![]() ![]() Any diamonds that are found are sealed in small barcoded containers and flown, three times a week, by helicopter to vaults ashore. Sediment that is non-diamond bearing is discarded back to the ocean floor. Aboard the ship, the sediment is then washed and sifted into increasingly smaller stones, using a series of vibrating racks and rotating drums that crush rocks. ![]() Up to 60 tonnes of sediment are lifted up to the vessel through a giant pipe each hour. These include an airlift-drill technology, which uses a 6.8m-diameter drill bit working in overlapping circles on the sea floor, and a crawler, which uses a 280-tonne track-mounted crawler to dredge the sea floor.įour of the production vessels use the airlift-drill, whilst only one vessel – Mafuta – uses the crawler. To remove the precious gems, a horizontal crawler is attached to one of the company’s vessels, which then moves along the specific area dredging up the seabed.ĭifferent mining technologies are deployed to suit different ground conditions. The findings, along with other parameters, form the basis of a mine plan, which the company says “ensure the diamonds identified are brought to the surface in the safest and most sustainable, and economic way.” ![]() This is followed by sampling to determine a reserve’s inventory. First, to find the most lucrative areas to mine, the seabed is scanned using unmanned and remotely operated vehicles equipped with geophysical mapping technology. ![]()
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