The beauty of a diamond is truly unbelievable.
Its journey of becoming a diamond is almost just as incredible.
Formation
Diamond is a high-pressure form of carbon. Its low-pressure carbon equivalent is graphite. Diamonds are the hardest known natural material and were formed over 3 billion years ago deep within the earth’s crust under conditions of intense heat and pressure that cause carbon atoms to crystallise forming diamonds.
Exploration
The first step in the diamond commodity chain is the exploration process. Diamond discoveries can take on various forms, and processes, and require varying amounts of time. In the past, diamond explorers used to search for diamonds with nothing more but guesses, luck, and an experienced eye for diamonds. Today geologists undertake this highly technical task aided by the latest analytical equipment, tools, and tests.
Through careful analysis, planning, observation, and testing, geologists identify a suitable mining location before excavation operations commence. Today geologist use aerial and offshore geophysical surveys to determine the presence of mineral resources.
Mining
Our mining process includes conventional open pit mining processes adapted for optimum recovery of alluvial deposits. The mining processes include overburden removal, drilling and blasting, ore excavation and hauling, in-field scalping (to the separate course and undersize) and screening (to remove ultra-fines), and then finally transportation of the ore to the main treatment plant for diamond recovery.
Sorting
Once mined, the ore is processed at a main treatment facility utilising DMS (Dense Media Separation) and X-ray technology to recover the diamonds from the ore. Then the diamonds undergo a sorting process before being sold to be cut or polished. Sorting is a science and an art, and it takes skills and years of experience, supported by the latest diamond sorting technology, to determine each rough diamond’s value.
Sales
Rough diamonds are sold on a regulated market to international clients as prescribed by the Kimberly Process.
Cutting & Polishing
Cutting and polishing diamonds bring out their natural beauty. An experienced diamond cutter will carefully study a rough diamond before preparing it for cutting. Whatever the chosen shape, there is no room for error once cutting begins. After cutting, craftsmen polish diamonds and transform them into beautiful gems sparkling with brilliance, fire, and light.
