Are Diamonds Still Girls' Best Friend?

"Diamonds! Diamonds!

I don't mean rhinestones!

...

But square-cut or pear-shaped

These rocks don't loose their shape.

Diamonds are a girl's best friend."

The above lyrics composed by Jule Styne and sung by Marilyn Monroe still lingers on. Diamonds have always been said to be a girl’s best friend. But coming from a geoscience background, I believe it is a matter of popular perception that makes it their best friend of choice. 

Don’t get me wrong, I am not debasing diamonds. They are precious stones, and their value has stood the test of time. The gems properties are an excellent brilliant lustre, the hardest known mineral, priced and loved by most women… and some men. 

The question to ask is, “Is it rare?” The answer is “no.” Diamonds are commercially abundant. Good jewellery stores carry stocks of them. But, why does it have to be rare? Because rarity makes it worth having and truly precious. There are rare varieties like the Argyle pink and yellow diamonds. However, there is a jewel that is even rarer – ruby! This can be evidenced by browsing your local jewellery advertising brochures. What you will find in those brochures are diamond jewellery but not ruby jewellery. If there are any, it would say “created, man made or industrial” rubies. “Natural” rubies are indeed rare! 

My wife who is also a geologist, and quite knowledgeable on gemstones, if presented with a diamond and ruby, she would obviously take both. But, if made to choose one over the other, ruby is her definite choice. During my last trip to South Africa, I was told to buy her Tanzanites. Yes, tanzanite is another rare gem, found only in Tanzania, East Africa, thus proving her adeptness of gemstones. Another requirement is that the jewellery is to be set in platinum. Platinum is her choice of base setting as it is rarer, stronger and more valuable than gold. Now with choices of Ruby, Tanzanite in a platinum setting, the question is, “Are diamonds still a girl’s best friend?” You decide, the answer is obvious! 

Tanzanite

Natural Ruby

[Originally published at Mining Plus Telegraph, Issue 15 May 2011]

Data Management

It has been referred to in many publications that an organisation’s most important resource is its data. In recent years the worldwide exploration and mining industries has rigidly emphasised the need for QA/QC with the development of standard reporting codes to meet industry best practice. Understanding how data relates to information to form the big picture enables an organisation to make better decisions, improve process efficiencies, and lower overall operational costs. In today’s highly competitive market, without an adequate understanding of the importance of an organization’s data and its structures, it would be a challenge to enable effective decision-making and provide an overall view of what is happening, both within and outside the organization. 

Recently I read Russell L Ackoff’s book entitled “Re-Creating the Corporation: A Design of Organizations for the 21st Century.” In his book, Ackoff posited a tier, from top to bottom, of wisdom, understanding, information, knowledge, and data. He also estimated that on the average human mind consists of 40% data, 30% information, 20% knowledge and 10% understanding and almost no wisdom. Ackoff’s model can be viewed as a pyramid with wisdom on top. In Figure 1, I have taken Ackoff’s idea and expanded it to cover the data source, and omitted understanding, placing it as an encompassing behaviour to management of data.

Figure 1: DATA, PROCESSING & MANAGEMENT

It can be summarised that data is a collation of facts, data that has been analysed will give you information, the use of information will give you the knowledge, and the maximisation of this knowledge will result in wisdom. Furthermore, the increase in understanding can shed light on facts to obtaining knowledge, and through experience we can attain wisdom. 

The simple chart above shows the interrelationship between the different degrees of data and it is about filtering noise, reducing the flow to what is clear, clean and manageable as a corporate resource. These interrelationships are not as simple as portrayed in real life. It can be more complicated than a mere flow process. Consider the following observations made by Neil Fleming (Coping with a Revolution: Will the Internet Change Learning?, Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand, 1996):

• A collection of data is not information.
• A collection of information is not knowledge.
• A collection of knowledge is not wisdom.
• A collection of wisdom is not truth.

Thus, a mere collection of data is not of full value to an organisation. In our consulting assignments, we at Mining Plus, have encountered from good to bad client databases at various stages of development. It is one of our core strengths to create, audit, manage and add value to our client’s most valuable resource; data that is truthful and validated. If your company deals with data, them come and see us. 

