Show MINING abe ch process or handling the dirt taken front below the tile surface the do beers and the kimber I 1 ey mines lire probably pro bibly tho the two biggest holes which greedy man ha ever dug into the earth the area of the former at the surface being thirteen acres adres with a depth of feet tho the trea rea and depth of the litter latter bet being n g c ev veil en creater these mines are no longer worked from the surface bur face but from shafts sunk at some distance from front tho the original holes and penetrating to the blue ground by transverse dr driving ivings at depths varying from SOO WO to 10 1 0 1200 feet the blue ground when extracted is carried in small iron trucks to tho the doors floors these are made by removing ing the bush and grass from a fairly level piece of ground the land is then rolled and made as hard and as smooth as po possible sIble these floors arc are about acres in extent they are covered to the depth of about A forwith foot fot with the blue ground which for a time re remains m ains on them without much ma ion tion the heat beat of the sun and moisture soon have a wonderful effect upon it largo large pieces which were as hard as ordinary sandstone sandston when ewhen taken from the tile mino mine soon commence to crumble at this drago of the work the winning of tho the diamonds assumes moro more the nature of farming than of mining the ground is continually bar rowed to assist pulverization by exposing the larger pieces to the action of the sun san and rat rain the blue ground from front kimberley mine min Z becomes quite well pulverized in fit three months while that from de been beers re requires quires double that time the longer the ground remains exposed the tile better it is for wash w ash ing the process of espos expos exposure ure being completed the blue ground is then carried to very large elaborate and costly washing machines in which by means of tho tile action of running water the diamonds aro are separated from front the ordinary earth it may bo be mentioned that in this process IW loads of blue ground are concentrated into one load of stuff another machine the then separates this latter bauff which vv aich appears to be a mass of blue and dark pebbles of all a shapes bapes into four different sizes which tb then en pass on to the as sorters the assorting is done one on oil tables first while ai wet et by white meu men and then dry by natives the as sorters work with A kind of trowel and their accuracy in detecting and separating the diamond from front the eight different diller kinds of mineral for formations ma eions which reach them is almost unerring lord It randolph andolph churchill in popular science monthly |