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Miners Unearth the World's Biggest Diamond Ever Found

guardian.co.uk — The world's biggest diamond, believed to be twice the size of the Cullinan, has been discovered in the North-West Province of South Africa. The find has electrified the diamond community, but the circumstances of the discovery are shrouded in mystery.

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  • insomniac8400, on 10/10/2007, -9/+254I cannot wait until these things are created in factories by the thousands. The diamond industry sucks.
    • Nocturnal, on 10/10/2007, -5/+50Debeers ftl.
    • InetRoadkill, on 10/10/2007, -3/+47Smash it up and make cutting tools out of it. At least it would be doing something useful then.
    • AriaStar, on 10/10/2007, -1/+64The problem isn't the industry in general, but rather De Beers. Diamonds aren't so rare, but De Beers controls the import of them and slows it as necessary to keep the costs higher than they should be.
      • yosempai, on 10/10/2007, -8/+19Don't you mean Da Bears?
      • pintomp3, on 10/10/2007, -1/+16de beers doesn't control the import of them, they buy up pretty much all the supply. sierra leone has only 7 people who are allowed to export diamonds, those guys have connections with the government and da beers. by keeping competition down, they ensure the mine owners get very little for each diamond, and even less is passed on to the diggers. da beers also bought diamonds coming out of conflict zones, funding some of the bloodiest civil wars. all this to create an artificial lower supply. it still saddens me that no one has ever been made to repay the diamonds and gold stolen from south africa by the white europeans.
        • wattznext, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Sometimes i feel like nothing gets passed along to us diggers...
        • AriaStar, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1They have such a control stake in it that they may as well own the industry. As such, they can control how many are brought in to match what they think should be imported total along with the very tiny minority they do not control.
      • MeruFM, on 10/10/2007, -2/+22Blood Diamond anyone?
      • troye, on 10/10/2007, -2/+12Yes, I did see that movie. It was sad, informational, and effected me so that I will not get my future wife a diamond. The documentary by National Geographic (i don't remember the name) about that was better.
        • mtheoryx83, on 10/10/2007, -3/+7I would argue that it affected you.
        • outhouseinput, on 10/10/2007, -1/+9Assuming you can find a wife that will accept a gift card to Bed Bath and Beyond instead of a diamond ring.
          • Durinthal, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Just find something other than a diamond that would still serve the same function. My fiancée, for instance, really likes pearls.
        • stupidcabbage, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Never fear, you can get "conflict free" diamonds from Canada. Synthetic gemstone quality diamonds are also available in small supply (at 15-20% discount) at some places. I know some can be had in Massachusetts since one of the small number (2?) of companies manufacturing them is located here - in a secret location, natch.
          • korashime2001, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1In fact most diamonds in the US are from Canada.
      • ICSU, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2And? It's demand and supply. As long as people are willing to pay those high prices, it's all fair.

        If someone is a loser big enough to need a diamond to feel happy, it's their problem.
    • Lenny, on 10/10/2007, -7/+5They already can be, and are but they look a yellow color (which is actually worth more in a real diamond).
    • FatherG, on 10/10/2007, -1/+12Wait no longer!
      http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/diamond.html
      An old article so I would hope they're a /wee/ bit further along now.
    • coinman987, on 10/10/2007, -0/+12They already are http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_diamond
    • thesparrowband, on 10/10/2007, -1/+27anybody else reminded of blood diamond when they read that the origins of the discovery are unknown?
    • hiphoc, on 10/10/2007, -0/+11Wanna find out about diamonds? Watch this PBS special. It gets into how diamonds are costly because of the created artificial scarcity. And how diamonds are just rocks. Emeralds are more precious than diamonds. I was happy this person dug up an old vhs copy of this special. Also the Oppenheimer family has the worldwide monopoly on diamonds.

      http://tinyurl.com/22ub4t
    • bpmox, on 10/10/2007, -5/+3Most people won't want artificial diamonds, and there will always be people that value the fact so many had to suffer for their opulence. Artificial diamonds will never have the same 'value added'.
      • yuluo2, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1As long as it's shiny and real, girls won't give two ***** about how the rock came to be. Molecule for molecule, synthetic is the same, if not better/purer, than what they pull out of the ground. Why would anyone want a diamond that may have the blood of many Africans on it? You're an ass.
    • 15charmaxwtf, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1http://www.mises.org/resources/baebcfb9-4d27-4571-b866-e3a571f76d2b

