|
It is hard to believe carbon makes a diamond. Diamonds are beautiful...and expensive. Diamonds, with a hardness of 10 are the hardest natural substance on earth and with a refractive index of 2.417 are the brightest gemstone on our planet . The only other gem that comes close is a Demantoid Garnet, with a refractive index of 1.88 - 1.889. (Demantoid meaning "diamond like" - and it does shine.) The most common location of concentrated diamonds is in kimberlite pipes.
Kimberlite pipes are the earth's highway of diamonds. Without these volcanic flows, we would not have these incredible gems. Diamonds are created or made in craters deep in the earth's mantle. Tremendous heat and pressure compress the carbon with such pressure that a diamond is formed.
"But I make carbon look good!" - Quote from Mother Earth
Blue Diamonds
Most diamonds are non conductive, however, natural blue diamonds contain traces of boron which make them somewhat conductive. This is due to with boron being substituted in the outer valance band of a "normal carbon diamond" lattice structure. The conductivity of a blue diamond varies with the amount of boron present in the diamond. Just as a point of interest, diamonds are highly thermally conductive. They transmit heat and or cold very well. Much better than copper or aluminum.
Diamonds have a specific gravity of 3.51 while ordinary rock has a specific gravity of 2.5 (approximately). The Diamond Sluice Box will recovery diamonds as well as the following.
Description |
Specific Gravity |
| Chrysoberyl: Alexandrite, Cat's Eye |
3.7 |
| Corundum: Rubies, Sapphires |
4.0 |
| Diamonds |
3.51 |
| Garnets (Silicate Minerals) - Almandine, Andradite, Demantoid, Topazolite, Grossular, Tsavorite, Hessanite, Pyrope, Malviya, Rhodolite, Spessortine, Uvarovite |
3.9 |
| Jadeite |
3.2 |
| Peridot, Olivine |
3.3 |
| Spinel |
3.9 |
| Topaz |
3.5 |
| Tourmaline |
3.2 |
| Zircon |
4.6 |
By controlling water flow to each pocket (easy), separation of diamonds and waste rock is no problem. This diamond sluice box is a two dimensional unit, whereas 98% of traditional sluice boxes are simple one dimensional troughs.
Back to Top |
