Rare Blue Diamond found in South Africa's Cullinan mine

The "exceptional" 29.6 carat blue diamond is the latest rare stone to be found in the Cullinan mine

Continue reading the main story

Related Stories

• Rare blue diamond found in S Africa
• Blue diamond on sale in Hong Kong
• Egg-sized diamond sells for $30.8m

A rare blue diamond has been discovered in a mine in South Africa.

The 29.6-carat stone was recovered by Petra Diamonds at its Cullinan mine, about 40km (25 miles) north-east of Pretoria.

"This stone is one of the most exceptional stones recovered at Cullinan during Petra's operation of the mine," the company said.

Petra unearthed a 25.5 carat blue diamond which sold for $16.9m (£10.3m) in 2013.

'Class of its own'

The latest discovery is also expected to sell for a high price.

The Cullinan mine is famed for the production of blue diamonds

"The stone is an outstanding vivid blue with extraordinary saturation, tone and clarity, and has the potential to yield a polished stone of great value and importance," Petra said in a statement on Tuesday.

Cullinan mine has produced hundreds of large stones and is famed for its production of blue diamonds - among the rarest and most highly coveted of all diamonds.

The mine was acquired in 2008 by Petra Diamonds, which also operates in Botswana and Tanzania.

A similar 26.6-carat blue rough diamond discovered by the company in May 2009 was cut into a near perfect stone and fetched just under $10m at a Sotheby's auction.

Another deep-blue diamond from Cullinan was auctioned for $10.8m in 2012 and set a world record for the value per carat.

The largest ever rough gem diamond was discovered at the Cullinan mine in 1905 and was presented to the British monarch Edward VII.

The 3,106-carat stone was then cut, with two of the principal diamonds forming part of the British crown jewels - the 530-carat First Star of Africa and the Second Star of Africa at 317 carats.

The Cullinan

The Cullinan I - aka the Star of Africa. 530.20 carats.

Royal Sceptre with Star of Africa
(The stone can be removed from the Royal Scepter and worn as a pin or pendant.)

The Star of Africa, a pear shaped diamond weighing 530.20 carats, aka the Cullinan I. It measures 58.9 × 45.4 × 27.7 mm, and has 76 facets (counting the culet and the table). It is called the Cullinan I because it's the largest of the 9 large stones cut from the Cullinan Diamond, and the Cullinan II is the massive 317.40-carat cushion shaped diamond in the center-front of the Imperial State Crown of Great Britain. The Crown also features the Black Prince's Ruby, as well as St. Edward's Sapphire, and the Stuart Sapphire. All the stones in the crown seem to have a history. The Star of Africa holds the place of 2nd largest cut diamond in the world and is on display with the other Crown Jewels in the Tower of London.

The nine largest pieces of the Cullinan Diamond. The largest piece would of course be cut into the Cullinan I (530.20 carats)
and the the next largest into the Cullinan II (317.40 carats), and so on. This photo was probably taken in 1908, the year
after the Cullinan rough was presented to King Edward VII for his 66th birthday.

Publicity photo of the Cullinan crystal being handed from Fred Wells (right)
to McHardy, who then hands it to Sir Thomas Cullinan (left).

