John Betts - Fine Minerals, New York, NY
Dealers of Fine Minerals and Natural Crystal Clusters since 1989.

Corrections to the Diamond article in Mineralogical Record, Volume 35, Number 1

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Are you looking for locations listed in Mineralogical Record, Volume 35, Number 1?

Many do not exist! In response to the magazine using out of date locality names, I wrote a list of corrections to their article on diamonds.

We no longer use German Southwest Africa to describe Namibia. Correct? Then why are old names used in the article? The most recent and up to date location should be given, especially in a magazine like Mineralogical Record, which is noted for it's high standards.

• After the free elections in South Africa in 1994, the old Cape Province was divided into three provinces: Northern Cape, Western Cape, and Eastern Cape.
• Kimberley is in the province of Northern Cape (as is the N'Chwaning Mine).
• Also in 1994, Orange Free State was renamed Free State.
• Transvaal was divided into four provinces: Northern, Mpumalanga, North-West, and Gauteng. Pretoria and the Witwatersrand region are in the province of Gauteng.
• The Vaal River mining district is on the border between the provinces of Northern Cape and Free State (further north, near Bloemhof, it is the border between the provinces of North-West and Free State).
• Zaire as a country name has not been used since 1997. The country reverted to the original name at that time and should be properly referred to as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) or as Congo Kinshasa. NOTE: Congo Republic is NOT CORRECT and really out of date. It was known as the Republic of Congo from 1908 to 1960. Using just Congo is incorrect too - Congo is a different country.
• Mwadui is in the province Shinyanga, Tanzania.
• Cuango River area in is Lunda Norte, not Northern Lunda.

There are cases that are not clear cut when it comes to geographic names. Whichever government is actually in control determines the name in use. In the case of Burma, the government in power uses the term Myanmar. But it is not a legitimate government in the eyes of the international community--so it is proper show Burma in parentheses.

In the case of the Democratic Republic of Congo, it was originally called that from 1965 to 1971. It was a small-time dictator (Mobutu) that changed it to Zaire. It reverted to Democratic Republic of Congo in 1997.

I could go on. The errors are widespread throughout the article. If the article was written 12 or 13 years ago much of the information in the article would be correct.

In the future, it is hoped that Mineralogical Record will raise the standard for geographic accuracy and will use references that are current. All of the corrections listed above have been in use for at least 7 years (1/5 of the life of Mineralogical Record).

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