Chapter 200 200: Runestone Group Mining Site

Because of its rich resources, South Africa was destined to be explored by gold miners. As their first stop, Joseph and Irish went directly to the primary diamond deposit. He hoped Irish could see how the Runestone Group mined the primary deposit with her own eyes. Before arriving at the site, Irish looked down from the helicopter's point of view, and the deposit looked like a big deep cut in the earth.

"Such a big hole! The earth has been pierced by you," Sitting in the helicopter, Irish looked down at the big hole and sighed, "The whole mine belongs to Runestone?"

"And how rich is your father?"

"The size of the diamond mine is different," Joseph said with a laugh. "You see, this is a big mine with huge diamond reserves. There are three or four companies mining at the same time, but the scope of the Runestone mining is larger than that of other countries. Except for South Africa," he said. "The Runestone Group still has a diamond mine in the northern part of Western Australia, can I test you on why the Runestone Group chose to drill in Western Australia?"

Irish thought, "If my guess is right, the diamond mine is in Argyle, Western Australia. I see that Vera Club now has a rare collection of pink diamonds and blue diamonds, which must be the reason for choosing Western Australia. Although Argyle is rich in diamonds, they are usually lacking color, and many people prefer South Africa and Russia. But Argyle can produce bright rose-colored, pink, and blue diamonds, all of which are rare treasures. So it's no surprise that the Runestone Group is keen on Western Australia."

Joseph looked at her with a smile and patted her on the head in encouragement. He gave a command to the pilot, "Land here."

The helicopter brought the two people down to a place near the mine, and they felt the rolling heat wave after landing. Close by all kinds of people were working, but most of them were the local blacks. They were mostly half-naked and were busy with their work, barely noticing the helicopter arriving.

Irish's smooth face looked as white as an egg and naturally attracted many of the workers' eyes.

She wasn't afraid because Joseph had accompanied her.

A handsome black man came forward to say hello to Joseph. His attitude was respectful, and it was not difficult to see from his clothes that he was responsible for the supervision of the mining process. It was no surprise that Irish knew from the interview that the black man was working for the Runestone Group. Most of the workers in this mine were employed by the Runestone Group. After a brief greeting with the man, Joseph went into the mine with Irish.

It was not that Irish hadn't seen this kind of mine on the computer, but she was still shocked by the spectacular fan-shaped spectacle, like a cluster of dandelions.

"Do all your workers have obsessive-compulsive disorder?" She joked at him.

Joseph knew that she referred to the shape of every staircase in the mine, and he held her hand and walked to the pit, "This is open-pit mining, which is the simplest technique. It strips off the cover from the top of the rock, layer by layer, and digs down to the bedrock. The steps you see are for reducing the risk of landslides as the pit deepens."

Irish nodded. It was stunning. After spending nearly an hour in the open-pit mine, Joseph checked the work of choosing stones, and the black man gave him a detailed account of the recent progress. Then she followed him to another mine.

Unlike the new opencast mine, this was an underground one. The most notable feature was a giant iron tower. Joseph told her that this was an elevator for transporting ore, consisting of four cages in two groups, which worked up and down at the same time. The net weight of each cage was 8 tons, and the steel rope carrying the cage could reach 6 tons, which held the ore.

There were far more workers than in the open-pit mine, mostly people who worked diligently to support their families in the mine.

Joseph pointed to a range, "This is the Runestone's mining area, I can take you down to see inside, but you must follow me, and without permission, you can't walk away." He also pointed to a large area adjacent. "Next door is the diamond mine that the Runestone is going to bid for locally."

"Is that what Leo wants?"

Joseph nodded.

"It seems that the untapped diamond could be very valuable," Irish teased.

Joseph contemplated, "Only the successful bidder has the right to investigate it."

Irish was shocked, "That's quite an adventure, but what if there are no diamonds in it?"

"This is gambling, but it all depends on experience. Some people spend a small portion of their money to make their family rich. Some people invest hundreds of millions of dollars in it, but they bet on an empty mine and go bankrupt overnight. Outside the South African bidding house, it's not unusual for a diamond dealer to jump to his death from a building every day." Joseph's tone was surprisingly light.

But this surprised Irish, she looked ahead of the unexplored mine and said, "What if you lose this bet?" She turned and looked at him again, with a shiver, "Will you jump?"

"Me?" Joseph smiles, "It is better to live than die, and this is my purpose in life. Let's go and I'll show you the mining area."

She nodded.

Joseph had just put a hard hat on Irish when Belle came up from the bottom of the mine. She was wearing a hard hat, and when she saw Irish, she was obviously stunned. Irish did not expect to see Belle, and although it affected her mood, she still calmly smiled at her. Belle did not smile but showed a serious face, looking at Joseph, "Mr. Dover, it's not good to bring outsiders into the mine."

"She is not an outsider, Belle."

Belle's face soured.