In this video, I share the full, unfiltered truth of what it’s really like to start a diamond mine in the jungles of Borneo. From leasing remote land and building a team, to finding investors, buying equipment, and digging for large natural diamonds — and why, in the end, we had to shut it all down.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSJoDedHcAg
**https://300.ya.ru/v_OSjl1cQ2
таймкоды
00:00:00 История добычи алмазов
- На территории искусственного водоёма ранее работала малазийско-австралийская компания, но её лицензия закончилась в 1985 году.
- Автор арендовал землю и добывал крупные алмазы, включая экземпляры около 50 и 40 каратов.
- В местности подтверждено наличие трёх слоёв алмазов.
00:01:09 Условия добычи
- Для начала добычи необходимо быть собственником земли, непригодной для сельского хозяйства.
- Лицензия на добычу носит уведомительный характер и оформляется на уровне старосты деревни.
- Необходимо собрать команду специалистов и приобрести оборудование.
00:02:30 Стоимость оборудования и инвестиций
- Два дизельных двигателя стоят около 1000 долларов, дополнительные инструменты — ещё 2000–3000 долларов.
- Семья из трёх-четырёх человек может прожить на 3 доллара в день, поэтому инвестиции в добычу для них значительны.
00:03:25 Распределение доходов
- Собственник земли получает 20–30% от добытого материала, бригада — 35–40%.
- Инвесторы финансируют покупку оборудования, получая свои проценты.
00:05:11 Расходы на добычу
- Ежедневные расходы на топливо и масло составляют около 1 доллара за литр.
- Себестоимость одного карата добытого материала — около 2000 долларов.
00:08:03 Проблемы с добычей
- Добыча ограничена из-за болотистой местности и оползней.
- Полиция останавливает шахты при гибели людей, но после успокоения ситуации добыча возобновляется.
00:09:40 Влияние на местное население
- С конца 2024 года многие шахтёры перешли на добычу золота, что уменьшило поступление алмазного сырья.
00:10:07 Экологические проблемы
- На Калимантане ведутся только карьерные разработки, без щадящей рекультивации.
- Министерство сельского хозяйства остановило добычу из-за появления носатых обезьян, охраняемой государством.
00:13:16 Предупреждение туристам
- Автор предупреждает туристов о рисках и необходимости профессионализма в добыче алмазов.
- Подчёркивается важность профессионального подхода в любом деле.
In this video
Search transcript
Chapter 1: Introduction: What is this lake and who used to mine here
0:00
Friends good day I would like to tell you a few stories
0:06
6 seconds
that happened on this land And I have a small lake behind me an artificial pond
0:13
13 seconds
A large company operated here but it had its license revoked it ended
0:20
20 seconds
It was a Malaysian‑Australian company They stopped mining here in 1985 I leased this land
0:27
27 seconds
I had four under contract through lawyers
0:35
35 seconds
with the landowners According to the landowner who was then a young man
0:42
42 seconds
he mined and here they mined large diamonds Two large diamonds were extracted
0:50
50 seconds
one was about 50 carats the other about 40 carats In this area there are actually three layers
Chapter 2: How to get access to land and start mining
0:57
57 seconds
and they are confirmed We approached nine meters We found orange sand It was
1:06
1 minute, 6 seconds
This was the first layer And I had a tech a surveyor a geologist
1:14
1 minute, 14 seconds
who said that everything we had already approached now we are starting to dig
1:22
1 minute, 22 seconds
Because the excavator was working but we had to stop In order to start mining in Kalimantan
1:30
1 minute, 30 seconds
You or your family or your friends must own the land
1:36
1 minute, 36 seconds
There must be no possibility of farming rice cultivation
1:43
1 minute, 43 seconds
or any crop In other words, it must be unsuitable for agriculture
1:50
1 minute, 50 seconds
This is the main priority This is the first
Chapter 3: Who you need on your team and what documents are required
1:56
1 minute, 56 seconds
Second The license is advisory at the village elder level
2:03
2 minutes, 3 seconds
If you want to mine traditionally on your land, gather a team of friends
2:11
2 minutes, 11 seconds
usually it’s better to have workers, not idlers and specialists are more expensive, again
2:18
2 minutes, 18 seconds
when you bring supporters like I did in your own time, and when you are the owner
2:26
2 minutes, 26 seconds
you gather friends you grew up with and know them a long time So
Chapter 4: How much it costs to start: engines, hoses, wood
2:33
