Diamonds & a Louvered Sunset

Wednesday, September 13, 2023

We enjoyed a leisurely morning before departing for the Cullinan Diamond Mine about 10 am. After a 45-minute drive, we arrived at the town of Cullinan. Fikret and Paula had recently seen the mine with other visitors so they found a place to enjoy coffee while Jane and I walked to the mine tour office and registered. While waiting for the tour, we wandered around a small park with old mining equipment on display and around the town before heading back to the office to start our tour. Our guide, Carol, started us off with a short film about the company (currently, Petra Diamonds) and its history and then we, including six other visitors, walked down the town’s sidewalk to the company gate in the fence surrounding the mine. Carol had to badge us in as we passed through the gate one-by-one. Once we were through the gate, we went inside a security building where Carol individually badged us through doors, we blew through a straw into a monitor to test our breath alcohol contents, and then finally exited into the proper mine grounds. Carol led us into another building with displays and more information about mining. We were allowed to take photos inside but once we exited, photography was prohibited until the final stop of the tour, The Hole.

Cullinan was started in 1903 and is one of the world’s largest diamond resources, 190 million carats. It has produced more than 800 stones of 100+ carats and is the world’s most important source of rare and valuable blue diamonds. The Cullinan stone (3,106 carats rough) is the largest gem diamond ever discovered and was the source of the British Crown Jewels and British Royal Scepter Stone. Many other famous diamonds, including the one Richard Burton gifted Elizabeth Taylor, were sourced from Cullinan.

The operation began as surface mining but now the current method in use is block caving whereby the ore is undermined allowing it to progressively collapse under its own weight. A large section is undercut creating an artificial cavern that fills with its own rubble as it collapses. The broken ore falls into a pre-constructed series of funnels and is then transported on a massive conveyer belt system throughout the operation for further processing. Block caving results in large areas of the surface subsiding into sinkholes producing the ever-deepening and ever-expanding Hole.

Donned with safety vests and hard hats we walked around the grounds but were not allowed to enter any processing facilities. We saw the massive conveyer system speeding crushed rock from point to point. At one point there was a huge rotating magnet, attracting unwanted metal (rebar, steel plates, etc.) from the rock and flinging it into a dumpster. We gradually made it to The Hole and were allowed to photograph it. Carol pointed to the direction of her home on the far side of The Hole. Her house was sinking, her ceiling was getting lower, and the structure had a large crack in it. She was noticeably bitter and distraught over this situation that the company has refused to resolve for her and others afflicted with the consequences of the mining.

After we had seen all we were allowed to, Carol escorted us back through the security building and gate. As Jane I walked back to the town building to return our safety gear, Paula waved at us to indicate the shop that they had moved to for internet access. We rendezvoused there for departure.

Cullinan Diamod Mine Entrance

Nine Major Stones were cut from the 3,106 Carat Cullinan Diamond (right rear) including Stones for the British Imperial Crown and Royal Scepter

Model of Cullinan Diamond Mine

Miner John

Ready to Excavate

The Hole

On the drive back from the mine, we stopped at Woolies (Woolworth) to pick up a few groceries for dinner. Back at his apartment, Fikret packed three beers into a backpack and led Jane & I on a hike to a nearby large hill where he had observed a sunset with a group previously. It had been awhile so it took some trial-and-error for Fikret to find the correct path up. Eventually, we were huffing and puffing up a rocky ledge. Once we rounded the top, we found seats on the ledge to enjoy our beers, Below, we could see the Future Africa campus and I could make out the route of the four-mile hike I had taken a couple of days ago. To the left of our view was the city of Pretoria. Fikret pointed where the sun would set over Pretoria but unfortunately thick clouds had developed and we couldn’t see the sun at all. We continued socializing and enjoying the view when suddenly the bottom of a bright orange sun emerged in a small cloudless stratum of the sky and changed the nearby clouds to bright red and orange colors. We watched mesmerized as sun travelled downward, our vision limited to only about a third its vertical diameter at a time. Once the top of the sun moved out of our vision and the colors began fading, Fikret wisely urged us to scramble back down the mountain before darkness set in.

Back at the apartment, Paula had prepared a delicious salad and was roasting a medley of vegetables. Jane prepared the fish we had purchased at Woolies and popped it into the oven. We prepared gin (Stillhouse Wild) and tonics and soon enjoyed a delicious home-made pescatarian dinner. Afterwards, Fikret taught Jane and I how to play Pishte, a card game that he competitively plays with his family. After a few practice hands, Jane & I caught on to the game but our minds were too overwhelmed to be able to remember the previously played cards which is a necessity to become a savvy Pishte player.

Eventually, we wearily said our goodbyes to Paula (who we’ll see again soon in Victoria Falls) and packed our bags before heading to bed anticipating a busy travel day tomorrow.

Sunset over Pretoria

The Louvered Sunset