• 30. 10. 2024, 16:45

CUT AND DRIED. The pressure is on to find the big diamond before the winter snow drives the team from the valley. But labour disputes have brought the operation to a halt. A community meeting is called and compromise is reached. The miners agree to pay the labourers directly and employ more people from the local villages. Work resumes at the mine, but overnight 2 accidents occur. The Rhino, their go anywhere off road vehicle has had a spectacular hand brake failure and ramped off a 20 ft cliff. It is a complete write off and will affect the mobility of the team. Warren has also collapsed and fainted, knocking himself unconscious and seriously grazing his face. The altitude and fatigue are wearing him down. Alan is now working the top site, but he has also been gripped by big stone fever and is determined not to leave without finding a large diamond. Kim finds a few small carat stones on the sorting table. Over night the first snow falls and Alan has to rescue his team and equipment from the top site. They get everyone out, but without road access or pumps they cannot continue to mine there. Down in the valley the river freezes over and they are unable to dive or pump. Mining cannot continue and the team has to pull out for the winter. The investors all return to the valley where there is a backlog of over 500 bags to be sorted. It takes two full days to go through all the remaining bags and the team find a number of small diamonds. The diamonds are successfully exported from Lesotho and arrive in Cape Town. A decision will then be made about which stones are to be cut and which will be sold in the rough. Unfortunately some of the bigger stones have faults and impurities in them. The evaluators at E-Diamonds advise Peter to sell most of the parcel uncut, but he is willing to take the risk and cut 20 of the 33 diamonds. The cutting process is risky and the stones are analysed and mapped out on the Saran machine over and over, before the cutting process begins. Carlos, the owner of Clarity Diamonds, is concerned about the faults in the bigger diamonds and worried about the outcome. Once all the stones are cut, they are certified for quality and Carlos delivers them to the investors in Durban. The value of the entire parcel, cut and uncut, is calculated and it turns out they have made a 50% return on their initial investment. The investors are not concerned by their loss, as the experience has been priceless. A geological survey has revealed that there are diamond-bearing pipes under their concession. It is now worth millions of dollars if sold, and the team have the option of returning to the valley and setting up a full-scale diamond mine.