282	THE DIAMOND
	The average yield at that time was, it is claimed, about three-quarters of a carat to the load. Not only was the Dutoitspan the first of the Kirn-berley mines discovered, but it is also much the largest. The original locations numbered 1,441 claims, equal to about 23-1/2 acres; nearly four times as many as on the Kimberley pipe, but none of the Kimberley pipes are as large as the first locations indicated, because some were outside the diamond-bearing area. Like the others, it began with individual diggers, then the grouping of claims in the hands of small owners and speculators who floated them into stock companies, and in turn con­solidated, until at the time of the De Beers Consoli­dation in 1889, " The Griqualand West Mining Com­pany " owned about half the pipe. Cecil Rhodes said of the mine, " It is too poor to work, and too rich to allow others to acquire it," and for that reason it was forced into the Consolidation. Those who opposed the amalga­mation, claimed that the De Beers people wanted it in order to close the mine. Barnato, on behalf of the De Beers, denied any such intention, saying that the govern­ment would not permit it and also that the licenses due the London and South African Exploration Company amounted to such a large sum that it would not pay to do so. The mine was practically closed at that time as far as open working was concerned. Heavy falls of reef had materially damaged it. What diamonds were being taken out cost about the same as they brought, viz.: 6s. to 7s. per load. The De Beers argued that if the various owners could not make it pay with open working they certainly could not with the more expensive underground system. A majority of the owners agreed;