Chapter 951: 950. Process (4/5)

Chapter 951: 950. Process (45)

Without Sophie, everything in the mine became much more normal. The workers were either lazy or working hard, and few people cared about them.

The lion hunter was accompanied by the stewards of the mine. The miners were not afraid of them at all. When they appeared, those who should be working were still working, and those who should be lazy were still resting.

The stewards yelled casually, regardless of whether it was useful or not, after the yelling, it was over.

After walking around in the mine, Li Du decided to go out to get some air. The inside was too depressing. He didn't blame these workers for being crazy. He would also go crazy if he stayed in this kind of place for a while.

They went out, and the lion hunter handed him a cigar and asked with a smile, "Any thoughts, buddy?"

Li Du sighed: "This is crazy, this job is simply torture."

The lion hunter said mercilessly: "If you have no choice, then to make money, any job is torture! And, do you think this is crazy? If you continue north, or look at those diamonds to the west Mine, you'll find me a paradise here."

Li Du was surprised: "Then, what do those diamond mines you mentioned look like?"

The lion hunter smiled and said, "Go and see if you have a chance, Li, some of my fellows escaped there, and they are having a good time here."

After a pause for a few seconds, he said again: "But no matter how you say it, diamond mining is never an easy task, it is just very frustrating."

"So, I had to improve the treatment of employees and increase the cost of mining. I mean, you should understand why the price of diamonds is constantly increasing." He finally said slyly.

Li Du admitted that diamond mining is a very torturous thing, but as for the mine owners improving the treatment of employees? He really didn't believe it.

The diamond mining process is very meticulous. After the rough stones are collected, special personnel are responsible for packing them up.

They only visited the collection process, and there were other processes behind. Under the leadership of the lion hunter, they observed it step by step.

Diamonds are seldom found directly by human eyes in mines, because most diamonds are small and difficult to detect in the dark environment of underground mines. Unless large diamonds of tens of carats are found, they are screened by machines.

They took the elevator out of the mine, returned to the ground, and first passed through a place similar to an airport inspection gate, where people were scanned by machines.

This is to prevent miners from discovering diamonds underground and taking them out privately. In order to bring out diamonds, miners are crazy.

"They'll put them in their mouths, stuff them in their asses, get them between their toes, and even eat them," explains the lion hunter. "One of the craziest guys I've ever seen. Do you know what he does?"

Li Du asked cooperatively, "How did you do it?"

The lion hunter shook his head and said, "He's such a crazy bastard. That kid didn't hesitate to use a shovel to cut a hole in his leg, hide the diamond in it, and call for help bleeding profusely."

"What's the final result?" Li Du asked.

The lion hunter smoked his cigar and said with a smile: "Oh, no, I can't go on, and you don't want to know the final result."

Li Du didn't ask further, it must be a terrible thing, these mine owners can do anything in order to protect their property and frighten their employees.

Originally, they were supposed to go to the screening workshop first, but the workshop was so chaotic and full of dust that the lion hunters finally decided to skip this step.

He explained: "That's nothing to look at. Using the different vibration penetration properties of diamonds and kimberlite ores, the ores are analyzed, and after the diamonds are found, the ores are crushed, that's it."

By noon, the rough diamonds found in the morning were collected and sent to the lion hunters.

The lion hunter motioned Li Du and Sophie to take a look at these things, and said, "This is the first time that the mined rough stone has touched human skin, and it feels extraordinary."

Rough diamonds are bland, like dull, transparent blocks of salt, but when cut, they reveal the amazing beauty that lies within.

Next, the rough diamonds will start to be operated online.

They are first sent to the Appraisal Company Building, and every mine has such a building, which houses government officials, appraisers, and sheriffs and other workers.

The rough was brought into a hut with blast-proof glass, and officials and workers watched intently as the rough was weighed for the first time.

Li Du and the others went to visit, and the atmosphere in the hut was tense and silent, except for the rustling sound of rough stones rubbing against each other.

Weighing the rough stones needs to be carried out three times, on three scales in three rooms.

Under the supervision of officials, three workers in three rooms carefully sifted the rough stones over and over again, put them on scales batch by batch, and recorded the earliest data.

If the weight difference between the rough stones reaches 1%, then the rough stone has to be weighed again, and the supervision will be stricter.

Both diamonds and gold are important parts of the South African government's economic lifeline. The government must know the value of diamonds produced in the mines in order to levy taxes.

After the weighing was over, the lion hunter waved and smiled at Li Du: "Come on, honored guest, I will take you through the next steps in person."

He took out a safe and asked Li Du to open it. The inside of the box was divided into dozens of small compartments of different sizes and grades.

In South Africa, rough stones are divided into 23 grades according to size. The lion hunter is an expert in this field. He introduced them to Li Du, and then sent them to each small compartment of the safe, and then transported them to the appraisal workshop.

The valuation workshop is the best working environment in the mine. It looks like a laboratory, with large floor-to-ceiling windows and snow-white lights. Employees work in it and are equipped with snacks and drinks.

Li Du nodded and said, "Their working environment is good."

"Their treatment is also good." The lion hunter bared his teeth and laughed. "This is a job that many young people in our country yearn for. It is decent, easy and has a high income, but you have to have two brushes to do it."

A dozen workers sit around long tables in a well-lit and comfortable environment.

The rough diamonds in the safe are sent to the table by the conveyor belt. With their well-trained hands, they first select those rough diamonds that are suitable for polishing into jewelry, and then divide the selected rough stones into several categories according to their color, quality and shape.

The lion hunter smiled and said: "It takes at least ten years of experience to do this job. I think that after they are qualified, they will be sent to London and Antwerp for further training, and they will only come to work for me if they get excellent results in the final assessment."

It is very complicated to judge the value of a diamond, which is usually measured by the 4C standard - color (Color), weight (CaratWeight), cut (Cut) and clarity (Clarity).

In fact, it is not that simple. There are as many as 500 auditing procedures, and the more excellent diamonds, the more auditing procedures are required!