[Originally published at Mining Plus Telegraph, Issue 15 November 2010]

My Inimitable Field Gear: No. 2

One of my favourite quotes, I used three decades ago in my opening for Speech Project No 4 at a Toastmasters Club, goes like this, “A stupendous creation surrounds us, with infinite form, infinite variety and infinite beauty. The more intense our awareness of this vast complexity, the more alive we are.”

We geologists are indeed very lucky, as it is in our education and professional practice to see a world in a grain of sand. How do we appreciate this? By using of a good hand lens.

While common folk step on, or kick a piece of rock, we geologists use hand lens to see the minerals that form them, the unique crystal system that identifies them, and think of the complicated processes that created them. There is so much to see and discover in a small piece of rock specimen, like the various textures, crystal shapes, and the play of light that gives brilliant colours. Helen Keller was once asked of what she thought was the worst calamity that could befall a person, she replied, “To have eyes and fail to see.”

Speaking of finding a world in a grain of sand, imagine the millions of people who've been to the beach many times, yet fail to see that every wet grain of beach sand is thinly coated with water and does not actually touch each other. This is the reason why beach sand is never ground to powder, no matter how much they are pounded by waves. “To be a geologist and fail to see? Nah… it never happens, we are equipped with a hand lens.”

The hand lens has many names, like pocket lens/glass, magnifying glass, loupe, lens or 10X. Whatever called, its purpose is to aid our naked eyes to see things that are beyond our normal vision. With the many names, come the various types, styles, brand and prices. So what is the best lens for geologists? There is no one answer, but here are a few technical specifications I have used that proved to make a good choice.  I may be biased, but one lens that has travelled and grown old with me is my 10X and 20X Hastings Triplet, made by Bauch and Lomb (see photo).

Here are the things to look for: First, construction. The Hastings Triplet is built from three separate high quality lenses bounded together to form a compound lens. This compound lens provides very distinct image that is highly corrected for spherical aberrations. Second, lens quality. The lens should be of high quality material and polish, specially coated and corrected for chromatic distortion to give true colours. Third, magnification. This commonly comes in 7X, 10X, 14X and 20X. I prefer 10X as my prime all around lens as it gives me just the right detail and good field of view. Should there be a need to see finer crystal forms, then 20X comes in handy. Fourth, body construction. Should be rust proof or hard plastic. It is also best that the triplet lens is waterproof. Water should not get in between the lenses.

One more thing, when carrying your hand lens around your neck, the choice of lanyard is very important. For safety reasons, choose a lanyard that is breakable, not one so strong that when it gets caught will choke or even hang you to death. “No, I am not speaking through experience here, and don’t have the rope burns marks around my neck to prove it.”

[Originally Published in GeoFalcon, Issue No. 3, November 2013]

My Inimitable Field Gear: No. 1

We geologists could not perform our field tasks without the proper gear. In this column, we will try to unravel what are these essential items. A number of us to some extreme bring more than the essential items, and while others are on the minimalistic principle. Generally, we geologists love our field gear. Sometimes there is a hidden competition on who does have the latest and best gear. We look at colleagues with meticulous and googly eyes. Envious or proud of what we got. 


In this first series of articles, we bring you the humble whistle, yes, a whistle! I bet you not all of, even the most seasoned, field geologists carry a whistle. Why carry one? Is it essential in performing a geological task? Probably not, but, it could be a lifesaver and excellent for calling attention!

The humble whistle has louder decibels than a human voice, that it is still used in the underground mines by mine car transporters for signaling. 


A whistle produces a lovely musical tone… now I wonder if there are any geologists who can blow a melody using a whistle – then he or she should enlist for an audition in “Geologists Have Talent” – a forthcoming variety show. 


It is cheap, light weight… and it comes in all sorts of colours for your little geo-heart desires.

A cautionary statement is now in order. All of the above has been written with certain seriousness and pun. One geo-scientific skill required in practice is to be able to separate fact from fiction. Reading this article and succeeding articles in this series requires that skill. 


In the next series, we will look at the all-important geological hand lens.  Cheers! 

[Originally Published in GeoFalcon, Issue No 2, June 2013]