at the outbreak of World War I 1916 Premier begins operating again 1920 Annual diamond production reaches 20 million carats 1927 -ġ957 Sir Ernest Oppenheimer heads De Beers 1920s De Beers influences most world’s rough suppliers to sell production through the company, giving the company the power to influence diamond supply and diamond prices 1928 First African diamond cutting factory opens in Kimberley 1930 A central buying organisation to all producers (Diamond Trading Company) and an organisation dedicated to selling, the CSO (Central Selling Organisation), are founded 1932 The Great Depression deepens and demand for diamonds dries up. The Cullinan diamond is cut into nine gems. The Premier mine is later renamed the Cullinan mine. At 3,106.75ct, it is the largest rough diamond ever found. It remains under siege, its mines closed, for 124 days 1902 Thomas Cullinan purchases Cornelis Minnaar farm and the kimberlite diamond pipe is soon established, along with the Premier Diamond Mining Company 1905 The Cullinan diamond is discovered at the Premier mine. A diamond rush begins and Vooruitzicht would become the site of the Big Hole – or Kimberley mine – and De Beers mine 1876 Barney Barnato buys four claims in Kimberley mine before forming Barnato Diamond Mining Company 1867 -ġ877 Annual world diamond production increases more than tenfold 1883 Barnato merges his company with Kimberley Central Mining Company 1888 Barnato sells out to Cecil Rhodes who forms De Beers Consolidated Mines 1889 Chamber of Mines founded 1899 -ġ902 Anglo-Boer War caused disruptions in the mining industry 1899 Within days of the outbreak of the second Boer War, Kimberley town is besieged. The rock is later known as the 21.19ct Eureka diamond 1868 Major diamond strike at Kimberley in Northern Cape 1870 Cecil Rhodes arrives in South Africa and invests three thousand pounds in the Kimberley diamond diggings 1871 Johannes and Diederik de Beer buy Vooruitzicht farm in the then Orange Free State and discover diamonds on the land. ![]() INCLUDING MAJOR EVENTS 1867 Diamonds are discovered in the Cape Colony – now the Northern Cape – when 15-year-old Erasmus Jacobs finds a transparent rock on his father’s farm.
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