2 minutes, 33 seconds
you need to buy equipment Each engine and there are two diesel
2:40
2 minutes, 40 seconds
old Chinese old Chinese I mean cast‑iron they are brand new
2:47
2 minutes, 47 seconds
powerful on average two engines cost a thousand dollars But you also need ancillary tools
2:55
2 minutes, 55 seconds
like hoses some grates wood for trays Yes
3:02
3 minutes, 2 seconds
this can probably be saved and many cut costs but on average
3:09
3 minutes, 9 seconds
to open a shaft several people need to spend about 2 2 5‑3 thousand dollars
3:16
3 minutes, 16 seconds
For them it’s huge money because a family of 3‑4 can live on 3 dollars a day for food What they do I am a landowner
Chapter 5: How mining works without investors & how profits are split
3:23
3 minutes, 23 seconds
I own land I have no money I have no investments I have no funds
3:31
3 minutes, 31 seconds
I’m an old grandfather I’d like to try mining on my land It’s unexplored no survey data
3:38
3 minutes, 38 seconds
no research no one worked there But once someone did something maybe
3:46
3 minutes, 46 seconds
they mined And you, grandpa, once maybe told
3:53
3 minutes, 53 seconds
that in that pit he found a rock with a horse‑head What does it do
3:59
3 minutes, 59 seconds
A crew arrives says
4:08
4 minutes, 8 seconds
we are ready to work on your land How much percent do you take
4:17
4 minutes, 17 seconds
On average the landowner gets 20‑30 percent of the material The crew gets about 35‑40 percent
4:25
4 minutes, 25 seconds
We have no investor We look for investors We find an investor
4:33
4 minutes, 33 seconds
who is ready to fund future mining and give money for future material Equipment is bought
Chapter 6: Local miner challenges: seasonality and mining depth
4:41
4 minutes, 41 seconds
So we have a landowner who gets his share We have an investor
4:50
4 minutes, 50 seconds
who gets his share We have a crew 10 people
4:58
4 minutes, 58 seconds
So the crew is about 6‑8 people Landowner and investor
Chapter 7: Hidden costs of diamond mining
5:05
5 minutes, 5 seconds
So 9‑10 people But remember
5:12
5 minutes, 12 seconds
every day the crew uses fuel and oil Diesel fuel, two engines use 20 liters
5:18
5 minutes, 18 seconds
If we multiply by fuel price which we cannot buy at the station We can only buy from third‑party sellers
5:27
5 minutes, 27 seconds
who sell along the road It will cost about $1 per liter Every day plus oil
5:35
5 minutes, 35 seconds
plus the crew needs food While you get the first material until you reach the first layer Gravel
5:43
5 minutes, 43 seconds
Crushed stone Sand It’s visible that this was the bottom like a riverbed
5:51
5 minutes, 51 seconds
It takes a few days Maybe longer So it’s hard work
5:59
5 minutes, 59 seconds
And I can tell you the cost of one carat of material
Chapter 8: The REAL cost of mining one carat of diamond
6:06
6 minutes, 6 seconds
Because you can dig for a month It’s about $2,000 per carat
6:14
6 minutes, 14 seconds
And it will be a yellow stone It won’t bring big money
6:21
6 minutes, 21 seconds
Because surface layers give us small crystals
6:28
6 minutes, 28 seconds
Large crystals lie deep You can reach them only industrially Last year locals mined sand
Chapter 9: How else local miners make money
6:37
6 minutes, 37 seconds
Construction sand It’s used a lot in construction No one filters it
6:46
6 minutes, 46 seconds
No clay removal No impurities removed But here the big problem is construction sand and it’s brought by barges
6:55
6 minutes, 55 seconds
They came to me and showed three stones The third stone was nothing Just not real They were crooked Slanted
7:04
7 minutes, 4 seconds
Dirty and all I say what do you want for these stones He says we would like that amount of money
7:13
7 minutes, 13 seconds
I say I won’t buy these stones I can just give you money and you’ll pay me back later They consulted and said no
7:21
7 minutes, 21 seconds
we don’t want that But a month or two passes And they produced good material I took 6‑carat stones last year
7:29
7 minutes, 29 seconds
8‑carat stones Very large material They worked I want to say
7:38
7 minutes, 38 seconds
Their shaft depth was 5 meters And they had good yield Luck doesn’t favor everyone Why
Chapter 10: Why mines get shut down: rain, hazards, and police raids
7:47
7 minutes, 47 seconds
Because working in this area is swampy You can work about 5 months
7:53
7 minutes, 53 seconds
Now a small stream but the most interesting
8:00
8 minutes
the second half of December January
8:07
8 minutes, 7 seconds