Late one afternoon in 1905, Mr. Frederick Wells, the superintendent of the prolific Premier Mine in South Africa, was making a routine inspection trip through the mine when his attention was attracted by something reflecting the last slanting rays of the setting sun. Curious, he stopped for a closer look. He was eighteen feet below the surface of the earth, and the shiny object was on the steep wall of the mine a few feet above him. Mr. Wells quickly scaled the wall and extracted from the blueground what appeared to be a large diamond crystal. At first, he thought he was being fooled by a large piece of glass, but tests proved it to be the largest gem-quality diamond ever discovered. It weighed 3106 carats, or about 1⅓ pounds. It was named after Sir Thomas Cullinan, who opened the mine and was visiting on that eventful day. Many diamond experts believe that the huge stone was only a fragment, and that another piece, (possibly as large or even larger) either still exists and awaits discovery, or was crushed in the mining process. The latter is very unlikely. The prospect of finding the portion of the Cullinan has added zest to the activities of numerous miners and prospectors. The Cullinan was sold to the Transvaal government, which presented it to King Edward VII on his 66th birthday on November 9th, 1907. It was insured for $1,250,000 when it was sent to England. The King entrusted the cutting of the stone to the famous Asscher's Diamond Co. in Amsterdam, which had cut the Excelsior and other large gems. The huge diamond was studied for months. On February 10th, 1908, Mr. Asscher placed the steel cleaver's blade in a previously prepared V-shaped groove and tapped it once with a heavy steel rod. The blade broke, but the diamond remained intact! The second time, it fell apart exactly as planned, and an employee at the factory reported that Mr. Asscher had fainted. A second cleavage in the same direction produced three principal sections; these in turn would produce nine major gems, 96 smaller brilliants, and 9.50 carats of unpolished pieces. The nine larger stones remain either in the British Crown Jewels or in the personal possession of the Royal Family. These historically celebrated gems and their present mountings are as follows: The Cullinan I, also known as the Star of Africa, weighs 530.20 carats. King Edward placed it in the Sovereign's Royal Sceptre as part of the Crown Jewels, and it is now on display in the tower of London. The Cullinan II is a 317.40 carat cushion cut stone mounted in the band of the Imperial State Crown, it is also in the Tower of London as part of the Crown Jewels. The Cullinan III is a pear-shaped diamond weighing 94.40 carats, and is in the finial of Queen Mary's Crown and can be worn with the IV as a pendant-brooch. Many of Queen Mary's portraits show her wearing these two stones, and Elizabeth II makes use of them the same way. The Cullinan IV, a 63.60-carat cushion shape, was originally set in the band of Queen Mary's crown, but can also be worn as jewelry, as described above. The Cullinan V is a triangular-pear cut weighing 18.80 carats, was originally mounted in a brooch for Queen Mary, to be worn alternately in the circlet of her crown as a replacement for the Koh-i-Noor. This was after the Koh-i-Noor was removed to the new crown that was made for Elizabeth (now the Queen Mother) in 1937.

The Cullinan IV (upper, 63.60 carats) and Cullinan III
(lower, 94.40 carats), set in a pendant brooch.

The Cullinan VI, an 11.50 carat marquise-cut stone, was originally presented by King Edward to his wife, Queen Alexandra, and is now worn by Elizabeth II as a drop on a diamond and emerald necklace. It was worn more frequently by the young Queen than any other section of the Cullinan. The Cullinan VII is an 8.80 carat marquise-cut stone mounted in a pendant on a small all-diamond brooch, in the center of which is the 6.80-carat cushion cut Cullinan VIII, and lastly, the Cullinan IX, a 4.39 carat pear shape, is mounted in a ring with a prong setting that was made for Queen Mary; it too is sometimes worn by Queen Elizabeth.

The Cullinan VI (lower, 8.80 carats) and Cullinan VIII (upper, 6.80 carats)

Elizabeth II's Imperial State Crown of Great Britain

Imperial State Crown: originally made for Queen Victoria's coronation in 1838, it was remade for George VI in 1937. It contains the 317.40 carat Cullinan II. The large stone above the Cullinan II is the Black Prince's Ruby, which is actually a red spinel. The stone was at one time a giant bead. Note the red dot on the upper part of the stone - this is a ruby that was used to plug a small hole that went right through the stone. The Stuart Sapphire is a fine 104-carat oval shaped sapphire that appears on the backside of the crown. It was among the Crown Jewels of Charles II. The sapphire in the center of the cross on the top of the crown is St. Edward's Sapphire, (believed to have belonged to Edward the Confessor), and the four large drop-shaped pearls are said to have been Elizabeth I's earrings.

The Cullinan II Diamond. Note the two tiny platinum loops on the edges.
This is so the stone can be worn as a brooch, alone or with the Cullinan I
attached. However, it usually resides in the front of the Imperial State Crown.

The Stuart Sapphire has been moved to its own section.

