Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
The morning was spent driving to Cullinan, the site of the Cullinan Diamond Mine (about 1 hour from Pretoria). The mine is over 100 years old and one of the world's most prolific producers of gem quality large diamonds, including the Cullinan Diamond, 3106 carats in the rough (see photo in photos section). It operated as an open pit mine until about 1950. The pit measured 1 km. by 500 meters and to a depth of nearly 500 meters. Since 1050, it has operated as an underground mine with the latest shaft down to 1000 meters. After lunch we drove back to Pretoria to see the Union Building which serves as one of two sites for the South Africa Parliament (the other is in Cape Town). The countryside is primarily small scale agriculture with the average size of farms around 8 hectares (20 acres). Cattle dominate but corn is also produced along with some wheat and sunflowers.
- comments