Journey for diamonds into the bowels of the earth

Mirny's calling card is the Mir quarry, also affectionately called the Big Hole. The numbers are not as impressive as the sight itself, but nevertheless the diameter of this hole is about 1200 meters, and the depth is a little more than 500 meters. An acid lake is still splashing at the bottom of this hole, and they say that even in the most terrible frosts, it does not freeze! It is hard to imagine what kind of acid it is.

Near the quarry there is a special observation deck, from it a unique, bewitching landscape opens up from the hole (it sounds like that!). Taking a closer look, I noticed that the walls of the funnel are gradually floating away, in many places where the road used to be, now it’s just a slope - nature is trying to heal a huge wound on the body of the earth, but it will take more than one century for this pit to decrease in size.

Flying over Mirny, I saw from the window just a part of a huge funnel. I can’t even imagine how cool she looks if you look at her a little from the side!

You can get to the city of Mirny only by plane, no, if you wish, you can try to overcome the Yakut taiga and forest-tundra, but this is almost impossible, it will take more than a year of life before such an expedition ends.

Honestly, diamonds don’t touch me at all, I’m absolutely calm, but to go down to the mine for 500-700 meters and see how it all happens in life is worth a lot!

And in general it’s not completely clear how we were allowed to go there, there are no excursions to such places, there are too many risks and dangers, but if someone comes up with such a show, I’m sure there will be no end to those who wish. They told us that a couple of times foreigners were lowered into the mine, those who saw a kimberlite pipe, lost all control and threw themselves into the mud, looking for diamonds)))

As usually happens in such industries, it all starts with safety. And these are not empty words. A day later, after we went down to the mine, already in the city of Yakutsk, the locals told me that a miner was killed in a nearby mine.

We are shown the layout of the mine. And a little clarification, we went down to the mines of the International mine. All others are now being developed on the same principle if open source development has already been phased out.

After the briefing, change clothes. We are given special thermal underwear and a clean hbeshka, with thick socks and rubber boots on our feet, and a classic headdress - a helmet.

A group of journalists is ready to dive. Each was given a flashlight and a special tube, in which a device for breathing. This is in case there is a blockage in the mine and you have to "sunbathe" there.

While walking along the corridor, we read the inscriptions. Perhaps they will help someone concentrate on work and return home. Work in the mine is dangerous primarily because of gas, and if you miss its appearance, there will be a big trouble. There are several people accompanying us.

You can get into the mine through the street or through special corridors, this is due to low temperatures in winter. In winter, the corridor and even the mine itself, where people work, is heated.

You can get into the mine only by elevator. Recently, the elevator was being repaired, one might say, they just finished rolling it in now, the guys are joking. Everything around is so unusual that it’s generally fearless. But if someone suffers from claustrophobia, it’s better not to go into the mine.

By the way, the elevator is double-decker, and for some reason I associate it with the red double-decker buses in London. So I stood looking at him, and this association is completely out of place ...

The elevator is designed for a shift, but there are clearly fewer of us, and we freely sit along the walls. Doors close, the elevator twitches and begins to plunge down ... Horror!

This is how the inner wall of the mine looks, along which we go down.

Suddenly the wall disappears, and we see the illuminated space - this is the next "floor", but to us even further ... Horror!

And here is our mark. As I understand it, we are below 500 meters, but not at the bottom. Apparently, there is only preparatory work going on before the cars get to the kimberlite pipe. In general, an incredible amount of information falls out, it happens in a very short time (we were given about an hour to do everything, and we rushed about like sprinters), and even an incredible impression of what we saw ... It is very difficult not to lose your head. By the way, the pressure below has changed, I personally felt it and, in general, at the end of our trip I was not quite well.

We stop. We are not allowed out until all procedures are followed. A sign hangs in front, a depth of 550 meters is indicated on it, we waved half a kilometer down! This is my deepest immersion in life!

First impressions: warm, light and dry. First impressions are very different from the imagined picture, but let's see what happens next (the hope of seeing at least a reflection of diamonds for some reason does not leave me). May be the cause of the pressure in the mine or the gases? )))

On the way we meet a new shift. We look at them with some curiosity and surprise (the meeting is unexpected), and they look at us like green men - journalists rarely come down here!

Beyond this door is the MINING. Well, that is, we are so in the mine, and there, the path to the kimberlite pipe ... By the way, on our way we meet more than one such door, and they just do not open, sometimes we need to call the dispatcher to let us in. Needless to say, there is no cellular connection and only wired phones work. In general, the connection is the old fashioned way.

We begin the journey. The thought comes that the best place to shoot all kinds of science fiction films and horror films can not be found ...

We pass a huge room, here is something like a repair shop. These things on the floor, these are drill bits, they “eat” the body of a kimberlite pipe.

But with this dump truck they are digging diamondiferous ore ... What volumes!

These are the tires ... I've never seen anything like it in my life! By the way, all the equipment used in the mine is designed to work in such conditions, you can’t use an ordinary machine here, there is no special protection. There is always a chance that gas will appear, and the slightest spark can lead to an explosion ...

After the repair shop, our eyes open an ordinary Russian road)))) Walking far to the pipe is far and not very convenient, especially on such a thin man, albeit in rubber boots.

And we are invited to a special taxi. Very hard taxi, without any leather seats and soft suspension.

And so we get to the rig, behind it is a pipe with diamonds.

I squeeze through a narrow gap and a damp wall appears in front of me - the goal of our journey. I touched the wall, cold and sticky from dirt (clay), and there was no feeling that there were diamonds, well, no!

In some places the lighting is very decent.

The pipe above is ventilation. But, despite this, there is a smell in the mine, or, let’s say, the air is somehow not very fresh. I am an impressionable person, I began to think about it, and it became a little bad.

After a taxi a short walk to the door of the mine. On the floor are new rails. They are brought down all the same elevator, and then manually build the railway. In the mine, in general, a lot of things have to be done manually. We haven’t seen this yet as they prepare the mine before the cars can drive there. It is necessary to strengthen the walls, ceiling, conduct ventilation, electricity. And do not forget about security.

And as a postscript ... In 1980, the largest (in the USSR) diamond was found here weighing 342.5 carats (68 grams), and if we talk about statistics for the entire life of the mine, it gave diamonds for $ 17 billion.