How Are Diamonds Turned Into Usable Form?
The process of turning diamonds into usable form occurs in four basic phases. First, a diamond is mined. Second, it is sorted and sifted. Third, its quality is evaluated and classified. Last, based on its classification, the diamond is either cut and becomes a gem or is used for industrial purposes. A cut diamond is polished and sold for jewelry. The process is tedious and time-consuming, which is what makes diamonds valuable and rare.
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Mining
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Diamond mining occurs in four ways: hard-rock mining, open-pit mining, marine mining and artisanal. Hard-rock mining involves tunneling underground to create small chambers in the rock. Ore is excavated using equipment that makes holes in the rock to remove material. Open-pit mining is similar to hard-rock mining. However, it does not involve tunneling underground, because the ore is closer to the surface. Water pressure is used to remove sections of ore from the mine. Marine mining uses a drill to make holes in the ocean floor to extract material that is then pumped to a vessel on the surface. Artisanal is an unsophisticated form of mining. It basically entails a person digging and sorting with her hands through mud or a gravel riverbed. The materials are placed into sieves, and water is used to clear away debris.
Sorting and Sifting
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Mined ore must be sorted and sifted. The process involves the use of a screened wash pan, a machine or rotating cones and cyclones, which sort and sift the ore until the materials separate from the diamonds. Because diamonds are of high density or heavy, they tend to drop to the bottom, allowing for waste removal from the top.
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Classification
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Diamonds that are remaining after the sorting and sifting process is complete are carefully reviewed by a skilled diamond technician. The technician uses a magnifying glass to reveal imperfections in the diamonds. He then classifies the diamonds in three categories: gem-quality, industrial-quality and boart. Although gem-quality diamonds are the most valuable, each category of diamonds is usable in some way.
Gem-Quality Diamonds
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Only about 20 percent of diamonds are gem-quality, states LooseDiamondsReviews.com. Gem-quality diamonds must be cut and polished to be sold as jewelry. A trained gem cutter inspects each stone and prepares it for cutting. The process involves intricate cleaving and sawing with a special disk coated with diamond dust. When the diamond is cut, it is ready for polishing. It is at this point that the tiny surfaces, or facets, are made on the diamond. These facets make it sparkle and reflect light. Facets are made using an iron turntable, which is treated with diamond dust and oil, that is set at a very high speed. Once the facets are complete, the diamond is ready to be sold.
Industrial-Quality Diamonds
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The majority of diamonds, as much as 80 percent, are industrial-quality, notes DiamantsInfos.com. As the name implies, industrial-quality diamonds are used by industries to make equipment and machinery. Yellow, industrial-quality diamonds are preferred because of their high density, which makes them desirable for drilling equipment.
Boart
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Boart is considered the lowest quality of industrial diamonds. It is generally crushed and used for diamond dust, which is used to cut and polish diamonds.
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References
- Photo Credit diamond image by sumos from Fotolia.com
