Barney Barnato, a social pariah

From its very establishment, the Kimberley Club was an exclusive, highly-vetted Gentleman’s Club.

The Kimberley Club, sanctuary of the diamond magnates

The city of Kimberley has, over its’ 140-year history, become synonymous with all aspects of South Africa’s mining and industrial heritage: it was the birthplace of diamondiferous kimberlite mining and subsequently became the birthplace of...

The Big Hole and the Kimberley Mine Museum

One of South Africa’s premier tourist attractions of historical and mining importance is the Big Hole and Kimberley Mine Museum.

Kimberley’s demeaning closed compound system

In 1885, fifteen years after diamonds were first mined at Kimberley, mining companies began to introduce a system of closed compounding to house their black labour force.

Gardner Williams: the technical wizard behind diamond mines consolidation

The objective of establishing the world’s greatest diamond mining monopoly was accomplished because there were men of vision, daring, and great financial genius who willed it to be achieved.

Alfred Beit – Kimberley’s financial genius

The story of the amalgamation of the Kimberley diamond mines under De Beers Consolidated Mines in the late 1880s has largely been dominated by the captivating characters of Cecil Rhodes and Barney Barnato.

Cecil John Rhodes and the monopolisation of diamonds

During the late 1870s and early 1880s the amalgamation of the numerous diamond mining operations was increasingly recognised as the only solution to ensure the longevity of the industry.

Cecil John Rhodes and the creation of De Beers Mining Company

The vehicle that aided Cecil Rhodes’ meteoric rise from diamond digger to mining magnate and industry monopolist was the De Beers Mining Company. This company (and its successor, De Beers Consolidated Mines) was the centrepiece and major...

The rise of South Africa’s first mining magnate

The plethora of literature relating South Africa’s mining history is dominated by countless biographies narrating the lives and achievements of the country’s great mining magnates.

Black claim ownership in the early days of diamond digging

Racism, discrimination against and dominance over indigenous African tribes by white European settlers has been a prominent and unfortunate characteristic of South Africa’s colonial history.

De Beers coughs up $295m in settlement but denies wrongdoing

World-number one diamond-miner De Beers has agreed to pay $295-million to settle a class action in the US to "put the issues to bed", but denies any wrongdoing.

De Beers agrees to plead guilty in US court

De Beers, the world's largest diamond producer, has agreed to plead guilty to criminal price fixing, a court official and a lawyer involved in the case said on Friday, the New York Times reported at the weekend.