      Another article on how the diamond trade works. (Basically the South African government nationalises any diamond mine and DeBeers controls it.)
    • outhouseinput, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1TIA DANNYYYY! Do you know why this dirt is red? It's stained with our blood!
      /rhodesianaccent
    • Stofallkillers, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Does this mean that Kanye West is gonna rap about diamonds again? I seriously hope not, I hate that tool...
    • battletrax, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1So much for traveling to south america. I bet the airfare is through the roof. Tons of diggers.
    • rb21385, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Hope Leo don't have to die for this.
  • acu8509, on 10/10/2007, -2/+69Trade ya Mars for it.
  • cocreator10, on 10/10/2007, -8/+2 I'll take two.
  • guyperson, on 10/10/2007, -3/+105They dugg it?
  • UtopiaInTheSky, on 10/10/2007, -5/+26I feel bad for the miner who found it. Must have been hard to hand over that fine piece of jewelry.
    • fkr3, on 10/10/2007, -3/+61The guards standing over them with machine guns and the miners families held hostage made it quite a simple process.
      • UtopiaInTheSky, on 10/10/2007, -43/+3Thanks, I'm well aware of how the whole process goes down. You can take your Blood Diamond propaganda spewage to the pickett line.
        • pintomp3, on 10/10/2007, -1/+31apparently you aren't aware of the process if you consider that information "propaganda".
        • fkr3, on 10/10/2007, -1/+25Perhaps he's aware of the process.... from the side holding the guns that likes to deny the "propaganda".
    • ICSU, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Fine piece of jewellery? It was a raw diamond. You didn't think they come from earth straight to the shop.
  • s1mph0ny, on 10/10/2007, -8/+2The diamond industry... is that anything like the blogosphere?
  • moocow1452, on 10/10/2007, -28/+1C'mon people, tomorrow there will be another "Biggest Diamond EVAR!"

    Buried as lame.
    • UtopiaInTheSky, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3No, there won't.
    • moocow1452, on 10/10/2007, -8/+1Sorry, forgot my [/sarcasm] tag.
    • simpleid, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1he's right, this is stupid, you people put so much worth in to a really hard rock. [that's intelligence. /sarcasm]
      • LordSlashstab55, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1it's not a rock, it's a stone.
  • holygram, on 10/10/2007, -6/+12I hope this isn't a conflict diamond...
    • wysjounommer, on 10/10/2007, -3/+1umm, its from SOUTH AFRICA, theres not a civil war on the go there last time I checked. Maybe you need to reconsider your throwing around of buzz-phrases.
      • holygram, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Maybe they moved it across a border. That's typically what they do.
    • reaver84, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2Is they, Jacob? Don't lie to me, man...
  • xturmn8r, on 10/10/2007, -5/+41Yay. Another piece of carbon. Too bad it will never be useful (diamond covered bits / etc) because De Beers is so good at propaganda and now every woman in the world thinks that love = Diamond = forever. Gotta love marketing.
    • coinman987, on 10/10/2007, -2/+8Yup diamonds are extremely common. The De Beers cartel control the supply thus artificially inflating the prices of diamonds.
    • Etchii, on 10/10/2007, -3/+0Diamonds = A visible sign of wealth.
      Women love men with money.
    • andshewas, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Not this woman. I couldn't care less about diamonds. I can't take it with me.
    • ICSU, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1It's those women's decision in the end anyway.
      Why do you always have to place blame on someone else? It's like those fat people and their excuses.
  • shimbob, on 10/10/2007, -3/+61"...shrouded in mystery."
    In other words, they dont want to outright admit it was child/slave/prisoner labor that found it.
    • fkr3, on 10/10/2007, -2/+10And now that the labourers are all dead, and their village wiped off the map, I guess we'll never know for sure.
    • element21, on 10/10/2007, -5/+3try not to be too over-dramatic aye. Read the article before trying to relate everything to a Hollywood movie. The diamond was found in South Africa. Completely different to the 'blood diamond' nations of north west africa
    • NanoStuff, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4If she ever mentions the word diamond, slaps some sense into the bitch, that's all there is to it.
    • wysjounommer, on 10/10/2007, -6/+2god thats an ignorant comment shimbob. take a deep breath and count to ten.
  • Mandryx, on 10/10/2007, -0/+28Shine on, you crazy diamond!
  • purple, on 10/10/2007, -1/+33Let the bidding for the world's most expensive over sized paperweight begin.
    • Alegoo92, on 10/10/2007, -10/+3paperweights aren't usually precious gems, but I get your point: you're a cynic.
  • mattz007, on 10/10/2007, -5/+4Dibs.
  • JueYan, on 10/10/2007, -1/+6About 3.22580645 × 10^30 bigger... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3492919.stm
    • mscir, on 10/10/2007, -3/+1That's really incredible! Makes me wonder what else is out there that we have no clue about. The hole they just found is really interesting, feels like I'm reading a good scifi and something cool is about to happen.
  • archer104, on 10/10/2007, -7/+32In other news, seismologists detected earthquake-level activity which appears to be caused by "synchronized female orgasms".
  • Nohj, on 10/10/2007, -11/+6Am I the only one who was not aware that a "diamond community" existed until now?
    • Urusai, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4It's more like the "diamond machine".
  • yomamaisfat, on 10/10/2007, -4/+17I guess Kobe's wife is getting a new ring.
  • slipkn0tz23, on 10/10/2007, -8/+5That's no diamond
  • muleskinner, on 10/10/2007, -10/+3 Can anyone say Blood Diamond?
    • uremomsnitemare, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2yeah, apparently the guy who said it before you can.
  • fearimas, on 10/10/2007, -4/+28diamonds, she'll pretty much have to
  • airwalkery2k, on 10/10/2007, -3/+13All this fuss over some simple carbon. Silly humans.
    • archer104, on 10/10/2007, -1/+16Homer: Aw, twenty dollars! I wanted a peanut!
      Homer's Brain: Twenty dollars can buy many peanuts!
      Homer: Explain how!
      Homer's Brain: Money can be exchanged for goods and services!
      Homer: Woo-hoo!
    • Ravatar, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2Give me a break. I hate the concept of diamonds as much as the next guy but this is a pretty cool discovery. It's not everyday we unearth a gem this large.
      • ICSU, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2You are right. I have yet to unearth a single one.
    • element21, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1welcome to earth
  • Apoy, on 10/10/2007, -1/+18Miners should have their share.
    • unitedstatians, on 10/10/2007, -2/+6Yeah, they should expect their 0.0002 per cent of the cut, any day now.
  • annenk38, on 10/10/2007, -9/+2Somewhere in Springfield:
    ".....my precious!...."
    (rubbing hands)
  • CodeCobalt, on 10/10/2007, -2/+10Buried as inaccurate,

