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Press, Volume XLV, Issue 7123, 20 July 1888, Page 5

' ,JL» i» well-known, the smaller diamond tiaims at the Cape have been absorbed by 1-ff* Syndicates, until now the field is t-mctica-T in the hands of four Com-pa-iea, of which the principal are theJ&mberley and the De Beer's where thai unfortunate accident has occnrred. sE_»l>e Beer's mine is situated inthetown■fc£r of K__berley. It measures about 320 ptia over surface from east to west, and •boat 810 yards from north to south. The ■ml plan of opening np the South **_*> diamond mines has been by open _rort_amorexcavations from the surface, In the ease of the De twers mine tbe deepening of the -workings ia the centre of the mine left so high a •wi of what is known as "yellow twund standing on the western bounflaryuiatafclaat ,t collapsed, causing, in March, ISSS, the largest fall of diamondi--HW» ground that has ever occnrred at _____ *£* mine ** A year or two ago the wtaaolaere came to the conclusion that ■ would be better to abandon this danRsrooa plan of open workings, and they jproceeded to sink shafts for the purpose « reaching- the bine ground containing tne diamonds. An inclined shaft has been Bonk on the weat margin at an angle of W degrees from the vertical. It enters the «a«i ground at a depth of 200 ft from the __**■*»; its extreme length is 645 ft, the jßtrest end being 500 ft below the surface. Iwo seta of working galleries are opened *P-*<me at the lowest level 500 ft from the gronnd, and another 120 ft higher _». The higher level works commnnicate two with the open workings of the mine.. All the ordinary labour of the mine, such g__Ugg*ng, trucking, Sec, is done by »«_&ra. The number employed in the iktaberley mine ranges from 1300 to «««, and the De Beer's mine would gohably employ as man-. The De *>__■_ mine has been extraordinarily proactive, ihe diamonds obtained from it ■enreen the years 1371 and 1885 inclusive, ws*slated to have been worth about nine JUmons sterling, representing one and a aan tons weight of precious stones. The PWent average production is set down *»•■ being worth about half a million sterling per annum. i