St. Edward's Sapphire, from the top of the Imperial State Crown. Photo © HMSO, London

The Black Prince's Ruby on the front of the Imperial State Crown, a name which is misleading because the stone is actually a red spinel weighing about 170 carats. The gem is a large bead - the lighter-colored dot on the front of the stone is actually a ruby plugging up the hole that goes through the stone. Photo © HMSO, London

Siyabulela's a shining star

ROWAN PHILP | 14 August, 2011 03:34

 

 

 

Siyabulela Xuza has gone from being a praise singer for Nelson Mandela to becoming a top scientist - with even Nasa having named a large asteroid after him.

The 22-year-oldfrom Mthatha in the Eastern Cape is studying at Harvard University in the US, where he is trying to save the planet by developing a new energy technology.

This year, he attended the May launch of the space shuttle Endeavour as a guest of Nasa and, in June, met US first lady Michelle Obama.

Speaking from the US this week, he said his greatest thrill was singing Xhosa praise songs at cultural evenings in Harvard.

In an astonishing rise from once working in a vegetable field, Xuza has met three SA presidents, the king of Sweden, Nobel laureates, astronauts and the UN secretary-general.

He is the youngest member of an energy advisory panel to the African Union and recently visited corporate heavyweights at the New York Stock Exchange, hoping they might invest in his future technologies.

Clem Sunter, former chairman of the Anglo American Scholarship Panel, said Xuza was so bright that he had had no need of his Anglo scholarship, having won another to study engineering at the world's top-ranked university.

"In any other country in the world, if a schoolboy had won the awards he has - he has what they call a 'minor planet' named after him by Nasa, for goodness' sake - he would probably be a household name," said Sunter.

"In South Africa, nobody knows about it. It breaks all the normal stereotypes about South Africa and (the Eastern Cape). We should be using this guy as an inspiration to young people."

Now beginning his final year, Xuza is using supercomputers and equipment worth up to R100-million to develop a new "nano-material" for "personalised energy systems".

His remarkable journey began at 12 when he used utensils in his mother's kitchen to bake rocket fuel "like cookies" and was scolded for causing fires. Four years later, his "safer, cheaper" solid rocket fuel won him the top prize in its category at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in the US.

Nasa's Lincoln Laboratories then gave the name "Siyaxuza" to a giant asteroid near Jupiter, discovered in 2000, and which they describe as "minor planet 23182".

Xuza said he got hooked on science at five, when - standing on his rural plot near Mthatha in 1994 - he saw a light aircraft for the first time, dropping election leaflets. His parents, now business people, were teachers at the time.

He built his own rocket after watching Mark Shuttleworth's space flight in 2002, but it exploded on the launch-pad. His next, a year later, broke the national amateur altitude record at nearly 1000m.

He then won a scholarship to St John's College in Johannesburg. Principal Roger Cameron said he was "not the smartest as a younger child, but he was very focused and very determined".

Cameron credited Xuza's parents, as well as top tuition, for the phenomenon - "(giving him) that sense that you are special, but also accountable to a strong set of values".

Xuza won both a Harvard scholarship and an "Opportunities Grant" from the US State Department.

Elizabeth Trudeau, spokesman for the US embassy, said: "We really view Siya as a true global citizen who will not only be able to shape the future of his own country, but the world."

He said he was often sought for praise-singing performances "to open big university events or if there is a class on ethnic music or African culture".

"My culture inspires me, and science is a way to serve my culture and my society. People here are always surprised to see this black guy coming out of nowhere and doing a Xhosa praise song."

Although he insists he will return to start an energy company in Africa, he said he would need to spend more time in the US "to incubate my technology" after graduating next year.

As a teenager, he declared in his journal: "The purpose of this diary is to inspire the next generation of South Africa's scientists."

Today, his outlook and statements continue to be breathtaking in their casual ambition. "I don't enjoy being called 'rocket man' or 'rocket boy'. I must stress that the main thrust of my work is in nano-enabled solar energy and no longer on rocket fuels.

"I prefer to describe myself as an aspiring entrepreneur with a passion for using technology to solving the world's energy crisis."

