Mill must process 20,000,000 pounds of crushed rock to recover one pound of diamonds (about 2,000 carats). Single day's production shown us in one collection - mostly small stones of one carat and less, but several quite large and one of 258-carat weight - all in rough, uncut and unpolished state, but, even so, they look valuable.

Rough stones look like glass dice, each with typical eight-facet sides. Colours are blue-white, yellow, brown, pink and green. Blue-white is most valuable and costs more per carat as size increases. Largest diamond ever produced was the Cullinan, about the size of a goose egg, which was cut into gems which now adorn the British royal crown.

Diamonds are recovered by passing raw aggregate mixed with water over a greased, rubber-topped, inclined table. Water washes all dross quickly down the greased incline, and diamonds adhere to the grease and are picked off by hand. We saw five stones of about 4 carat each lifted from the tables in the few minutes we spent passing through the mill.

At the compound, natives enter into a contract to become virtual prisoners for a period of four months to work in the mines and mills. Employment contracts may be renewed for four-month periods indefinitely. The compound is built like a fortress, a quadrangle of one continuous building backed by a high stone wall where the men live, do their own cooking, keep house and sleep.

No women reside inside the walls, and the men are not allowed beyond the walls during the employment period. Armed guards patrol walls day and night. Line fences surrounding mine properties are heavily barbed and patrolled. A dog station lies near the compound where trained police dogs can be turned loose on marauders and escapees.

An interesting Swedish mine foreman stuck close to my side during my trip through the property. Can't yet quite make up my mind whether to feel proud or offended by the extra close attention he showed me.

Going from Cape Town to Victoria Falls is about the same as going from Lima to El Paso, Texas, and through much the same kind of countryside. Kimberley is the first stop on that long trip.

Kimberley Onward

T.R.S…
Starting on from Kimberley at 1pm. Thursday, our train headed North Eastward toward Bulawayo through monotonous uncivilised bush country, heavy with undergrowth and dwarf trees. Occasional habitations appear along the line, and almost nude natives wave and dance as the train passes by.

At stops required for refuelling and water, natives line station areas and gaze at us with disbelief in their eyes. Kids would not accept chewing gum from me until I showed them how to use it, but finally we left them chewing like a bunch of ewes.

A railway official said that just 40 miles west of rail-line is a vast desert, inhabited by cannibals, where only recently two British fliers, forced down in their plane, were actually devoured by natives. But the railway area is patrolled by police officers to protect rail property and passengers.

Same official says the largest coal reserve in the World lies in Southern Rhodesia - a layer five feet thick, fifteen miles wide and two hundred eighty-five miles long, lying under a few feet of earth - so shallow trucks can back down against the face of the ledge for loading.

Arrived at Bulawayo at 10pm. under a modern train shed that makes our railway shelters in Lima look like animal sheds. This one is 1,500 feet long, paved and roofed. Such is progress in a new country. Stopped here 30 minutes and all passengers got out for a stretch.

Then aboard again and to bed for the final lap to Victoria Falls where we arrive at noon on Saturday, 02 February.