DIAMOND RIVER HUNTERS
THE PAYOFF. The Operation is in its sixth week and the team is struggling to get both sets of machinery running simultaneously. They are isolated in every possible way and can only rely on themselves to solve the technical problems. Kim returns from a cancer treatment and has brought along his niece Kirsten. Mitch, an investor in the venture, has also joined them. The classifiers are becoming clogged with vegetation that is being pumped from the riverbanks. A risky decision is taken, and the vegetation is burnt off with petrol to save time. This backfires when John, the local foreman is almost badly burnt when petrol under the sand is ignited, and the classifier is almost destroyed. The rainy season begins and problems escalate. The team must devise new strategies to safe guard the equipment and prevent it from being washed away by the now daily thunderstorms. The miners struggle on in spite of the elements. Soon after the 1st period of prolonged rain there is a flash flood and mining has to be halted. Don is concerned by the backlog of bags that still need to be sorted. The sorting table is returned to the lodge and the team take turns sorting the stones, but with no luck. Don carries on sorting bags by himself, upset that no one is willing to go through the backlog. A decision is made to construct a bridge at the 1st river crossing so that the mining site can be accessed again. The massive undertaking is aided by the TLB, but it is back breaking work and the massive boulders have to be laid by hand in the river. As the bridge is almost completed, the river rises by 4 feet and most of it is washed away. The team are frustrated and they are cut off and isolated, losing more and more valuable mining time. Peter, Konrad and Gary travel to the top of the concession and prospect their way back down the valley. They construct makeshift sieves from old mesh and hike down the upper reaches of the river, prospecting as they go. Don and Warren are left to continue with the work of salvaging the bridge. Kirsten resupplies the prospecting team on horseback. After a dangerous two day hike down the valley, the prospectors reach the mining site, but with no diamonds. Don continues to sort the bags and one afternoon he finds 3 large carat diamonds in a bag. The team gathers round the microscope while Peter conducts the tests to determine carat, colour, purity and value. This is the culmination of years of work and all the time searching in the valley over the last few weeks. The team have to pull out of the valley for the remainder of the rainy season. They are unable to continue mining due to the constant rains and have to regroup and plan the 2nd phase of the operation.
