Are diamonds a girl's best friend?

Today out tour group was treated to a very special conducted tour around the Kimberley's famous “Argyle Diamond Mine” from where the most precious of all diamonds come; that diamond being the pink diamond. Although we were travelling in our coach with a guide from the mine, we still had to go through all the security procedures that every visitor to the mine has to do. We were told that on no account were we to pick up anything from the ground, if we dropped anything we were to ask our guide to retrieve it. If we picked anything up from the ground we would have to undergo a search to ensure that we had not picked up a diamond as well as the object we had dropped.

Our tour started in the gallery where diamonds of different sizes were on display as well as illustrated descriptions that told how diamonds came to be formed and how the mine had changed from being open cut to an underground mine.

This first photograph shows the two largest diamonds ever found at the Argyle mine. They are still in the raw – uncut – state so they are not glittery and light reflective as are facetted diamonds.

This next photograph is of a display that showed the different graded sizes and the variety of colours that are found. Most of the diamonds are industrial grade diamonds that are used on saws and sandpapers. Only a small percentage are flawless and top gem quality but these are the ones that bring in the most money, of course.

Included in the price of the mine tour was lunch at the Agyle Village. The Argyle Village is where the people who work in the mine, live while they are here. The huge dining room was set out with tables and there was a beautiful cold, buffet lunch set out for us to help ourselves.

There was no one but our group in the dining room for lunch – the mine workers have their lunch over in a canteen at the mine and only use this dining room for breakfast and for the evening dinner.

It was a delicious lunch and the coffee was so good!

Once we had eaten we were then taken out to the open cut mine where the whole diamond mining operation first started. The pit was huge – but standing on the edge and looking over it made the hole look so much smaller than it really was. There were no vehicles moving around in it to give scale. Operations in the open cut area had to stop because the sides of the mine became so unstable that it was dangerous. There are a few very visible landslips where the contouring has collapsed. You may be able to see a couple of the large slips on the left hand side of this photograph.

We were taken (in the coach) under the equipment that crushes and separates the diamonds from the host rock, there were conveyor belts and huge tumblers and pipes that made us feel like midgets! It was all very impressive and very interesting. However! Although the pink diamond is the most expensive diamond and although there are several other colours of diamonds I personally feel that a diamond is identifiable as a diamond when it is white! I would confuse a “champagne” diamond with a citrine and a pale blue with a blue topaz! That shows my ignorance!

There was much chatter in the coach after our mine visit but we had something else to think about when we stopped at a road house to have a drink and an opportunity to stretch our legs. All around the perimeter of the parking area there were large stones, many of which had interesting paintings on them. These ones are easily recognizable as Australian animals, crocodile, wallaby and emu.

This second picture is not so obvious – unless, like us, you had taken a ride in a small plane to look down on the strange striped mounds that are calle the Bungle Bungles.

This evening we are staying at Halls Creek but we shall be packing our bags into the coach after we have eaten breakfast so we will not be staying here for very long. This has been another wonderful day! Certainly had no time to be bored!

AJ

rocks and gems

This afternoon I visited the local Lapidary Club because they were holding a Gem Show. I was really surprised by the number of cars in the carpark and even more amazed at the number of stalls out in the open. The ones that were in the shade of trees were at a real disadvantage because they were unable to show off the colour and shine of their wares - the opals looks like riverstone in the shadows! A couple of enterprising people were prepared with torches and when anyone came near they would direct the light onto the stones that were being looked upon.
Although this photo looks nice and bright - it was only one in the afternoon - the shade of the trees put everything into deep shadow and I have had to employ Photoshop to brighten the picture.

 There were dozens of stalls like the ones that are shown here but there were more people standing behind the stalls than there were people wandering along and looking at the wares. I just wish that I had buckets of money - I loved the fossils! There were some real beauties - but what would I do with them? So it is just as well I am not rich!
Instead I enjoyed taking a couple of photos. Most people did not want me to take any photos but a few people were only too happy for me to take some. I really loved this unusual amethyst. The person trying to sell it told me that often this type of amethyst was cut in a thin slither so that it looked rather like a flower.

As you can see, this stall was out in the sunlight which made taking a photograph of the amethyst so much better.
As well as rocks and gems for sale for jewellery making or as jewellery that has already been manufactured, there was a room set aside for competitions and displays of collections of work.

There are certainly some incredibly talented people around.
Another stone that took my eye and that I was given permission to move into the light to take a photograph was a large bumpy piece of malachite.

The top is gorgeous with its multiple rings however the underside is equally as interesting.

Now isn't that something? I wonder if it were a slab of soft material that was covered with bubbles that shrank down to create this dimpled surface. I guess a geologist would be able to give some explanation!
AJ