How to mine Diamonds In Real Life
How Do They Mine Diamonds?
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Narrator: IN THE WORLD OF DIAMOND MINING, EVERYTHING STARTS WITH A BANG.
AT THE DIAVIK MINE,
THEY BLAST OUT THOUSANDS OF TONS OF ROCK PER DAY,
SEARCHING FOR DIAMONDS
WHICH ORIGINALLY FORMED 93 MILES BELOW GROUND.
THE DEEPEST HOLE WE'VE EVER DUG
ISN'T EVEN A TENTH AS DEEP.
SO HOW DID THEY GET TO THE SURFACE?
VOLCANIC ACTIVITY CARRIED THEM UP
THROUGH THE PLANET'S CRUST.
Narrator: THEY'RE EXCAVATING 2.5 BILLION YEAR OLD ROCK
TO REACH THE VOLCANIC DEPOSITS CALLED KIMBERLITE PIPES
WHERE THE DIAMONDS LIE.
Man: KIMBERLITE PIPE IS JUST A ROUND PIPE OF LAVA FLOW
THAT COMES UP MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF YEARS AGO THAT
WE'RE ACTUALLY DRILLING IN AN OLD VOLCANO.
Narrator: VOLCANIC ORE IS LOADED ONTO GIANT 240-TON TRUCKS
THAT CREEP UP THE SPIRALING RIM
OF THE CRATER TO THE PROCESSING PLANT.
IT MAY LOOK LIKE THEY'RE CARRYING
JUST A HEAP OF BOULDERS, BUT HIDDEN IN EACH LOAD,
THERE COULD BE 700 CARATS OF ROUGH DIAMONDS.
THESE ROCKS ARE VALUABLE, BUT ONCE THEY'RE PROCESSED,
THEY'LL BE WORTH FIVE TIMES AS MUCH.
Narrator: WHEN THE ORE REACHES THE PLANT,
THE NEXT CHALLENGE IS TO BREAK IT DOWN TO SMALL PIECES
ABOUT ONE INCH WIDE.
TO ACHIEVE THAT, THE BOULDERS PASS THROUGH A SERIES
OF MASSIVE CRUSHING MACHINES, WHICH REDUCE THEIR SIZE
WITHOUT DESTROYING THE PRECIOUS GEMS INSIDE.
AT THE END OF THE GAUNTLET OF CRUSHERS, WHAT'S LEFT
IS A MIX OF PRICELESS GEMS AND WORTHLESS STONES.
THE WHOLE LOT IS SENT 186 MILES SOUTH TO ONE OF
THE MOST HEAVILY FORTIFIED COMPLEXES IN NORTH AMERICA.
DIAMONDS ARE PERFECT TO STEAL.
THEY'RE SMALL, LIGHT, AND WORTH A FORTUNE.
IN ONE RECENT HEIST,
A THIEF GOT AWAY WITH $136 MILLION WORTH.
THAT'S EQUIVALENT IN VALUE TO 3 1/2 TONS OF GOLD.
Narrator: THE NEXT CHALLENGE IS TO REMOVE THE FINAL TRACES OF ROCK.
TO DO THAT, A ROBOT PLUNGES THE BATCH OF ROUGH DIAMONDS
INTO A HOT CHEMICAL BATH.
WHEN THAT'S OVER, THE ROCKS ARE GONE,
AND ALL THAT'S LEFT IS ROUGH DIAMONDS.
