Diamond mining doesn’t just involve diggers with shovels. There is a process called diamond pipe mining that has to take place first in order to locate the diamonds. Pipe mining requires geologists to follow the trail of smaller diamonds to get to the source of the larger, harder crystals. After the pipe is found a shank is inserted into the soil directly at the ore bearing pipes. This is done to remove the soil covering the diamonds. The diamonds are not examined at the site of the mining in order to have better efficiency, instead they are examined and extracted from the ore at a different site. There are 2 methods in diamond pipe mining which is open pit mining and underground mining.
- Open pit mining is a process of surface mining. These rocks are extracted from open pits or borrow in the earth.
- Unlike open pit mining, underground mining is done by digging into the earth
Diamonds are also extracted from alluvial deposits which is the building of walls and the diversion of rivers. Once spotted they are then removed from the sand, gravel, and clay that has been naturally transported by water erosion and deposited along either the banks of a river, the shoreline or on the bed of a ocean. This whole process is called alluvial mining which has two methods which are coastal mining and marine mining.
Diamond mining on a non-industrial scale is undertaken involving individuals, families and communities and using the most basic equipment, such as sieves and pans, this is known as artisanal mining.