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Big Hole

1871–1914 · 19th century · Also known as Kimberley Mine

The Big Hole is a vast open pit at Kimberley in South Africa, dug largely by hand from 1871 to 1914 on the site of the Kimberley diamond mine. Tens of thousands of miners removed some 22 million tonnes of earth and recovered about 2,700 kilograms of diamonds. Control of the mine passed to Cecil Rhodes's De Beers company, and the hole is now a museum.

Big Hole
Image: Irene2005 · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 state history

Griqualand West Colony

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Big Hole. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/big-hole
MLA
“Big Hole.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/big-hole. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Big Hole.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/big-hole.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Big Hole’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/big-hole (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