Offshore Diamond Mining in the Early Days

摘要

In 1961, there was a handful of visionary pioneers who knew very little about mining but were willing to gamble their ideas, tenacity, determination, future and fortune against the most inhospitable waters off the West Coast of South Africa. Their reward, if the gamble paid off, was a new method of harvesting diamonds from the ocean floor. This venture was a tremendous undertaking because there was no previous history of success and the extremely dangerous environment in which it was undertaken.Dredging up sand and gravel from the seafloor had been successful in moderate seas. However, this effort would have to succeed in the shallow surf zone along one of the most dangerous coastlines in the world; even its name was foreboding - the Skeleton Coast. These men and their equipment would be subject to heavy swells averaging 20-30 feet with gale force winds. The shore offered little respite, nothing but desert in all directions. These forces of nature challenged these pioneers and on several occasions subjected their ideas, methods and equipment to devastating results. But this band of hearty Texans, Afrikaans and others took all nature threw at them and persevered. From 1961 to 1965 they developed the technology and techniques and proved to the world that offshore diamond mining was commercially viable.Equipment and methods were improved and altered based on the successes and problems that arose. Nothing stood still. When the shipyard couldn 't build the next vessel in time, they started their own company to do it. When the diamond cartel offered to market their diamonds at a reduced rate they created a new mystique and market. When the vessels drug anchors, foundered or had other difficulties, the crews did whatever it took to get them back in service.Mining diamonds offshore has grown from finding a handful of stones in 1961 to current production of over a million carats per year from the sea. The challenge for today's leaders is to rekindle and develop that pioneering and entrepreneurial spirit, drive and attitude - that same spirit that changed the world of diamond mining 50 years ago.