In this blog, you will learn and discover the different kinds of diamond mining. Several techniques are followed by diamond mining. Multiple processes are used for recovering the diamonds from the rough ores. The diamond mining process and procedures have been improved and made better after all these years. It has become an incredibly skilled process as it has been backed up with a series of scientific research. The main goal of all these advancements is to extract the precious diamond stones without damaging and breaking them. There are three main types of diamond mining which are given as follows
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Pipe mining process of diamond extraction
The pipe mining process is a secondary process of diamond extraction which is divided into two methods which are given as follows
a. Open-pit mining: It is the process of removing the sands and rocks found just above the kimberlite. The pit is then open using a blast. Once the cavity is blast-opened, then the hole is loaded and transferred to an ore crusher. Once this process ends, the process of diamond extraction begins
b. Underground mining: In this process, the miners tunnel to the Earth-crust so that they can reach the kimberlite pipe. These tunnels are categorized into two levels. The connection between these levels is ensured using funnels. The top-level is blast-opened to initiate the mining process. After being blasted, these funnels fall on the second level of tunnels from which the ore is collected. Once it is done correctly, the process of diamond extraction is initiated.
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Alluvial mining process of diamond extraction
Alluvial mining is the primary process of diamond mining. It is considered the ideal method of diamond mining because, after several years of wind and rain, the kimberlite pipe that surfaces the Earth gets eroded. This makes the rough diamonds get sunk in the river. These diamonds are then found in the gravels of mud, underwater plant life, and clay. The industrial alluvial process involves constructing a large wall to collect the diamond water in one place. Once the water is received, the gravel is extracted and prepared for the operation of diamond extraction.
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Marine mining process of diamond extraction
Marine mining is similar to alluvial mining as it also targets the seabed. The diamonds are known to be mainly found in the seabed because they usually are present on the Earth’s crust. They easily get washed away with water and rain. This mining targets the seabed, which is located deep under the water. Specialized marine machinery and crushers are used to dig deep in the seabed to crawl out the gravel. This gravel is transported using pipes and hoses. In earlier days, a swimmer was appointed to collect the diamond-bearing gravel from the seabed. However, nowadays, the diamond powder manufacturers use large-scale drill machines mounted with a ship to collect and excavate diamonds. 64% of the total diamond extraction throughout the world is done using the marine mining method of diamond mining.