Siyabulela Lethuxolo Xuza:  Yes, it is rocket science

05 March 2012

---

"

Seen here during a class at Harvard, Siyabulela Xuza is one of the new young generation of Africans who are committed to developing the continent's potential. (Image: Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences) "

 

 

---

Engineering whizzkid Siyabulela Lethuxolo Xuza is a young man with a big future.

From the early days of experimenting with science in his mother’s kitchen in the poor community of Mthatha in the Eastern Cape, to international science and engineering accolades, he is now a role model for South Africa’s aspiring scientists.

These days the darling of Nasa, who were so taken with him that they gave him a personal guided tour of their facilities, is the youngest member of the Africa 2.0 energy advisory panel.

The pan-African organisation comprises the continent’s brightest minds and is committed to seeking sustainable solutions to challenges faced by Africans.

In a March 2012 interview with US television network CBS, Xuza said that his current work is focusing on transforming homes into power plants "that capture the energy of the sun during the day and store some of it in fuel cells, for use at night".

Starting young

In his own words, Xusa described the moment that sparked his lifelong passion for science.

“I was chasing the roar of a Cessna plane dropping election pamphlets over Mthatha, my South African township,” he wrote on the America.gov website.

“It was 1994, the first year of a new democracy in my country, and the sight of that technological marvel ignited in me a curiosity for science and a passion for using technology to engineer an African renaissance.”

He was just five years old at the time. The youngster was also later inspired by South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth’s trip into space in 2002, an event that was largely responsible for his long-standing interest in rocketry.

His mother's kitchen soon became the scene for much experimentation with formulations of jet and rocket fuel, but the informal laboratory had to be moved to the garage after a sticky incident with a too-hot stove.

Xuza wasn’t deterred, and over the next few years he continued to work on the project, which culminated in the successful launch of a real home-built rocket, the Phoenix. This vehicle achieved a final height of over a kilometre and earned him the junior South African amateur high-powered altitude record.

The rocket was propelled by Xuza’s own invention, a cheaper, safer type of rocket fuel, which became the subject of a project titled African Space: Fuelling Africa's quest to space. It won a gold medal in the 2006 Eskom National Science Expo as well as a trip to the Nobel Prize ceremony in Sweden, where he presented his work to the Swedish king and queen.

The same project took him to the 58th Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as part of Team South Africa.

Here the project was entered in the energy and transport category and won the 18-year-old, then a matric pupil on a scholarship at St John’s College in Johannesburg, a Best of Category award and a First award.

Xuza also received the honour of having a celestial body named after him by the MIT Lincoln Laboratory, which is replacing the complicated scientific names of thousands of minor planets with more accessible names in honour of the world’s top achievers.

The minor planet 23182 Siyaxuza circles the solar system in the main asteroid belt near Jupiter and takes 4.01 years to complete a single orbit. It was discovered in July 2000.

Xuza has garnered numerous other accolades, including a fellowship in 2010 of the African Leadership Network, and in 2011 he was made a fellow of the international student-run Kairos Society. Membership to this global body is by invitation only.

A bright future

Matriculating in 2007 with a string of As, it was almost guaranteed that Xuza would take up further studies at a prestigious institution – that turned out to be Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, where he became one of just 1 948 students accepted out of about 28 000 who applied.

He started his engineering degree in September 2008, but wasn’t afraid to take up academic challenges such as debating, the Mandarin language, and world music. These interests, he said, would broaden his mind.

The young man from the Eastern Cape also joined the Harvard Forum for International Leadership, a society that brings together students from all around the world to discuss global issues such as HIV/Aids, terrorism and the development of emerging economies, as well as the need for efficient energy solutions.

“I may not be able to predict what the future holds,” he wrote on www.america.gov, “but I am excited at how my engineering education will enable me to achieve my aspirations for Africa.”

This Day in Black History: Jan. 20, 1961

Mahalia Jackson performed at President John F. Kennedy's inaugural ball.

By Joyce Jones

Posted: 01/20/2014 12:00 AM EST

Filed Under civil rights movement, This Day in Black History, Mahalia Jackson, gospel music, March on Washington, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr.

