WorldWide Drilling Resource

Diamonds are Forever by Harry W. Short, Engineering Geologist The lure of diamonds has piqued the imagination of mankind ever since the first shiny stones were dug from the ground 2500 years ago. Royalty sought them because of their color, rarity, and the power diamonds endow by ownership. Diamonds became more precious after the art of cutting became refined and created shapes and surfaces which reflected their natural spectrum of rainbow colors. Marilyn Monroe loved these rocks whether square-shaped, pear-shaped, or any other shape. Diamond is the April birthstone. The name is derived because of its superior hardness from the Latin words, adamentem or adiamentem. The Greeks also had a word adamas, meaning invincible. In mineralogical terms, the peculiar silvery submetallic luster of diamond is called adamantine (greasy). Diamonds are composed of a singlet carbon element shaped like octahedrons or cubes, and cleavage is parallel to the crystal faces. Their hardness on the Moh’s Scale is 10 with a specific gravity of 3.52. The first diamonds known to the world were mined with crude tools in alluvial deposits in India and in gravel and conglomerate beds in 1725, in Brazil. The first diamond from South Africa was found by a small boy in the Vaal River Valley, in 1867. It wasn’t long before the famous Kimberly vertical diamond mine pipes were discovered. Diamonds have also been mined in the Belgian Congo, Australia, Russia, British Guiana, and Murfreesboro, Arkansas. Brazilian, Indian, and South African diamonds are the world’s favorites, due to their size, color, and rarity. The Cullinan diamond, at 3106 carats (1.36 pounds) the largest diamond in the world, came from the Premier Mine, Transvaal, South Africa, in 1905. The Braganza diamond, 1680 carats, was touted as the world’s second largest diamond, but it turned out to be a pale-colored topaz. Two notable diamonds from Brazil were the Vargas, 726.6 carats, found in 1938; and an unnamed stone, weighing 770 carats, which was discovered in 1945. The Vargas was cut into 29 smaller gems and the fate of the second diamond is unknown. Diamonds could be called the magical gem of romance. Notice how women’s eyes shine and sparkle whenever they observe a beautifully cut stone. A word to the wise: Diamonds are not reserved only for birthdays, they can be given any time. Note: The Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, Arkansas, allows the public to search for diamonds, and the policy is “finders, keepers”. Visit www.craterofdiamondsstatepark.com for more information. Harry In memory of Harry Short. His articles will continue posthumously. Contact: michele@worldwidedrillingresource.com 35 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® APRIL 2016