Please help w/ a homework assignment

[Starky]

Hey guys, I am taking a geology class for one of my undergrad requirments and I have an assigment on economic geology. I need to give a 5 min. presentation and the topic I picked is diamonds. Can anyone give me any good credible websites that I can check out to see if I find any of the answers I need to answer. If anyone knows of any good sites please let me know. Thanks a billion!!!

 

[Mara]

what types of things do you want to know? mine information, history of diamonds, etc? be as specific as possible and also use google i would imagine to find some great information.

 

[Starky]

Hey Mara,
I need to know if there are any mies in Florida, the worlds largest diamond mine, mining practices, or uses, etc. I have checked google, but I''m not sure if those are credible sources. I need a website that I can trust b/c I need to turn in a workcited list to show my prof. that the sources I used were valid. Thanks for any info. you can provide

 

[denverappraiser]

Starkey,

Websites are often not the best form of research, just the easiest. It would be counterproductive to your education for us to give you a straight answer for your assignment but here are some thoughts:
1) Mines in Florida. Mining requires a license. Check the state of Florida sites about mining regulations. They may also have published statistics about various industries in the state and, in particular, what minerals are mined there. Check the geology of Florida. Diamonds occur in rather specific types of mineral deposits and you may be able to use USGS resources to see if there are any of these in Florida.

2) The worlds largest mine. Define what you mean by ‘largest’ and search based on that. Do you mean biggest volume of material worked, biggest output of diamonds by weight, biggest output by value etc. Many of the Non-government watchdogs monitor this data and many of the government sites of the related companies are quite proud of their rankings on the various attributes.

3) Mining practices. Check out the local library about mining. Look up information on equipment being sold to mining companies.

4) Uses. Do you mean what diamonds are used for? Try reading the annual reports from some of the mining or distribution companies where they explain who their customers are and how they make their profits.
5) Etc. Read what the mining companies have to say. Read what the distribution companies have to say. Read up on DeBeers, Rio Tinto, Rosy Blue, BHP Billiton. Look into the Indo Argyle Diamond Council.

Let us know what you come up with.

Neill Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 

[JohnQuixote]

Date: 7/30/2006 2:11:18 PM
Author: Starky
Hey Mara,
I need to know if there are any mies in Florida, the worlds largest diamond mine, mining practices, or uses, etc. I have checked google, but I'm not sure if those are credible sources. I need a website that I can trust b/c I need to turn in a workcited list to show my prof. that the sources I used were valid. Thanks for any info. you can provide

Hey there Starky. I love 5 minute projects…though they always seem to turn into 15 (or so) for me.

I thought I'd put some ideas forward as a start.

These pages from the American Museum of Natural History's ‘Nature of Diamonds' presentation describe pipe mining. Part 14 describes alluvial. This kind of website is pretty credible, but you may wish to find published sources too, depending on what the teacher is requiring.

The physically largest open diamond mine in the world was excavated in Mirny, Russia and is more than 1 km in diameter. It’s now abandoned, but the air space near the mine is closed for helicopters, a few of which were sucked in by downward air flow. Here is a little info. I have a powerpoint presentation with more facts and photos on that Mirny site I'd be glad to send to you for your geology class.

In Florida: I know zircon (the heavy mineral) is mined there, but I’m not certain of gemstones or diamond. It’s a limestone-rich state. But if you are Florida-based, this may be an interesting local twist: The Gemesis Corporation is located in Sarasota. They lab-grow diamonds over a short period of time, rather than waiting for earth to evolve the crystal over millions of years. It’s a controversial and imperfect process (just do a PS search on Gemesis), but they have worked with the University of Florida’s science/engineering departments: Those studies may have yielded interesting-and-ready hard information for your class in economic geology. If you do this, be sure to separate the wheat from the chaff (the marketing from the science).

For extremely eloquently answered questions your best Florida-based sources of information may be Bill Lieberum (Rockdoc) in Boca Raton or Richard Sherwood (Richard Sherwood) in Sarasota. A phone interview with either one of those guys would be worth its weight in non-lab-grown uncut rough diamonds.

I know Bill or Rich will also give you more specifics on Florida mining.

If you need additional sources I would be happy to speak with you and/or make more suggestions. I hope these ideas are helpful. Good luck. There is an abundance of information out there.

 

[msdarlinjoy]

Hi Starky ~

I don''t have anything to add, other than ... this sounds like a very interesting project ... and a kewl presentation in the end!

Good luck, and if you don''t mind, I would enjoy it if you were to post your "presentation" when your done.

Take care and have a super day!

 

[perry]

Starky:

This is a long read - but if you want to know about diamonds - and what drives their "apperent" value and demand you need to read all 22 chapters of the book THE DIAMOND INVENTION by Edward Epstein.

Fortunately it is available on the web - and you can print out each chapter and assemble it. I found it to be a fairly quick read - and very informative.

www.edwardjayepstein.com/diamond/prologue.htm

Other interesting - diamond related (and non diamond papers) can be found on his home page.

Here is one on the Kimberly process - challangeing it actaul usefullness and calling it "The New Diamond Con".

www.edwardjayepstein.com/archived/diamond.htm


I''m not sure how many people on Pricescope have read these.


I am sure you will find many other points of view on the Kimberly process.

Hope this helps.


