History And History Of The Premier Diamond Mining Company

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The Premier Diamond Mining Company was founded by Thomas Cullinan (later Sir Thomas) in 1902, near the end of the second Boer War (South African War 1899 - 1902). The land was originally part of the Cornelis Minnaar Farm and was purchased for a sum total of £52,000 by Thomas. The company was first registered on the 6th November 1902 as the Premier Syndicate but was later re-registered as the Premier Transvaal Diamond Mining Company Ltd. on 1st December, 1902.
Cullinan Village was established in 1903 to provide housing and services for mine employees and is located approximately 40 kilometers east of the South African capital of Pretoria in the Gauteng Province.
One of the most notable and famous diamond discoveries occurred at the Premier Diamond
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When the mine re-opened again in 1946 it started production under various mining methods. The early 1970's utilized cave mining with the early 1980's performing sub-level open stoping. Today, the mine is at a depth of 747 meters and is using mechanized trackless block-cave mining as their main method of diamond ore extraction.
Cullinan Diamond History and Notable Discoveries
In 1905, the mine famously uncovered the 3106.75ct rough Cullinan Diamond. The rough diamond measured 10 cm long by 6 cm high and 5 cm thick and weighed in at 621.2 grams. The rough diamond was sold to the Transvaal government for £150,000.00 who then gifted it to King Edward VII on his 66th birthday on November 9th, 1907. It has since been split and cut into 9 major stones and 96 smaller stones. These 9 major diamonds and their general history are detailed below:
The Cullinan I - Also known as the Great Star of Africa, is a pear shape weighing 530.20 carats and is currently set in the Royal Sceptre.
The Cullinan II - Also known as the Lesser Star of Africa, is a rectangular cushion shape diamond weighing 317.40 carats and is currently set in the center of the Imperial State Crown of Great Britain.
The Cullinan III - A pear shape weighing 94.40 carats originally set in the orb of Queen Mary's Crown. It is currently hanging from the Cullinan IV in a
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The Cullinan VI - A marquise shape weighing 11.50 carats originally given by Edward VII to Queen Alexandra. After his death the Queen then gave the stone to Queen Mary who had it set as a pendant hanging from the diamond and emerald necklace in the Delhi Durbar Parure.
The Cullinan VII - A marquise shape weighing 8.80 carats that is currently mounted as a pendant drop on a diamond brooch containing the Cullinan VIII. It is part of the stomacher of the Delhi Durbar Parure.
The Cullinan VIII - A rectangular cushion shape weighing 6.8 carats that is currently mounted as the center diamond on the same brooch as the Cullinan VII.
The Cullinan IX - A pear shape weighing 4.39 carats and is set as a bezel in a ring.
The Cullinan Diamond Mine has recently uncovered other large notable diamonds. In May of 2008 a 460 carat rough diamond was found. The rough was then cut to a 101.27 shield-shaped diamond with 92 brilliant facets. The diamond is internally flawless and was sold at Chrisities in Hong Kong for $6.2 million dollars. This diamond is the largest colorless diamond to appear on auction for the last 18

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