As a result of how expensive and how often mine workers attempt smuggling Diamonds out of the mines, South African workers are x-rayed before they leave the mines.
In this picture that shows a De Beer mine worker being x-rayed in Kimberly, South Africa, a trained radiologist can spot the tiniest diamond that anyone attempts to smuggle from the mine and screens them.
It was not uncommon for workers at the end of their shifts to go through the x-ray machine for inspections as some miners swallowed diamonds, even going as far as hiding them in self-inflicted incisions in their legs.
Statistics from a Botswana-based mine claim that 36% of the workers smuggle diamonds out of its mines by hiding them in their anus, 30% hide them between their buttocks, 14% use their socks and hair to smuggle them, 5% hide the gems in their mouths, 2% place the rocks under their scrotum, 2% hide them in their clothes, 2% use their underwear, and 10% use other means.
The x-ray machine used by the radiologist in the picture to examine the mine worker is called Fluoroscopy. Fluoroscopy is an imaging process that uses X-rays to obtain real-time moving images of the interior of an object.
It is mainly an X-ray source and a handheld fluorescent screen, which a patient is placed in its simplest form. The dangers of x-ray hadn’t been fully recognised, which is why the radiation protection is minimal, as seen in the picture.
As a result of using X-rays, fluoroscopic procedures potentially increase the patient’s risk of cancer from radiation. The radiologist isn’t safe as the radiation affects him too.
The amount of radiation a person receives depends mainly on their size and the procedure duration. Exposure times differ depending on the procedure being conducted, but techniques that have lasted up to 75 minutes have been documented.
Contrary to public opinion, diamonds are neither complex nor rare to find because supply exceeds demand. However, some companies create artificial scarcity by stockpiling mined diamonds and selling them in small amounts.
