At first it was easy, digging down a hill, but after the hill was gone it became hundreds of holes with each one digging his own  square hole marked by his claim.
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http://www.south-africa-tours-and-travel.com/images/the-kimberley-mine-in-1873-diamondsandgoldinsouthafrica.jpg
[IMG Source](http://www.south-africa-tours-and-travel.com/diamonds-in-south-africa.html)

As those hundreds of square holes deepened things became even more complex, with each claim being mined and dug at differing speeds.
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http://www.reocities.com/Athens/Rhodes/1266/KimberleyW.jpg
[IMG Source](http://www.reocities.com/Athens/Rhodes/1266/historical-Boerwaratrensburg2.htm)

No roads into the hole meant everything had to be lowered and lifted out of the hole by rope, bucket and pulley.
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http://www.globalblackhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Kimberly-Mines-1870.png
[IMG Source](http://www.globalblackhistory.com/2016/09/kimberly-diamond-mines-discovery-exploitation-1860-1870s.html)

Men, tools, food and water were lowered down, to work at breaking the rocks in their claims.
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Rock and gravel were then hoisted back up to be crushed and sorted on the sides of the ever deepening pit.
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http://www.debeersgroup.com/content/de-beers/corporate/en/our-story/our-history/_jcr_content/par-1920/image_4.img.jpg/1461954500258.jpg
[IMG Source](http://www.debeersgroup.com/en/our-story/our-history.html)

In this image you can see the sides of the main pit starting to show, where the diamond bearing rocks ended.
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http://s3.amazonaws.com/cdnmedia.bookt.com/2562/71b54c7c-87e8-4bdf-b936-5d225dad0a7f.jpg
[IMG Source](http://www.commendablerentals.com/2014/11/a-commendable-tour-africas-gems-2015/)

At the visitors center there is a model showing the initial diggings, but somehow it doesn't do the massive scale of the hand dug operation justice.
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http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y301/gavvet/DSCN1127_zpsdtjdysdj.jpg

This picture zooms out to show the context of the hand operation in relation to the final dimensions of the hole.
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http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y301/gavvet/DSCN1126_zpsocvdku1a.jpg

After the hand operation reached about 800 ft deep and became too unsafe, due to falling rocks, from the collapsing sides, is continued through mine shafts underground.
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http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y301/gavvet/DSCN1191_zpsqsaq2v1d.jpg

These are the final stats of the entire operation.
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https://steemitimages.com/0x0/https://s3.amazonaws.com/img.steemconnect.com/gavvet/a497433e.jpg


​Other posts in this series:
-
[The Big Hole. What is the big hole and where is it?](https://steemit.com/diamonds/@gavvet/the-big-hole-what-is-the-big-hole-and-where-is-it)
[The Big Hole: Part of a greater whole](https://steemit.com/diamonds/@gavvet/the-big-hole-part-of-a-greater-whole)
[The Big Hole: Kimberlites, how do they form.](https://steemit.com/diamonds/@gavvet/the-big-hole-kimberlites-how-do-they-form)
[The Big Hole: Diamonds are a girls best friend...](https://steemit.com/diamonds/@gavvet/the-big-hole-diamonds-are-a-girls-best-friend)
[The Big Hole: The other beauty in kimberlites and a wealth of information.](https://steemit.com/diamonds/@gavvet/the-other-beauty-in-kimberlites-and-a-wealth-of-information)
[The Big Hole: Information capsules from the deep.](https://steemit.com/diamonds/@gavvet/the-big-hole-information-capsules-from-the-deep)
[The Big Hole: Setting and Suspension - from busy.org](https://steemit.com/diamonds/@gavvet/the-big-hole-setting-and-susspension)