Qualla: Jagersfontein Mine https://qualla.com/jagersfontein-mine en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:25 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/k/d/d/n/jagersfontein-mine-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Jagersfontein Mine https://qualla.com/jagersfontein-mine Jagersfontein Mine: Introduction https://qualla.com/jagersfontein-mine/ Photo credit NASA Earth Observatory image created by Lauren Dauphin, using Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8; data provided courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey team., Public domain. Two of the ten largest diamonds ever discovered came out of the same hole in the ground, a kimberlite pipe 110 kilometers southwest of Bloemfontein in the Free State. The 995-carat Excelsior, found in 1893, and the 650-carat Reitz, unearthed in 1895 and later renamed the Jubilee Diamond for Queen Victoria's sixtieth anniversary, both emerged from Jagersfontein Mine. For geologists, the pipe is equally famous for a different reason: it produces mantle xenoliths, fragments of rock believed to originate from depths exceeding 300 kilometers, offering a window into the planet's interior that few other sites can match. Jagersfontein dug deep in every sense, and what it brought to the surface, both luminous and troubling, spans the full range of South Africa's diamond age.

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Image: NASA Earth Observatory image created by Lauren Dauphin, using Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8; data provided courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey team. | Public domain

]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/k/d/d/n/jagersfontein-mine-wp/kddn-jagersfontein-mine-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Jagersfontein Mine: Diamonds of the First Water https://qualla.com/jagersfontein-mine/ Photo credit NASA Earth Observatory image created by Lauren Dauphin, using Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8; data provided courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey team., Public domain. Edwin Streeter, the Victorian gemologist whose 1898 book on precious stones remains a foundational reference, called Jagersfontein's diamonds "of the first water," the highest praise for clarity. The mine shared this distinction with its neighbor Koffiefontein, and together the t...

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Image: NASA Earth Observatory image created by Lauren Dauphin, using Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8; data provided courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey team. | Public domain

]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/k/d/d/n/jagersfontein-mine-wp/kddn-jagersfontein-mine-diamonds-of-the-first-water.mp3 0:06 2 full Jagersfontein Mine: The Workers' Revolt https://qualla.com/jagersfontein-mine/ Photo credit NASA Earth Observatory image created by Lauren Dauphin, using Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8; data provided courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey team., Public domain. Between 1913 and 1914, miners' strikes swept across South Africa's diamond operations: Koffiefontein, Klipdam, Randfontein, Kimberley, and Jagersfontein. At Jagersfontein, the workers were predominantly Basotho men from what was then Basotholand, modern-day Lesotho. They lived in...

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Image: NASA Earth Observatory image created by Lauren Dauphin, using Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8; data provided courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey team. | Public domain

]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/k/d/d/n/jagersfontein-mine-wp/kddn-jagersfontein-mine-the-workers-revolt.mp3 0:06 3 full Jagersfontein Mine: What the Earth Reveals https://qualla.com/jagersfontein-mine/ Photo credit NASA Earth Observatory image created by Lauren Dauphin, using Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8; data provided courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey team., Public domain. For geologists, Jagersfontein's significance extends beyond diamonds. The kimberlite pipe is a prime locality for mantle xenoliths, chunks of rock torn from the Earth's mantle and carried to the surface during the explosive volcanic events that created the pipe. Some of these fra...

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Image: NASA Earth Observatory image created by Lauren Dauphin, using Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8; data provided courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey team. | Public domain

]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/k/d/d/n/jagersfontein-mine-wp/kddn-jagersfontein-mine-what-the-earth-reveals.mp3 0:06 4 full Jagersfontein Mine: The Tailings Dam Disaster https://qualla.com/jagersfontein-mine/ Photo credit NASA Earth Observatory image created by Lauren Dauphin, using Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8; data provided courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey team., Public domain. On 11 September 2022, the mine's tailings dam wall failed. A wall of mud and slurry burst from the dam and swept through the town of Jagersfontein below, killing three people and hospitalizing forty. Many more were displaced from their homes. The disaster brought renewed attentio...

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Image: NASA Earth Observatory image created by Lauren Dauphin, using Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8; data provided courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey team. | Public domain

]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/k/d/d/n/jagersfontein-mine-wp/kddn-jagersfontein-mine-the-tailings-dam-disaster.mp3 0:06 5 full Jagersfontein Mine: A Town Forgotten in History https://qualla.com/jagersfontein-mine/ Photo credit NASA Earth Observatory image created by Lauren Dauphin, using Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8; data provided courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey team., Public domain. Jagersfontein today is closed to the public. The mine pit remains, a geological monument to the forces that shaped it, both volcanic and human. The town that grew around the mine persists, smaller and quieter than in its peak years, still recovering from the 2022 disaster. A Sout...

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Image: NASA Earth Observatory image created by Lauren Dauphin, using Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8; data provided courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey team. | Public domain

]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/k/d/d/n/jagersfontein-mine-wp/kddn-jagersfontein-mine-a-town-forgotten-in-history.mp3 0:06 6 full