 

Mahalia Jackson is one of the nation's most revered gospel singers and was held in the highest esteem around the world. The New Orleans native performed at President John F. Kennedy's inaugural ball on Jan. 20, 1961, and at request of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., sang at the 1963 March on Washington.

Jackson was born on Oct. 26, 1911, and was the third of six children. Her mother died when she was six and her father, the New York Times reported, had three jobs: "longshoreman by day, a barber at night and a clergyman on Sunday." Jackson had to leave school while in the eighth grade to work as a domestic servant.

Poverty didn't stop her from finding her voice. Jackson began singing at age four at Mount Moriah Baptist Church. When she moved to Chicago as a teen, she joined  a group called the Johnson Gospel Singers and later worked with a gospel composer named Thomas Dorsey.

Her first big hit came with "Move On Up a Little Higher" in 1947, which was the highest selling gospel single in history. By the time Jackson, who became an active supporter of the civil rights movement, performed for Kennedy, she had achieved international acclaim, performing on radio, television and film.

Jackson's final performance was at a concert in Munich, Germany, in 1971. She died of a heart attack the following year in Evergreen Park, Illinois, at age 60.

BET National News - Keep up to date with breaking news stories from around the nation, including headlines from the hip hop and entertainment world. Click here to subscribe to our newsletter. 

Follow Joyce Jones on Twitter: @BETpolitichick

(Photo: Douglas Miller/Keystone/Getty Images)

Each time a man connects with a woman sexually and releases his life form energy within her, he leaves a part of his information (DNA) in her birth canal.

Posted on December 29, 2013 by Ciara Hunter Standard 7

Each time a man connects with a woman sexually and releases his life form energy within her, he leaves a part of his information (DNA) in her birth canal. If she doesn’t clean herself, his energy remain inside of her. That imprint can often create illusion sexual addiction to the individual.

When some one decide to have multiple partners, it can sometimes send mixed emotional signals within the inside of the body’s vibration system. Women must be careful of different energies or spiritual forces polluting their internal temple. You are a sacred doorway, where life is intended to pass through, respect yourself, use your gifts wisely!

Just think about it and ask yourself… Ever wonder why they call it sexual intercourse (INTER-Course)? It’s an internal course that unites man and woman, mind with mind, spirit with spirit, or energy with energy. This is something that a condom can’t protect you against because energy is behind the elements of all flesh.

There is no such thing as “casual” sex or “friends with benefits”. No, No, No, I Don’t Think So!!! Intimate activity intricately entwines the energies between two people. Sex creates a powerful exchange of energy between those involved. These connections, imprints and debris are left upon the mind, soul and spirit for a long time because they are not easily purged or cleansed.

‘Casual sex’ with multiple partners can intertwine the energies and spirits of a lot of people into your own aura if they are not severed and cleansed. You become joined to every person with whom your partner has slept, as well as all the partners those people had.

This type of “soul clutter” can be felt by your partner’s subconscious. Even if they are not completely in tune or aware of the extra-curricular sexual activities, they still are able to sense the subtle disturbances of multiple energies and/or familiar spirits that have entered causing restlessness and inner turmoil.

The longer and more intimate the contact with another person, the more powerful the reinforcement and the interaction of the bond becomes, and all the more difficult it is for them to untangle and leave.

Soul stains, transference of odors, perceptive connections and even mutually formed habits are now left to burden the psyche long after that relationship has ended.

~use your conjuring powers wisely in every aspect of your life. Sexual energy is sacred~

 

You know of the man.  Things that are obvious do not need to be explained.

Here are some of Nelson Mandela’s most famous quotes:

• “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
• “If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.”
• “It always seems impossible until it’s done.”
• “If I had my time over I would do the same again. So would any man who dares call himself a man.”
• “Real leaders must be ready to sacrifice all for the freedom of their people.”
• “Everyone can rise above their circumstances and achieve success if they are dedicated to and passionate about what they do.”
• “Lead from the back — and let others believe they are in front.”
• “Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.”
• “I hate race discrimination most intensely and in all its manifestations. I have fought it all during my life; I fight it now, and will do so until the end of my days.”
• “Difficulties break some men but make others. No axe is sharp enough to cut the soul of a sinner who keeps on trying, one armed with the hope that he will rise even in the end.”

