Althouse: "A 1,111 carat gem-quality diamond, second in size only to the Cullinan diamond cut into the British Crown jewels, has been unearthed by Lucara Diamond Corp. in Botswana."

November 20, 2015

"A 1,111 carat gem-quality diamond, second in size only to the Cullinan diamond cut into the British Crown jewels, has been unearthed by Lucara Diamond Corp. in Botswana."

"The Type-IIa stone, just smaller than a tennis ball, is the largest diamond discovery for more than 100 years.... It was recovered by machines at the south lobe of Karowe mine in central Botswana...."

I like the "recovered by machines" part, because I don't have to picture a miner making the discovery of something he cannot keep.

11 comments:

Gahrie said...: I like the "recovered by machines" part, because I don't have to picture a miner making the discovery of something he cannot keep.

Yeah!

Now you can imagine the miner and his family starving because a machine took his job.; 11/20/15, 2:06 PM
Rob said...: The diamond was recovered by machines much like the way puffed rice was shot from guns.; 11/20/15, 2:20 PM
Birkel said...: Perhaps you should imagine the factory worker at Ford unable to steal a car from the line. Does that give you the sads too?

Upton Sinclair* on Line 1...

*communist; 11/20/15, 2:21 PM
Anonymous said...: The "blood diamond" hysteria robbed a lot of working men of their livelihoods. It was hard, dirty work, and the mining companies took some pretty intrusive precautions to ensure the miners didn't leave work with stones concealed in their belongings or body cavities, but you can be sure that those affected (just like the so-called "sweatshop" employees of Southeast Asia) wish mightily that the sanctimonious, well-fed left-wing do-gooders of the West would mind their own goddam business. When your only other option is choosing which daughter to sell into prostitution, working in a diamond mine or Nike factory doesn't seem so bad.; 11/20/15, 2:31 PM
rehajm said...: Do not conflate Botswana with the rest of Africa. It has one of the most stable and modern economies in the world and their mining operations are 21st century efficient.; 11/20/15, 3:20 PM
Anonymous said...: I like the "recovered by machines" part, because I don't have to picture a miner making the discovery of something he cannot keep.

Back in the day, those workers got bonuses based on both productivity and on finding big stones.

Now they can get millet gruel on the soap line, but Western NGOs can feel good about shutting down (reducing demand) production...; 11/20/15, 3:21 PM
Quaestor said...: Moderation is a vampire.; 11/20/15, 3:27 PM
traditionalguy said...: What a beautiful earth we have been given after billions of years of preparation for it to abundantly meet the needs of Adam's descendants who to tend it, multiply on it and rule over it.

Did anyone notice that neo-Malthusian idiot's Peak Oil lie has been exposed as Hoax too? The price of oil is expected to drop to $20 a barrel this winter because no one can find a place to store any more of the glut to prop up the price.; 11/20/15, 4:38 PM
tim maguire said...: Do most miners get to keep "what they find"? Should they? Can mining work on that principle? Mao tried it with smelting and millions starved to death. Seems like a bad idea to me. No, actually, it seems like a liberal idea to me--sounding nice at a glance, devastating in practice, but never mind, we'll just hide the victims and stick with what sounds nice.; 11/21/15, 5:51 AM
Anonymous said...: "I don't have to picture a miner making the discovery of something he cannot keep."
Yep. When I worked for Texas Instruments I wanted to take home a High Speed Anti-Radiation Missile, but it wasn't allowed. They did let me take a Paveway Laser Guided Bomb, which I keep in my garage until I can score an F-18.; 11/21/15, 11:51 AM
mikee said...: Gem quality diamonds can now be manufactured up to several carats in size, for a cost of a few hundred dollars per carat. It takes an infrared spectroscope to detect these synthetic diamonds, compared to natural diamonds.

The only reason they aren't manufactured in larger numbers is that the machines making them can more profitably produce industrial grade diamond grit for use as an abrasive. or coatings on cutting tools.

Natural diamonds are now like egret feathers or beaver skin hats - an affectation of the fashionable, which can be replaced with manufactured goods that are less expensive. Eventually fashion will realize that diamonds are a fraud, artificially kept expensive and relatively rare.; 11/21/15, 5:46 PM