How Do They Mine Diamonds?

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.

Channel: Science Channel

Views: 1,733,616

Rating: 4.6615925 out of 5

Keywords: HIMCA, diavik diamond mine, diamond mining, volcanic ore, step by step, kimberlite pipes, How Do They Do It, how to make things, rock crushers, rough diamonds, how stuff is made, sujata kundu, joanna bagniewska, production process

Id: ucaVEIjiZ58

Length: 2min 37sec (157 seconds)

Published: Mon Aug 29 2016

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