THE RASTAFARIAN MOVEMENT

ORIGINS OF THE RASTAMAN

 

The Rastafarin movement, or Rasta, is a spiritual movement which arose here in Jamaica in the 1930s, a country with a predominantly Christian. Most of its followers worship Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia (ruled 1930–1974), as God incarnate, the Second Advent, or the reincarnation of Jesus. Members of the Rastafari movement are known as Rastas, or Rastafari.

The name Rastafari is taken from Ras Tafari, the pre-regnal title of Haile Selassie I, composed of Amharic Ras (literally “Head”, an Ethiopian title equivalent to Duke), and Haile Selassie’s pre-regnal given name, Tafari. Rastafari are generally distinguished for asserting the doctrine that Haile Selassie I, the former and final Emperor of Ethiopia, is another incarnation of the Christian God, called Jah. Most see Haile Selassie I as Jah or Jah Rastafari, who is the second coming of Jesus Christ onto the Earth, but to others he is simply God’s chosen king on earth.

THE RASTA COLORS

 

The Rastafarian colours of green, gold and red and black are very commonly sported on Rastafarian flag, badges, posters etc. The green, gold and red are the colours of the Ethiopian flag and show the loyalty Rastafari feel towards the Ethiopian state in the reign of King Selassie. Apart from being the colors of the Ethiopian Flag these colors serve a different purpose as well; they are as follows. Black is symbolic of the Motherland of Africa from which the slaves who were brought to Jamaica came from, the Green symbolizes, the Earth on which we all walk and with which Rasta Share a special kind of connection, Yellow/Gold stands for the bountiful amount of treasure to be had from the land and the Red is for the blood of all living creatures which as one upon the earth.

THE WAY OF THE RASTA

 

Many Rastas eat limited types of meat in accordance with the dietary Laws of the Old Testament; they do not eat shellfish or pork. Others abstain from all meat and flesh whatsoever, asserting that to touch meat is to touch death, and is therefore a violation of the Nazirite vow. Many Rastafari maintain a vegan or vegetarian diet all of the time. Food approved for Rastafari is generally referred to as Ital or Natural. The purpose of fasting (abstaining from meat and dairy) is to cleanse the body in accordance to serving in the presence of the “Ark of the Covenant”.

Some of the Houses (or “Mansions” as they have come to be known) of the Rastafari culture, such as the Twelve Tribes of Israel, do not specify diet beyond that which, to quote Christ in the New Testament, “Is not what goes into a man’s mouth that defile him, but what come out of it”. Wine is seen as a “mocker” and strong drink is “raging”; however, simple consumption of beer or the very common roots wine are not systematically a part of Rastafari culture this way or that. Separating from Jamaican culture, different interpretations on the role of food and drink within the religion remains up for debate.

DREADLOCKS

 

The wearing of dreadlocks is very closely associated with the movement, though not universal among, or exclusive to. Rastas maintain that locks are supported by Leviticus 21:5 (“They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in the flesh.”) and the Nazirite vow in Numbers 6:5 (“All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the Lord, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.”). If you take locks into consideration you can them begin to fathom the connection between Rasta and the “Lion of Judah”, seeing that their locks resemble the Mane of a Lion, which is also the “King of the Jungle”

(Source: wiki)

With all being said and done, this isn’t even a quarter way deep into the true meaning of what it is to be a Rasta. We’ve only just barely brushed the surface. The Rastafarian movement is something you will have to go and fully research by yourself. The point of this post however was to bring to light the fact that most of the people who you see walking around claiming that they are in fact Rasta do not live up to the movement. As a matter of fact you have more people without locks who are more Rasta than some of the actual Rastas. Sticking true to the old Morgan Heritage Song which states “Yuh dont haffi dread to be rasta, this is not a dreadlocks thing, it’s a divine conception of the heart”. I dare you to walk up to a rasta today and ask them about anything pointed out in this post. I can bet most of them wont know what it is you are talking about. I dare you to try it

Original article: http://jablogz.com/2013/04/the-rastafarian-movement/