Perry

 

[JohnQuixote]

Date: 7/30/2006 4:06:19 PM
Author: Starky
Hey John,
Thanks for the info. It's pretty interesting that they have worked w/the University of Florida's science/engineering department. That's the university I attend. Go Gators!!! Well I would love to see your powerpoint presentation if you wouldn't mind emailing it to me. I also did some searching on the University's library database and found some pretty useful articles... ...I will be presenting this material on Wednesday so I still have a couple of days to prep. Thanks for your help and thanks to everyone else who has replied.

Go Gators indeed!

I know Dr. Broadway in the Arts department there. It occurs to me that the university may have further info on the geology of Florida and getting info Neil recommended, if you wind up getting that in-depth. If you do present anything more using UFL science/engineering resources I would be interested in seeing it.

Cheers.

 

[JohnQuixote]

Date: 7/30/2006 4:27:00 PM
Author: perry
Starky:

This is a long read - but if you want to know about diamonds - and what drives their 'apperent' value and demand you need to read all 22 chapters of the book THE DIAMOND INVENTION by Edward Epstein.

Fortunately it is available on the web - and you can print out each chapter and assemble it. I found it to be a fairly quick read - and very informative.

www.edwardjayepstein.com/diamond/prologue.htm

Other interesting - diamond related (and non diamond papers) can be found on his home page.

Here is one on the Kimberly process - challangeing it actaul usefullness and calling it 'The New Diamond Con'.

www.edwardjayepstein.com/archived/diamond.htm


I'm not sure how many people on Pricescope have read these.


I am sure you will find many other points of view on the Kimberly process.

Hope this helps.


Perry

Hi Perry,

That Epstein book was first published as "The Rise and Fall of Diamonds." I used it for a paper in my second year of college (late 80s) long before I knew I'd be in the trade.

I have a copy of it somewhere.

His WSJ article you linked was written in August 2000 but Kimberly wasn't a resolution until December of that year, and it wasn't until 2003 that the KPCS was created. It's useful perspective from that time, and the spread of awareness what was prompted the UN to action.

Here are some current resources that may be of interest.

The World Diamond Council has launched www.diamondfacts.org. It's a website intended to assist the education of both jewelers and consumers on the issue of conflict diamonds and the Kimberly Process. It has multiple downloads including printable handouts for consumers and guides for trade professionals.

Kimberly: http://www.kimberleyprocess.com:8080/
USA Patriot Act: http://www.lifeandliberty.gov/
Global Witness & Amnesty International: http://www.globalwitness.org/buyconflictfree/

 

[galeteia]

*typed from my desk here at the University Library*

Your best bet is to look up who is the associated Librarian for Geology, and make an appointment with them. They will be most familiar with the 'credible' sources that your faculty prefers, and will be able to coach you through your research.

For example, I first heard of Canadian diamonds and their conflict-free status and controversy (a hot topic here, I've noticed) from the Geology Librarian here. I started to branch out my research from there.

Secondly, you should have access to online journal databases (handy for the Sciences when you need what was published yesterday, not 5 years ago) through the subscriptions that your University purchases every year. You may need to contact the Library to find out how you can access these subscriptions from your own personal off-campus computer. Your Library probably has their own database search engines, but I find Google Scholar to be FAR more powerful and useful for journal searches.

You can get to it by following this link: Google Scholar It will search ONLY 'credible' academic sources like journals and monographs, so you don't need to worry about the validity of your sources. Think of it as the world's most powerful library search engine.

One of the features of Google Scholar is the 'Cited by 4' (or 3, or 23, or 1256, depending on how many there are) which links you to the articles of people who have cited that result in their own articles. This is very useful as it allows you to build your bibliography quickly, and to flesh out your understanding of the topic.

Hope that helps!

 

[Starky]

Hey guys, thanks for all the helpful information. I will keep you posted on how the presentation turns out.

 

[CaptAubrey]

Date: 7/30/2006 4:49:37 PM
Author: JohnQuixote

That Epstein book was first published as 'The Rise and Fall of Diamonds.' I used it for a paper in my second year of college (late 80s) long before I knew I'd be in the trade.

I have a copy of it somewhere.

His WSJ article you linked was written in August 2000 but Kimberly wasn't a resolution until December of that year, and it wasn't until 2003 that the KPCS was created. It's useful perspective from that time, and the spread of awareness what was prompted the UN to action.

Epstein's work is--how shall we put this?--enthusiastic but not entirely unbiased. It's worth reading but definitely needs to be put in perspective with other research. That book especially is wildly out of date now--it's been years since I read it, but I seem to recall that he was predicting imminent collapse of the whole diamond industry and that by now diamonds would be as cheap as dirt. Obviously it hasn't worked out quite that way.

I would second the recommendation of library research. There is a lot of information on the internet but unfortunately most of it is either bad or badly incomplete.

FWIW, there are no diamond mines in Florida--the geology is not conducive for it. There is an uneconomic "hobby" deposit in Arkansas, but the only operating mines in N. America are in Canada.

You might start by calling/emailing the GIA library (see their web site) as they take research questions from the general public. They can point you toward plenty of good reference material.

 

[JohnQuixote]

Date: 7/31/2006 12:58:34 PM
Author: CaptAubrey

Epstein''s work is--how shall we put this?--enthusiastic but not entirely unbiased.

I didn''t want to step on any toes. That is well-said.