DIAMONDS IN SOUTH-WEST AFRICA.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXiX, Issue 7729, 24 February 1909, Page 1

DIAMONDS IN SOUTH-WEST AFRICA.

: Tho German Colonial Secretary, Herr Dernbiu'!^ recently communicated to the Reichstag the gist of official reports with .-regard \o tko discoveries of diamonds m the nciglibouNiCpu of Luderitz llzy. Difiinonds, he said, wore -pretxw'v m a stretch of liihd about 40 kilometres long and from ten i 6 Several hundreds of kilometres broad. Thus fiti" diamonds had been found only near the Gtiriaco, Ordinarily four or five stones went, to tho carat, but stones ol on*!-n'f!lf tq. threS-aiiartGi'S of a carat had becii distovefeel- r^ceiitly, A German firm hud been wiiiflihg lO,ear^tf a clay by primitive methods. Vv ritli improved ' arrangements the production | could be increased to 5000 carats daily. | Diamonds of the size of those that he had described were worth'about 30s a carat, and the «fist of winning them was, m Luderitz Bay, oiily. 5s fi carat. i as compared with about 18s ill Pre-1 toria and 26s m Kiniberley. Whereas ; ekewhero the diamonds were firmly embedded, m Luderitz Bay they had elirlply to be picked out of the ground. He Had done it himself. (Laughter, and derisive cheers from the Socialists.) He was not, telling fairy tales or drawing upon the "Arabian Nights.'' As soon as news of the discoveries was received the Government had taken mea- j sums to secure some of the benefits for ■ tho State, an dafter the example of th late South African Republic and the Orange River Free' State. They hoped that German trade would also profit , by the discoveries. That the Socailis.e ridiculed the matter proved that m colonia laffairs, at any rate, they were ill-informed.