The Big Hole

The Big Hole in Kimberley, South Africa, is a massive 17-hectare, 240-meter-deep diamond mine crater. Once a major diamond producer, it closed in 1914. Now a tourist site, it offers views, a museum, and insights into diamond mining history.

Articles about the The Big Hole

Diamonds, blood and 50,000 shovels: the deepest hole of desire dug by human hands

10 Jun 2025

On the outskirts of East London, South Africa, there is a shocking giant pit hidden - The Big Hole. It is not formed naturally, but the product of the Diamond Rush in the 19th century. It is a mark of greed dug out of the earth's crust by humans using the most primitive tools - shovels, picks and flesh and blood. This giant pit, 240 meters deep and nearly 1.6 kilometers in circumference, was once the largest man-made mine in the world. At its peak, 50,000 miners sweated here every day just to find the diamond that could change their destiny. However, behind the brilliance of diamonds is a dark history of violence, deception, and colonial plunder - miners worked to death under the scorching sun, while a few became rich overnight, and more people were buried here. Today, The Big Hole is no longer mined, but it is still a legendary attraction. If you want to know: Can diamonds still be found here? How did the miners survive back then? Are there still undiscovered treasures deep underground? Well, this guide will take you deep into this "hole of human desire" and uncover its crazy past and secrets of sightseeing.

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The Big Hole

Articles about the The Big Hole

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