- Address: Diamond Hub, Cullinan Diamond Mine, Cullinan, Pretoria 1000, South Africa;
- Phone: +27 +27 12 734 2626;
- Official website: www.cullinandiamonds.co.za
Going on a tourist trip to the Republic of South Africa , be sure to visit a place such as the Diamond Mine of Callinen. After all, this country is known as one of the largest diamond exporters, and therefore take the opportunity to learn all the features and history of this fishery.
The mine mentioned above is located in the town of the same name, which was built around the first mine for the extraction of these precious stones. Today, the city still has an incredible number of buildings, which are more than a hundred years old!
History of creation
Today, this mine is the most famous diamond mine, mining in which is conducted in accordance with environmental requirements. Belongs to the object of the company De Beers.
But this is now, and in the year of its foundation (1903), its owner was Thomas Kallinen, after whom the mine was named, and then the city. By the way, there is evidence that mining in these places was carried out before the mine was officially discovered.
Unique stones
The mine is also famous for the fact that unique stones are mined in it, striking in its purity - these are unsurpassed in beauty blue diamonds. Their price starts from a few thousand, and even tens of thousands of dollars. And this is not the biggest stones!
If we talk about the largest revenue for one stone, it was received in 2009 and exceeded 9 million 500 thousand dollars. The diamond was sold at the world-famous Swiss auction Sotheby's.
Prior to this, the record was held by a stone, the size of which exceeds 100 carats - it was sold at Christie's auction, which was held in Hong Kong, for more than $ 6 million.
A record holder, mined in this mine - a diamond, the size of 3106 carats. It is officially recognized as the largest in the world. How much it can be estimated is as yet unknown:
- First, it is the national treasure of South Africa;
- secondly, is on an expert assessment, which determines the likely price of the precious stone!
At the moment, a total of about 120 million carats have been extracted from the bowels, but this is not the limit either! According to experts, who examined both the internal blocks and passes of the mine, as well as the extracted wastes, today the mine's resource exceeds 200 million carats!
Exhibition halls for diamond lovers
The visit to Kallinen is interesting because you can see what the houses and dwellings of the first prospectors looked like, these mines worked at the mines - more on this later.
There is also a museum in the exhibition halls of which the complete history of the complex is presented. It is noteworthy that in the halls of the museum you can not only admire the diamonds, but also buy them, and for those who wish you organize excursions around the mine.
What else to see?
If you come to Callinen, and after you have time to visit the mine and exhibition halls, dedicate it to visiting other attractions of the town.
In particular, as mentioned above, the first houses of prospectors deserve attention. For example, the interest will be caused by the McHardy house-museum, as claimed here, it was this building that was the first residential object erected next to the deposit of precious stones.
Another object - the cemetery of Italian prisoners of war, which is located on the site of the former camp for soldiers of the army of Italy. The camp was set up in 1941 and prisoners of war were placed in it, who fought in the countries of North Africa during the Second World War. Initially, the camp was designed for about 100 thousand people. Today, a museum dedicated to that terrible time was founded here, because the conditions of detention were, to put it mildly, far from ideal.
How to get there?
The mine is located relatively close (40 kilometers) from the capital of the South African Republic of Pretoria and just three kilometers from a large settlement called Kimberley.
There are both public transport and sightseeing buses. For example, public transport can be reached first to Kimberley, and then to the mine.
By the way, an organized tour is convenient, but its cost will be about 60 US dollars (865 rand of South Africa) for two adults.
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