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PRECIOUS STONES
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wild,
mountain land, averaging about four thousand feet above sea level.
Diamonds found here are contained in a clayey substance traversing the
rocks in veins. Twelve miles west of Diamantina, at Sao Joao da
Chapada, they are also found in clay, or " barro." In the valley of the
river Tibagy, in Southern Brazil, the stones are found in pot-holes in
the sand of the river and also in old beds of gravel situated at some
distance above the level of the river.
On the Corrego dos Bois, near Grao Mogul, they are found in a conglomerate rock called by the miners " pigeons' eSSs-" This is about one hundred miles north of Diamantina.
Included
in the Minas Geraes district is that of Bogagem, to the west, separated
from Diamantina by the Rio das Velhas and its tributaries. It was here
the " Star of the South" was found in 1853.
Northeast
from Grao Mogul there are diamond-fields between the rivers Pardo and
Belmonte, and inland, a little west of north of these, are the fields
of Bahia. The yield of these new fields is greater than that of those
in Minas Geraes, but the quality is inferior. The proportion of
off-colored stones is greater and the average size smaller. Carbonado
is found in this district.
During
the dry season, from April to October, when the Paraguay River is low,
the water is drawn off into a canal, and the mud, to a depth of six
feet and over, is carried to a dry place to be washed for gold and
diamonds during the wet season. ^
Large stones are seldom found in Brazil.
According
to law now all diamond- and carbon-bearing lands belong to the State,
but persons of any nation can take out a claim by complying with the
regulations. An application with general description in writing of
portion desired must be filed at the office of the director of
diamond-mines. The claim must not be more than five hundred and seventy-
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