WorldWide Drilling Resource

Alaska Miners Association Phone: 907-563-9229 Fax: 907-563-9225 ama@alaskaminers.org www.alaskaminers.org ELKO / Mining Expo Phone: 775-738-4091 Fax: 775-738-2420 jennifer@elkocva.com www.exploreelko.com WorldWide Drilling Resource ® is proud to be a member of these mining associations. Northwest Mining Association Phone: 509-624-1158 Fax: 509-623-1241 nwma_info@nwma.org Women in Mining 866-537-9694 wim@womeninmining.org 51 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® MAY 2013 Arkansas Diamonds by Harry W. Short Engineering Geologist The first diamonds in Arkansas were discovered by John Huddleston inAugust of 1906, near Murfreesboro. More than 10,000 get-rich-quick dreamers flocked there as word of the strike spread. They filled the Conway Hotel and set up a tent city between the town and the dia- mond field. “It was not an easy life,” said Mike Howard of the Arkansas Geological Survey. “Many people came, few found any diamonds, and most were gone within a couple of years.” The area is now an 800-acre tourist attraction called the Crater of Diamonds State Park. Visitors can pay a $7 admis- sion fee, grab a shovel, and try their hand at diamond prospecting. The rule is "find- er’s keepers”. Some visitors use a spe- cial screen known as a seruca to wash and separate the heavier diamonds from the lighter debris. Others just get down on their hands and knees to look for diamonds. Tourists have discovered over 1000 diamonds in the park. The majority of Arkansas diamonds are usually under ten points, or about 1/10th of a carat. In 1924, one lucky miner pulled a 40-carat diamond out of the ground. Christened Uncle Sam, it remains the largest diamond ever dis- covered in the United States. There is hope, however slim, that just about anyone can strike it rich. A man named Eric has been coming to the park two or three times a year since he was a teenager. In October 2007, his hard work finally paid off with the discovery of a whopping 3.9-carat stone. It was nearly the size of the site's famous Kahn Canary diamond Hillary Clinton borrowed for her husband's presidential inaugurals. Eric said he found the elongated white diamond on a trail where he had gathered a bucket of gravel he was going to sort. His lucky stone could be worth as much as $8000, if he can prove it came from the park. Officials suspect the stone did not come from America. Since his discovery, fellow collectors, park officials, and law enforcement offi- cers have started wondering how Eric and his family uncovered 32 diamonds in less than a week at the park. At one time, Henry Ford proposed to buy Arkansas industrial-grade dia- monds for machines on his assembly line. The Diamond Syndicate and De Beers bribed the mine's owner to keep the mine out of production, according to a Justice Department investigation. After failing to gain full control of the mining area, the Diamond Syndicate and De Beers allegedly sabotaged the mines. Two rival processing plants mys- teriously burned to the ground on the same January night in 1919. Harry admin@ worldwidedrillingresource.com (5 $4 )$2 0,./ .$ 1/$# !5 1*- 9 '-$ +/0 ))$./ 3,.)#3'#$ $4 " ##$+ 0# 0& 0 1!!,"( &,+$ 7 4 333 .$4*"% ##$+ ",* + /0,"( /'6$/ 8 0&.1 8 $ )/, " ..5 (5 $4 $ )/, " )$2 0,./ 3 %$$0 (5 $4 )$2 0,./ )) %,. '**$#' 0$ /&'-*$+0 0,# 5 Personnel Changes for SAMOTER Adapted from a Press Release by SAMOTER Press Office As part of a strategic expansion, Dr. GianPaola Pedretti, brand manager of SAMOTER and events in the building and construction sector since 2006, has been appointed to head of Veronafiere’s inter- national office. Pedretti’s professional experience in the exhibition indus- try will be an asset to this challenging and prestigious role. She enthusiastically wel- comes the challenge for the future on the strength of her skills and abilities acquired over time. She’s clear- ly acknowledged and admired by top Veronafiere management in offering her this new assignment. Expansion of international activities through a permanent presence in foreign markets is one of the priority objectives of Veronafiere's 2012-2016 business plan. This focus is confirmed by recent invest- ments in acquisitions of companies and exhibition brands in Brazil, India, and Morrocco. The SAMOTER and Marmomacc events will now be entrusted to Luciano Rizzi, head of the agriexpo and tech- nology area.