"Third world mining is primarily for the benefit of the first world."

The song “diamonds are a girl’s best friend” was made famous by the movie ‘Chicago’. But the phrase “diamonds are a guerilla’s best friend” is becoming more appropriate in this day and age. That’s because of the diamond trade going on in third world countries. The question this essay approaches is “third world mining is primarily for the benefit of the first world”. The answer, yes. This essay will be focusing on one company that facilitates mining in third world countries primarily for the benefit of the first world. The company – a multinational has head based in South Africa and Canada, along with representatives in various different countries – third and first world. This company is De Beers, a diamond mining company that produces between 60% and 80% of the world’s yearly diamond supply.

De Beers HistoryThe De Beers Cartel was set up by the South African mining magnate, Sir Ernest Oppenheimer, in 1934. And as was previously stated, over eighty percent of world sales of rough diamonds are on account of this marketer. One mine in this cartel is the Venetia Diamond Mine, South Africa's largest diamond producer, and the centre of De Beers' investments. This $400 million mine employs 760 people, working day and night.

In 1903, diamond-bearing gravels were found near the Limpopo River, about 35 kilometres northeast of the present mine. When the source of these was found and kimberlite pipes were discovered in the 1980s, construction for the Venetia mine began in 1990. It was fully taken advantage of in 1993. This mine performs open-pit mining, exploring the surface of the area and later digging deeper into the earth. The target floor depth of the mine, they say, is 400 meters deep. Kimberlite, a diamond-bearing stone, is found by stripping waste from these areas.