Cullinan (South Africa)
| Cullinan | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|||
| Coordinates | 25 ° 40 ′ S , 28 ° 31 ′ E | ||
| Basic data | |||
| Country | South Africa | ||
| Gauteng | |||
| metropolis | City of Tshwane | ||
| ISO 3166-2 | ZA-GP | ||
| height | 1476 m | ||
| Residents | 8693 (2011) | ||
| founding | 1903 | ||
| Website | www.cullinan.za.net (English) | ||
 Main street in Cullinan
|
|||
Cullinan is a small town in South Africa in the Gauteng Province . It is located 38 km east of Pretoria and belongs to the metropolitan municipality of Tshwane . It is named after the diamond magnate Thomas Cullinan (1862–1936).
location
Cullinan is located in the so-called Highveld Region of South Africa at an altitude of 1476 meters.
history
In 1898, Thomas Cullinan was given a three-carat diamond found on the fence of a farm. He then examined the area and concluded that the diamond had probably been washed off a nearby hill. Thomas Cullinan therefore tried to buy the land on this hill (area of today's city of Cullinan) from the owner Joachim Prinsloo, which was initially unsuccessful. After Prinsloo's death, Thomas Cullinan managed to purchase the property from his daughter for a purchase price of £ 52,000 .
In 1902, the rock kimberlite was found in the area of the current city of Cullinan , which indicates diamond deposits. As a result, a mine was founded to mine the mineral resources there. It was named Premier Mine.
The settlement of Cullinan was subsequently created by the influx of miners from the Premier Mine .
Premier mine
The Premier Mine was founded in 1902, it follows a former volcanic vent where the diamonds are stored. On January 25, 1905, the Cullinan Diamond was found in Frederick Wells' Premier Mine , the largest diamond ever found in the world at 3106.75 carats (621.35 g). Wells was the production manager at the time for the Premier Diamond Mining Company, which operated the mine. The mine was later owned by the De Beers Group, the largest diamond producer and dealer in the world. On November 22, 2007, the Premier Mine was transferred to the Petra Diamonds Cullinan Consortium (PDCC), a consortium led by Petra Diamonds .
The diamond mine Premier ( English Premier Mine ) is still in operation in Cullinan and has now reached a depth of 763 meters. There are also underground tours for visitors offered daily. The Premier Mine is the main employer in the Cullinan area. It is the third largest diamond producer in South Africa. Rocks were mined there in open-cast mining until 1945 . Since then, the mine has been operated underground .
In addition to the Cullinan diamond, numerous other well-known diamonds were found in this mine, such as the Golden Jubilee (1985), the Centenary diamond (1986), the Niarchos (1954), the Premier Rose (1978) and the Blue- Heart or Eugenie Blue blue diamond in 1908.
Others
There is an annual mountain bike race in Cullinan, known as the Cullinan Diamond Rush.
Every year on Mother's Day , a steam train runs between Pretoria and Cullinan.
Museums
- The History Room Cullinan
- The McHardy House Museum
- The Zonderwater Italian POW Museum
- The Sammy Marks Museum
Individual evidence
- ↑ Petra takes the helm at the Cullinan Diamond Mine ( Memento from February 2, 2014 in the Internet Archive ).
- ^ History room Cullinan ( Memento from June 30, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ McHardy House Museum (English), accessed April 5, 2018
- ↑ World War II Zonderwater Italian POW Cullinan , accessed April 5, 2018
- ↑ Sammy Marks Museum at ditsong.org.za (English), accessed April 5, 2018