The Birth of a Diamond
Diamonds are many millions of years old. The formation of diamonds began many millions of years ago in the depths of the earth when carbon was crystallised by tremendous heat and pressure. The diamond-bearing ore rose to the surface through volcanic eruptions. Later, when the volcanic activity subsided and cooling took place, the diamonds remained encased in a solidified magma known as "blue ground" or "kimberlite". There are different types of mines - including kimberlite pipes and alluvial deposits.
Diamonds
found in alluvial deposits were sometimes formed a long way away from
their final resting place. Over the centuries they have been eroded from
the kimberlite pipes and then carried, first by rain water and then in
the allluvium of rivers, down into the diamond bearing regions.
