Cullinan Diamonds

Way back in 1978 I visited the Cullinan Diamond Mine (then the Premier Mine) near Pretoria in South Africa.

The mine is famous for having produced the largest diamond ever, the Cullinan, at 3106 carats, now pride of the British crown jewels.

Only 5 months before my visit the Premier Rose, at 353.9 carats, was recovered on one of the final grease tables, having passed unscathed through the crushing plant! Recognising that large diamonds could be destroyed during crushing, a large X-ray sorter had been installed just after the primary crusher, although it had picked up nothing by the time of my visit.

So it was interesting to see today's story in MEI Online. The new mine owner, Petra Diamonds, has recovered one of the world's largest white diamonds, at 507.55 carats.

The discovery is expected to cover costs at the mine for the next two years.

What I would like to know is where was it recovered- was it in the primary x-ray sorter?