    heres the REAL largest diamond ever found
    http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/02/17/1076779973101.html

    "It weighs 2.27 thousand trillion trillion tonnes - that's 10 billion trillion trillion carats, or a 1 followed by 34 zeroes. The biggest earthly jewel is one of the British crown jewels, the 530-carat Star of Africa."
    • annenk38, on 10/10/2007, -6/+1Black star, jewel of the night
      Black star, burning bright
      Magnificent sun, a beacon burning
      Five pointed coal, a guide eternal
      Black star, five pointed coal
      Black star, the cosmic soul
      Shining opaque, celestial furnace
      Glittering dark, a sun in mourning

      Black star, where light never shines
      Black star won't you be my guide?
      A dead sun for where the light never shines


      Black star, darken the skies
      Forever burn, never to die
      An ebony flame, a sun infernal
      Nemesis of the night, my own dark angel
      Black star, jewel of the night
      Black star, so cruel, so bright
      A glorious sun, with warmth so healing
      Glittering dark, a sun in mourning

      Black star, where light never shines
      Black star won't you be my guide?
      A dead sun for where the light never shines

      Shine on...
      Twinkle, twinkle black star
      Shine on
      by Jeff Walker
    • twiglet, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1How about you RTFA. It says "World's Biggest..."
      AFAIK 50 light years away != This world
  • FAPmaster, on 10/10/2007, -4/+10*yoink*
  • jay0312, on 10/10/2007, -3/+5And the weird thing is that there probably is another undiscovered diamond that's 2x the size of that monster.
  • mal1964, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1The miner can now use his lucky horseshoe.
    • mscir, on 10/10/2007, -3/+0I wonder how much he got paid the day he found it. I wonder how lucky he'll feel when he hears how much the thing is worth, and how many lifetimes he'd have to work to earn that much.
  • CkMaverick, on 10/10/2007, -5/+3It is nice to hear something positive about mines and miners for a change.
  • sputnikv, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2i love how the article completely fails to mention how big it actually is
  • sgr215, on 10/10/2007, -2/+3If they do discover the guy who found the rock it'll most likely be his boss. The guy, and his family, who truly found it are probably laying in a grave right about now. At least some spoiled brat will get a new rock though!
  • Nerevar, on 10/10/2007, -2/+7Pics or it didn't happen
  • Angirus, on 10/10/2007, -3/+12People buy diamonds because diamonds signify wealth. They signify wealth entirely because they are expensive and not because of their features. If there weren't such thing as diamonds then people would use other superficial means to display wealth. If crayons were $1000 each, people would be fawning over their wonderful properties, assuming you can get people to collectively agree that crayons are a status symbol. People *want* the existence of such trinkets and would invent them if they didn't exist. Think of all the silly people a couple days ago fawning over Rolex watches.
    • mscir, on 10/10/2007, -2/+0I agree, it all seems very silly, I keep picturing apes (as in Planet Of) wearing jewelry and thinking how good they look.
    • Ravatar, on 10/10/2007, -3/+1This isnt a 0.5 carat ring gem.. its hundreds of carats. This thing will sell big because it is immensely rare to find a gem anywhere near this large.
  • aar0n2k2, on 10/10/2007, -11/+0yup...i see why Africa has so much aids/HIV....

