Diamonds

For many centuries India held the distinction as the world's only major producer of diamonds. That changed drastically in 1867 when diamonds were discovered in the area now known as South Africa. The significance was not only that a second area now had diamonds, but the sheer volume of diamonds that were present. South African diamond production in 15 short years was greater than India's production throughout the previous history.

The timing of the South African diamonds was important as well. In the mid 1700s a small upswing in diamond production from Brazil had flooded the market at a time when very few people were interested in a major purchase like a diamond. The result was that prices dropped because the supply far overshadowed the demand. However the world economic picture was very different in the late 1800s. During this time there was an increase in wealth in the United States that led to an increased demand for diamonds.

South Africa's first diamond was found by a 15-year-old farm boy. He found it on the banks of the Orange River. For a couple of years to follow the diamonds remained alluvial, meaning found near a river. But by 1869 diamonds were being found further away from a river. They were found closer to the surface in what is referred to as yellow earth and also deeper in hard earth called blueground.

It is during these early years in South Africa's diamond production that a group of English immigrants played key roles. Their names are still widely associated with the diamond industry. Cecil Rhodes and a small group of others, through a series of in-fights and struggles, came to form the DeBeers Consolidated Mines. The DeBeers name is still a leader in the diamond industry.

When viewed as the entire continent, Africa is the leading producer of diamonds in the world with 49% of the world's market. While the major known deposits of diamonds are in South Africa, other concentrations have been found in the west central areas. Those other African nations with active diamond production are: Zaire, Botswana, Angola, Namibia, Ghana, Central African Republic, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe.

Some of these nations struggle with political unrest and aggressive rebel military forces. This unstable environment has led to many diamonds being labeled as conflict diamonds. This is the term for diamonds that are mined by locals who are forced to work by the rebel military forces. Profits from the sale of the diamonds are used to fund the group's attempts to overthrow the government. Public pressure has led to many changes in the diamond industry to discourage the purchase of these conflict diamonds.

Diamonds from Zaire account for 18% of global production with approximately 20 million carats produced annually. Most Zaire diamonds are of a lower quality. In Botswana the DeBeers company operates the Orapa pipe (or vein of diamonds) which produces an amazing 5, 500,000 carats per year. The Jwaneng pipe was discovered deep under the Kalahari Desert. This one pipe produces 10 million carats annually. Mines in Namibia are also controlled by DeBeers. They are known for small diamonds with exceptionally high quality.