♦ VII ♦
It
must never be overlooked that the world of diamonds, difficult as its
problems were, was not Ernest Oppenheimer's only preoccupation. The
years in which Lichtenburg and Namaqualand were revolutionizing
alluvial diamond production were also the years of the opening up of
the Rhodesian Copperbelt, the years of the 'platinum boom' and the
extension of the gold-mining industry. With all these matters Ernest
Oppenheimer was concerned and yet, even if the diamond industry alone
is considered, the burden upon him was immense. Emotionally and
strategically, the struggle for the chairmanship of De Beers was of
great importance to him, but it was only part of a wide complex of
problems.
Undoubtedly,
at the beginning of 1928, the most urgent issue was the attitude which
Government intended to take up. Some indications had been given by the
Minister of Mines at a conference of diamond producers called under
section 115 (subsection (10)) of the Precious Stones Act, 1927, held at
Pretoria on 1 December 1927. Ernest Oppenheimer, who was present,
summed up his 'impressions' in an interesting document, though, as he
said, those 'impressions' were 'not based on anything which the
Minister actually said. They were gained by reading between the hnes
and by things which he omitted to say. In short, they are guesses
believed to be well founded.'
