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To learn more about Fluorspar and it's interesting applications, click here to open a window to the Argonne National Laboratory website.
Click here to learn how to use the
Southern Cross to find South.
You may need it one day!
Day 2
After a good night's sleep and hearty breakfast we set off.
An ancient river cut a path through the mountains to reach the Orange river. Now, nothing more than a wide flat path, the old river bed allows for limited land access to a stretch of the river.
Here we see one or two people with small manual setups searching for alluvial diamonds. By the time you reach Sendelingsdrif further down the river, you would have reached the Restricted Security Diamond Access area. One of the richest deposits of diamonds in the world, and stories of walking along and seeing diamonds glitter in the sand everywhere you went, lured many to take on the harsh land in search of riches.
In the end the shifting sands of the Namib desert and brutal climate left only eroded ghost towns and dreams blown away in the wind swept land.
At this opening of the old river bed we stop to investigate another mine. How it was ever discovered is a real mystery, but high up on a mountain with about an 80 degree slope lies the hidden remains of a rich Fluorspar vein that was mined a hundred years ago.
The Fluorspar was used at Springbok, about 100km south, in the production of copper. In the 1960's production ended when it became commercially unviable.
After an exhausting, sliding climb to the mine, we eagerly collect the marine green fluorspar crystals. Unfortunately the beautiful mineral is too brittle for making jewelery, but we have something else in mind.
But before we can get to the magic fluorspar tricks, we have to tackle the Sjambok (officially grade 2) rapid. The name referring to whip/whiplash gives an indication of what is ahead. With the level of the water where it is, the river is channeled through a narrow area, wildly wielding left and right between boulders and jagged rocks.
If you were to fall out, you would be at the river's mercy for about 80m until you reached the end where you're in for a 1m (3ft) sudden drop. Our guides are discussing between themselves whether they would classify it as a grade 3 or 4 rapid.
One by one the canoes go down, most of them striking disaster. My dad and I seem to have more luck as we narrowly miss the sharp rocks and boulders as we weave through the turns. We need to cut in sharply to the right not to end up on the rocks when we get to the miniature 1m waterfall - which creates a bit of a panic as it would leave us to take the drop at an angle instead of ahead on.
At the last moment with a powerful stroke I get the canoe to turn straightish just in time. With adrenaline pumping we make the sudden drop, but the last wave crashes over the canoe and fills it halfway with water. Struggling to the embankment, the water eventually throws us off balance. At least we're better off than most other teams, and we don't have to search for our paddles 1km downstream.
That evening with the fire crackling and stars flickering we finally get to play with the fluorspar. When you throw the crystals in the fire, they glow into an intense fluorescent green, before they reach the grand finale where the crystal explodes in firework style, only for the smaller glowing crystals to explode again, and again.
Staring up at the Southern Cross, I notice a heart shaped constellation of stars, which I name after my wife: the "Belinda love star." Unfortunately this can't be seen from the northern hemisphere, but I carry the memory of it around in my heart.