Monday, March 31, 2008
All Creatures Great and Small
On Sunday, the squad took the opportunity of a guided bush walk through the veld around Wagon Drift. There they encountered wildlife large and small.
The Premier Diamond Mine, Cullinan
On Saturday morning, the squad headed off early for something COMPLETELY different; the Premier Diamond Mine in nearby Cullinan.
Premier Mine is world-famous for the discovery of the massive Cullinan diamond in 1905. It was found in the early surface workings and is still by far the largest gem diamond ever found. It weighed 3106 carat or 621 grams and was 10 cm long, 6 cm high and 5 cm thick. The stone was named after Thomas Cullinan and was sent to Amsterdam for splitting and cutting – allegedly by parcel post in a plain box. The original stone was cut into nine large stones and 96 smaller brilliants. The four largest stones are known as “The Stars of Africa". All nine large stones are either in the Crown Jewels or are owned by the British Royal Family.
The Premier Mine has produced over 300 stones greater than 100 carats and more than a quarter of the entire world's stones larger than 400 carats. Other stones include the Golden Jubilee (at 755.50 carat rough, the largest diamond ever found) the Premier Rose (a 353 carat rough), the Niarchos (cut from a 426 carat stone) and the fabulous 599 carat De Beers Centenary diamond. The Premier - South Africa's third busiest working diamond mine - is historically famous for being the source of many of the world's largest diamonds, including the Stars of Africa and the Golden Jubilee. The tour not only visited the upper workings of the mine - a big hole several hundred metres across - but also went underground, deep into the mine itself, where the minimum temperature is a cool 27 degrees.
The Premier Mine has produced over 300 stones greater than 100 carats and more than a quarter of the entire world's stones larger than 400 carats. Other stones include the Golden Jubilee (at 755.50 carat rough, the largest diamond ever found) the Premier Rose (a 353 carat rough), the Niarchos (cut from a 426 carat stone) and the fabulous 599 carat De Beers Centenary diamond. The Premier - South Africa's third busiest working diamond mine - is historically famous for being the source of many of the world's largest diamonds, including the Stars of Africa and the Golden Jubilee. The tour not only visited the upper workings of the mine - a big hole several hundred metres across - but also went underground, deep into the mine itself, where the minimum temperature is a cool 27 degrees.
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