cost
per yard or per load of reef raised much less than the Kim-berley
average. This was a signal demonstration of the advantage of prudently
cutting away the reef before it fell into the pit and buried prolific
claims and increased the hauling charges.
This
precaution, however, did not suffice to shield the mine from disaster
when the pit was greatly deepened after the reef falls at Kimberley had
diverted mining enterprise to De Beers. Over one hundred and forty
thousand cubic yards of solid and broken reef were removed in 1883 and
1884, but reef slides were fast increasing, and it was judged necessary
by the Mining Board to stop any further outlay for reef hauling when
the mine bottom was 350 feet below the surface. The diamond-bearing
ground had then been scooped out of the larger part of
