Steve ‑Derernand, age 11

Where are the African diamond mines?

Africa is the richest diamond country of the world aid the mines occur in scattered places. The mines of the Belgian Congo produce morn diamonds by weight., but only 2% of them are of gem quality. The rest are sold as industrial diamonds. These mines are in layers of muddy clay, as are the mines of Angola, Ghana, Sierra Leone,  West Africa and Equatorial Africa.

The richest gem mines are in Tanganyika and the Union of South Africa. These mines are in pipes of blue rock which art: the vents of long dead volcanoes. The, blue rock in which the best gem stones are found is called kimborlite, from the mines at Kirrbcrly, Union of South Africa, Even here, 2,000 ton of the: best kimborlite may yield only a handful of diamonds, most of them useful only in industry.