Kimberly is the largest man-made hole in the world where diamonds can still be found.

The south of Africa is saturated with the air of diamond rush, which is very much reminiscent of here. Abandoned miners' settlements, gradually plunging into the sands, old mines and roads, which still emanate from that era when thousands of people threw everything and rushed here in search of diamonds. Among all the abandoned quarries, the Kimberly mine stands out - a grandiose man-made quarry, which today is a popular tourist attraction in South Africa.

The city of Kimberly is located in the central part of South Africa, in the valley of the Baal River. When the first diamonds were discovered in this region in the 60s of the XIX century, industrialists quickly began to buy farm land, which was of great value to them. The town of Kimberley quickly grew and developed, attracting miners, diamond buyers, large industrialists, various adventurers and adventurers to this part of Africa. The most famous deposit in the city is the so-called "Big Hole" - a quarry in the center of Kimberley.

This abandoned quarry is simply amazing for its size, because its width is 463 meters, and the depth at the time of development was 240 meters. But the most striking thing is that this quarry is of man-made origin: all this mass of rocks was extracted and processed manually, using only shovels and hoes. Thirst for diamonds attracted thousands of people here, who day after day under the scorching sun, in water and in mud, dug up the contents of a kimberlite pipe in the hope of finding a gem. And luck was smiled to many prospectors, as evidenced by the impressive list of gems discovered in more than forty years of the mine’s history.

More than 2,700 kilograms of diamonds were found here, among which the world-famous De Beers diamond weighing 428.5 carats, as well as large Porter Rhodes and Tiffany diamonds weighing more than 120 carats. Kimberly got its name from kimberlite pipes - special geological formations in which the largest diamond deposits in the world are located. You can read more about them in one of our materials.

Despite the fact that the Kimberley field has not been developed since 1914, and the rainwater is gradually filling a huge hole, it still attracts people here, only this time as a tourist attraction.

But diamond mines still operate in the city of Kimberley, although the volume of precious stones can no longer be compared with the times of the gold rush. Despite its status as the diamond capital of the world, today it is more of a popular tourist attraction than the center of the diamond industry. And among visitors, the opportunity to try their luck on old placers at the Kimberley mine is very popular. The unique atmosphere of this place still inspires people with hope and desire to find their diamond among the stony African soil.