Narrator:
IN THE WORLD OF DIAMOND MINING,
EVERYTHING STARTS WITH A BANG.
AT THE DIAVIK MINE,
THEY BLAST OUT THOUSANDS
OF TONS OF ROCK PER DAY,
SEARCHING FOR DIAMONDS
WHICH ORIGINALLY FORMED
93 MILES BELOW GROUND.
THE DEEPEST HOLE
WE'VE EVER DUG
ISN'T EVEN A TENTH AS DEEP.
SO HOW DID THEY GET
TO THE SURFACE?
VOLCANIC ACTIVITY
CARRIED THEM UP
THROUGH THE PLANET'S CRUST.
Narrator: THEY'RE EXCAVATING
2.5 BILLION YEAR OLD ROCK
TO REACH THE VOLCANIC DEPOSITS
CALLED KIMBERLITE PIPES
WHERE THE DIAMONDS LIE.
Man: KIMBERLITE PIPE IS JUST
A ROUND PIPE OF LAVA FLOW
THAT COMES UP MILLIONS
AND MILLIONS OF YEARS AGO THAT
WE'RE ACTUALLY DRILLING
IN AN OLD VOLCANO.
Narrator: VOLCANIC ORE IS LOADED
ONTO GIANT 240-TON TRUCKS
THAT CREEP UP THE SPIRALING RIM
OF THE CRATER
TO THE PROCESSING PLANT.
IT MAY LOOK
LIKE THEY'RE CARRYING
JUST A HEAP OF BOULDERS,
BUT HIDDEN IN EACH LOAD,
THERE COULD BE 700 CARATS
OF ROUGH DIAMONDS.
THESE ROCKS ARE VALUABLE,
BUT ONCE THEY'RE PROCESSED,
THEY'LL BE WORTH
FIVE TIMES AS MUCH.
Narrator:
WHEN THE ORE REACHES THE PLANT,
THE NEXT CHALLENGE IS TO BREAK
IT DOWN TO SMALL PIECES
ABOUT ONE INCH WIDE.
TO ACHIEVE THAT, THE BOULDERS
PASS THROUGH A SERIES
OF MASSIVE CRUSHING MACHINES,
WHICH REDUCE THEIR SIZE
WITHOUT DESTROYING
THE PRECIOUS GEMS INSIDE.
AT THE END OF THE GAUNTLET
OF CRUSHERS, WHAT'S LEFT
IS A MIX OF PRICELESS GEMS
AND WORTHLESS STONES.
THE WHOLE LOT IS SENT
186 MILES SOUTH TO ONE OF
THE MOST HEAVILY FORTIFIED
COMPLEXES IN NORTH AMERICA.
DIAMONDS ARE PERFECT TO STEAL.
THEY'RE SMALL, LIGHT,
AND WORTH A FORTUNE.
IN ONE RECENT HEIST,
A THIEF GOT AWAY WITH
$136 MILLION WORTH.
THAT'S EQUIVALENT IN VALUE
TO 3 1/2 TONS OF GOLD.
Narrator:
THE NEXT CHALLENGE IS TO REMOVE
THE FINAL TRACES OF ROCK.
TO DO THAT, A ROBOT PLUNGES
THE BATCH OF ROUGH DIAMONDS
INTO A HOT CHEMICAL BATH.
WHEN THAT'S OVER,
THE ROCKS ARE GONE,
AND ALL THAT'S LEFT
IS ROUGH DIAMONDS.