    thanks white people!
  • AverageJoe, on 10/10/2007, -1/+6"The Cullinan, which was found near Pretoria more than a century ago...."

    get out of my head family guy!!!!
    • Prostar190, on 10/10/2007, -1/+0"I was going to name it Peter Land but that bar out by the airport was already named that."
  • funkytaco, on 10/10/2007, -0/+13Please read & buy artificial diamonds.
    http://www.wisebread.com/the-greatest-story-ever-sold-is-a-fantasy-covered-in-blood
  • XBunnyRacer, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4My 1 carat Asscher cut in my engagement ring from my husband (also on Digg) is lab created... I would never pay thousands of dollars for a rock that shines up pretty..
    • mscir, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1Good for you!
    • KingGorilla, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7we need more women like you. sensible
    • orlyfactor, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7But you didn't give him a BJ when he gave it to you I bet. Only the real diamonds get you oral.
      • catalysis, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Diamonds...because she'll pretty much have to
      • XBunnyRacer, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0I can't remember if it was that day.. but how do you think I got him to ask me in the first place??? BJ's.. LOL

        If your girl needs a shiny rock to give you a BJ you need a new girl.. My man gets them because I love him.. in all his geeky glory.. :)
  • thatsiebguy, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5That's nothing like the diamonds found at Earth's "Core"! http://imdb.com/title/tt0298814/ :D
  • travel881, on 10/10/2007, -3/+0haha thats funny. thanks for the article
  • 2xtrouble, on 10/10/2007, -1/+9Rofl, this is friggin hilarious! South Africa is not like the rest of Africa! I live in North West province in South Africa, and I can assure that there is no such thing as blood diamonds here. The diamond was actually found by a property developer, and yes, he is still alive. http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_2172970,00.html
    • beautification, on 10/10/2007, -5/+2ALL diamonds are blood diamonds. By buying diamonds you contribute to the illegal/black market trade. Even if you buy diamonds that are "conflict" free you still create a desire and demand for a rock that has been artificially priced which in turn gives more reason for rich Europeans to enter Africa and purchase the cheaper blood diamonds for re-sale. And in most cases these blood diamonds are labeled and sold as conflict free.
  • charlie55, on 10/10/2007, -3/+8de beers isnt to blame. it is the public for believing that diamonds have value. it is our wives and girlfriends for caring about them.
    • alpinweiss88, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1And rappers - let's not forget to blame the rappers.
  • endlesssnowfall, on 10/10/2007, -3/+0my mama is not fat. shes plump and juicy.
  • vinwal, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7Diamonds are a rich elitists best friend

    http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6186684678299366197
  • KingGorilla, on 10/10/2007, -5/+3I would get my wife a diamond soaked red in the blood of hundreds rather than a clean, cheap and efficient synthetic diamond. I like my things to be earned through hard work. Very hard work
  • orlyfactor, on 10/10/2007, -5/+1I expect to see Jennifer Connolly and Leonardo DiCaprio running around the diamond anytime now...
  • web.phreak, on 10/10/2007, -4/+3Buried... I already saw this movie.
  • tranz007, on 10/10/2007, -5/+0The BBC put on a documentary not to long ago that showed how De Beers controlled the entire diamond market. Through holding diamonds back and through marketing. De Beers is the one company that single handed, made the diamond market the modern one it is today.

    As for me. Status, yes. I didn't want my wife to look like she was marrying the presents son. Thus, she got a 4ct. engagement ring.
    • geeshock, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Bud, u got owned.
    • Jones82, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1One vagina for the rest of your life, way to think it through
    • faskippy, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Bullbutter. Maybe I'm being short sighted, but anyone who can afford a 4 carat engagement ring is usually smart enough to write a proper sentence.
  • chobbney, on 10/10/2007, -2/+0"It caught everybody in the diamond industry offside."

    You don't say. I thought you'd wake every morning expecting someone to find a diamond of this size.
    • wattznext, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2I think they meant that the offensive linemen in the diamond industry jumped over the line of scrimmage before the ball was snapped.
  • howyoudoin, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3they went to jared?
  • titandegroot, on 10/10/2007, -4/+0Can you say conspiracy to increase the price of diamonds? This will raise the price per Carat in the diamond market for sure!
    • faskippy, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Why? A low grade diamond, no matter how big, is still a piece of *****. Why would your comment make sense?
  • SwitchXFactor, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1It's not even for sure a diamond? wtf..
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