Diamond Mining (Chapter 6, Key Terms & Key Concepts) Flashcards
Underground mining that involves
building a concrete-lined tunnel under an ore deposit,
then collecting the ore through openings in the liner.
Block caving
Measure
of a mine’s productivity based on the carat weight of
the rough diamonds it produces per 100 metric tons of ore.
Carats per hundred metric tons (cpht)
A recovery process that
separates diamonds from lighter material. Also called
heavy media separation.
Dense media separation
A horizontal tunnel drilled through a diamond
pipe.
Drift
An apparatus that uses diamonds’
affinity for grease to separate them from other
minerals.
Grease belt
Removal of mineral-bearing ore
from a large surface excavation
Open-pit mining
Sand, gravel, or rock that covers a
diamond pipe. Must be removed to reach diamond bearing ore.
Overburden
Reduction of newly mined ore to
a manageable size.
Primary crushing
Any method used to separate diamonds
from ore or alluvial sediments
Recovery
An apparatus that washes away dirt and
clay from diamond-bearing ore.
Scrubber
A recovery method that uses
X-rays to detect diamonds and an air jet to remove
them from ore.
X-ray separation
Most modern diamond-mining operations are large in scale
and extremely expensive.
Key Concept
Improved technology caused a shift in emphasis from alluvial
to primary diamond mining.
Key Concept
Namibia holds perhaps the largest marine diamond deposits
in the world. (More than 80 million carats says DeBeers)
Key Concept
Potentially profitable diamond sources are rare.
Key Concept
India was the world’s only major diamond source until the
eighteenth century
Key Concept
While some of Brazil’s production is now from kimberlite
pipes, the majority of its diamond deposits are still alluvial.
Key Concept
Africa has the world’s most diverse diamond sources.
Key Concept
The Cullinan mine is known for producing blue diamonds as
well as very large diamonds.
Key Concept
The Finsch Mine (located in South Africa) is the most technologically advanced underground
mine in the world.
Key Concept
Russia’s diamond sources are almost all primary.
Key Concept
Australia’s Argyle mine was the first commercially important
primary source of diamonds in lamproite.
Key Concept
The Argyle Mine (located in Australia) is famous for producing rare and valuable
pink diamonds.
Key Concept
New discoveries in Canada make it an important twenty-first century diamond producer
Key Concept
