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Events/Company founded · 1888

De Beers Consolidated Mines founded

Company founded, 1888-03-13, South Africa.

What happened

South African History Online records De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd as founded on 13 March 1888 to control diamond production in South Africa.1,2

Why it matters

Cecil Rhodes bought a claim at De Beer's in 1871, and this began his dominance of South African diamond mining.1,2

Story cards

Around the same time

  1. Big Hole at Kimberley: inception

    Big Hole at Kimberley: inception.3

  2. Kimberley diamond rush

    The hand-dug Big Hole is the best-known symbol of the diamond rush.2,4

  3. Ernest Oppenheimer born

    Ernest Oppenheimer born (date from Wikidata).5

  4. De Beers founded

    De Beers founded.6

  5. Premier diamond mine: Wikidata inception date

    The mine near Cullinan that later yielded the Cullinan diamond.7

  6. Cullinan Diamond found

    Cullinan Diamond found.8

  7. Harry Oppenheimer born

    Harry Oppenheimer born (date from Wikidata).9

  8. Kimberley Big Hole stops work

    The Big Hole is the largest hand-dug excavation in the world and the centre of the Kimberley diamond story.2,10,11

Open the full timeline

Where next

People

Financed byJulius WernherHe helped merge the Kimberley mines into De Beers Consolidated.12Founded byCecil RhodesCecil Rhodes is part of this story: De Beers Consolidated Mines founded.1

Mines

Located inKimberley Big HoleSee the mine at the heart of this story: Kimberley Big Hole.1

Events

Led toAnglo American foundedIn 1926 Anglo American became De Beers' largest shareholder. Oppenheimer chaired it from 1929.13Came out ofKimberley diamond rushRhodes bought a claim in 1871. De Beers Consolidated was founded on 13 March 1888.1

Places

Located inKimberleySee the place where this happened: Kimberley.1

Sources

  1. De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd. is founded (13 March 1888) South African History Online
  2. Kimberley (item Q125905), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  3. Wikidata item Q19040 (Big Hole at Kimberley: inception)
  4. The Big Hole Kimberley Kimberley City Info (local information site)
  5. Wikidata item Q819374 (Ernest Oppenheimer)
  6. Wikidata item Q471891 (De Beers founded)
  7. Wikidata item Q2576349 (Premier Mine)
  8. Wikidata item Q374209 (Cullinan Diamond found)
  9. Wikidata item Q1586536 (Harry Oppenheimer)
  10. Work is stopped at the Kimberley mine (4 August 1914) South African History Online
  11. The Big Hole Kimberley Kimberley City Info
  12. Dictionary of National Biography, 1927 supplement: Wernher, Julius Charles Wikisource (public domain source text)
  13. 100 years of Anglo American

Pictures on this page: Julius Wernher02.jpg, Hubert von Herkomer (German-born British artist (1849-1914)) (Public domain).

From the Prospector Trails mining history dataset: each fact links to the source it was checked against. Figures are as the source gives them, in the money of their day. Not investment advice.

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Cover photos from Wikimedia Commons: The Big Hole by Rudolph Botha, CC BY-SA 3.0; Super Pit, Kalgoorlie by Kgbo, CC BY-SA 4.0; Underground mining equipment by Kaupo Kikkas, CC BY-SA 4.0. Pictures: Kimberley, South Africa: the Kimberley mine and town. Woodburytype, 1888, after a photograph by Robert Harris., Harris, Robert, active 1881-1888. (Public Domain Mark 1.0).