Three Types of Diamond Mining

Guyana-based entrepreneur Barry Kevin O’Rourke leads SAB Mining as managing director. On 25 large blocks of land in the country’s jungle. Barry Kevin O’Rourke and his team mine both precious metals and diamonds. Diamonds are mined in three ways: pipe mining, marine mining, and alluvial mining.

Pipe mining is used for primary diamond deposits found in “pipes” in rock called kimberlite. Rather than waiting for diamonds to reach the surface, pipe mining goes after these deposits by removing sand and rock from the target area. It is done via an open-pit mine or underground mine. With both types, rock is removed to access diamond deposits. Underground mining is done via two parallel tunnels above a lower collection tunnel, while open-pit mining removes sand and dirt from the surface above the kimberlite where diamonds are.

For secondary deposits, alluvial mining is the predominant type. This form of mining occurs at beaches and in riverbeds. Water, rain, wind, and years of erosion wash diamonds from their kimberlite pipes into these areas. Miners divert rivers and work on beaches to expose the dry diamond-bearing sand and subsequently sift through it.

Marine mining relies heavily on technological advances that suck gravel from the ocean floor. In the past, marine mining involved swimmers bringing gravel up from the seafloor and sifting through it to find the diamonds.