. Precious stones, a popular account of their characters, occurrence and applications, with an introduction to their determination, for mineralogists, lapidaries, jewellers, etc. With an appendix on pearls and coral. Precious stones; Pearls; Corals. DIAMOND: OCCURRENCE IN SOUTH AFRICA 201 The appearance of water in the mine still further added to the embarrassment of the â workers, and constituted a difficulty which was quite insuperable so long as the owners of the claims worked independently. The necessity for co-operation was met in 1874 by the institution of the Kimberley Mining Board, a b
. Precious stones, a popular account of their characters, occurrence and applications, with an introduction to their determination, for mineralogists, lapidaries, jewellers, etc. With an appendix on pearls and coral. Precious stones; Pearls; Corals. DIAMOND: OCCURRENCE IN SOUTH AFRICA 201 The appearance of water in the mine still further added to the embarrassment of the â workers, and constituted a difficulty which was quite insuperable so long as the owners of the claims worked independently. The necessity for co-operation was met in 1874 by the institution of the Kimberley Mining Board, a body which undertook all work of public benefit, such as the removal of water, of fallen reef, and of reef about to fall, the expense incurred being shared equally by the owners of the claims. It was about this time that the formation of companies began to take place, although at first this form of co-operation was strongly condemned by individual miners, yet as time went on it became more and more apparent that the increasing difficulties and expense of working could only be overcome in this way. The larger capital at the disposal of the companies enabled them to employ the best machinery and to adopt all the improved modern methods of working, and thus to decrease the working expenses, and at the same time to increase the production. Fig. 41. Section through the De Beer's mine. (Scale, 1. 4800.) Although the amalgamation of individuals and capital rendered it possible to prolong for a time the system of open workings, yet, as time went on, it became very evident that this system could not be continued indefinitely, and that the open workings would have to be replaced by systematic underground workings, if the treasure hidden away in the depths of the mine was ever to be reached. A very successful beginning was made at the Kimberley mine in 1885, and in 1891, at this same mine, a shaft was driven into the reef to a depth of 1261 feet, from which horizontal galleries or tunnels
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