SA’s ‘Big Hole’ getting bigger

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s “Big Hole” diamond mine, the largest hand-dug excavation in the world, is threatening to swallow a busy road as its sides slowly erode, its owners said on Thursday.

“Bultfontein Road is doomed. It will fall in.We don’t know when, but it will happen,” De Beers mining company spokeswoman Lisa Brugmann told AFP.Brugmann said the road ran about eight metres from the edge of the 1,6 kilometre-wide open mine in the central town of Kimberley.Five businesses, including a roadhouse, a garage and a greengrocer, stood between the road and a 215-metre drop.”It is not possible to predict with accuracy the timeframes within which parts of the edge of the pit of the Kimberley Big Hole may collapse,” said a statement.But “the loss of the relevant section of Bultfontein Road is inevitable,” it added.Sustained rainfall and heavy traffic volumes could only hasten the pace of corrosion, said the company.Brugmann said erosion has been a worrying feature since the 1970s, and De Beers had repeatedly urged the city council to close Bultfontein Road.But she said the council and affected businesses has resisted such moves.The council could not be reached for comment.The Big Hole started taking form in 1871 when prospectors descended on the one-horse town from all over the world with little more than picks and shovels, soon turning South Africa into the world’s biggest diamond producer.By the time mining ended on August 14 1914, the mine had yielded 2 722 kilograms of diamonds from 22,5 million tonnes of excavated earth, said an official website.Nampa-AFPIt will fall in.We don’t know when, but it will happen,” De Beers mining company spokeswoman Lisa Brugmann told AFP.Brugmann said the road ran about eight metres from the edge of the 1,6 kilometre-wide open mine in the central town of Kimberley.Five businesses, including a roadhouse, a garage and a greengrocer, stood between the road and a 215-metre drop.”It is not possible to predict with accuracy the timeframes within which parts of the edge of the pit of the Kimberley Big Hole may collapse,” said a statement.But “the loss of the relevant section of Bultfontein Road is inevitable,” it added.Sustained rainfall and heavy traffic volumes could only hasten the pace of corrosion, said the company.Brugmann said erosion has been a worrying feature since the 1970s, and De Beers had repeatedly urged the city council to close Bultfontein Road.But she said the council and affected businesses has resisted such moves.The council could not be reached for comment.The Big Hole started taking form in 1871 when prospectors descended on the one-horse town from all over the world with little more than picks and shovels, soon turning South Africa into the world’s biggest diamond producer.By the time mining ended on August 14 1914, the mine had yielded 2 722 kilograms of diamonds from 22,5 million tonnes of excavated earth, said an official website.Nampa-AFP