February this bridge will be in water
8:13
8 minutes, 13 seconds
So this year in 2025 we started in mid‑May and finish or around late November or late December
8:20
8 minutes, 20 seconds
In 2024 we closed mining in late December I know they were not my mines
Chapter 11: The gold rush & collapse of diamond production
8:28
8 minutes, 28 seconds
about 15‑16 meters But it’s a huge pit In those places landslides happen because
8:36
8 minutes, 36 seconds
every day we have rain and people die As soon as people die the police stop all mines for a week
8:43
8 minutes, 43 seconds
two three all fine no one works
8:51
8 minutes, 51 seconds
But as everything calms
8:57
8 minutes, 57 seconds
the noise goes on TV, local gossip, all normal again, work starts again because
9:05
9 minutes, 5 seconds
family must be fed and a man cannot work here if your parents didn’t give you
9:12
9 minutes, 12 seconds
education, if they didn’t find you money to get a technical education, finish college, finish
9:20
9 minutes, 20 seconds
university, what can you do in winter, miners work as builders build something
9:27
9 minutes, 27 seconds
get a few pennies Well they can at least feed the family Today
9:35
9 minutes, 35 seconds
since the end of 2024 a huge number of miners went into gold mining And the supply of diamond raw material decreased a lot And why I say
9:42
9 minutes, 42 seconds
this year in 2025 I didn’t keep any large material from my own mine
9:50
9 minutes, 50 seconds
or from outsiders or from other pros No such material Yes
9:57
9 minutes, 57 seconds
I found a 10‑80 chief I bought it from a certain place mountain where they work 12 months a year
10:04
10 minutes, 4 seconds
it’s easier but it was cracked not colorless but brown, we have
10:12
10 minutes, 12 seconds
in Kalimontan on Borneo only quarry mining like coal and diamonds
10:19
10 minutes, 19 seconds
and gold only by quarry No regenerative reclamation no one talks about it
10:27
10 minutes, 27 seconds
and unfortunately the state does not care First – diesel
Chapter 12: What happened to My Mine: Official Intervention
10:34
10 minutes, 34 seconds
second – storage white – this is my sorting We approached very seriously We had lawyers
10:42
10 minutes, 42 seconds
We had contracts We had agreements We even had an excavator and equipment industrial device
10:49
10 minutes, 49 seconds
called built, though made of ironwood but it was built correctly
10:56
10 minutes, 56 seconds
not like locals When we started counting and preparing bags sorting table and more
11:03
11 minutes, 3 seconds
Preparation was large We brought huge amounts of diesel Agriculture
11:11
11 minutes, 11 seconds
The Ministry of Agriculture stopped mining because this area was occupied by baboon monkeys But it is protected by the state
11:18
11 minutes, 18 seconds
And we had to shut down all mining The habitat ring of baboons Closed to noise
11:26
11 minutes, 26 seconds
gamma Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture Friends
Chapter 13: My mine, one year later
11:35
11 minutes, 35 seconds
I’m showing the road that remained from our excavator To bring this palm
11:43
11 minutes, 43 seconds
mud trembles excavator
11:51
11 minutes, 51 seconds
though with wide tracks it sinks One palm costs $30
11:58
11 minutes, 58 seconds
I spent about 50 palms The bell is beautiful Our luxury remains
12:05
12 minutes, 5 seconds
It collapsed Vertically horizontal lies and this is the lower tray
12:12
12 minutes, 12 seconds
Our former mining Yes We lost a lot of money
12:19
12 minutes, 19 seconds
Losses always happen Business is business No one said that
Chapter 14: Losses, risks, and how tourists get scammed
12:27
12 minutes, 27 seconds
arriving in a foreign country you can get rich in a day Many of you came to Barjamasin
12:34
12 minutes, 34 seconds
to Barjaburu from Bali from Vietnam from Southeast Asia
12:42
12 minutes, 42 seconds
took taxis arrived I have an office there, you went straight like mining was brought to you
12:49
12 minutes, 49 seconds
assistants came gave trays and more but I can say
12:58
12 minutes, 58 seconds
today on that land you cleared the first layer of money, the second
13:04
13 minutes, 4 seconds
and the third you don’t have and now
13:11
13 minutes, 11 seconds
they do what? They fool tourists, you know because you’re naive and think
13:18
13 minutes, 18 seconds
you can be unprofessional You can come and get a huge diamond
13:25
13 minutes, 25 seconds
They’ll sell it cheap You’ll go somewhere you can take it won’t get caught at customs
13:34
13 minutes, 34 seconds
All this is criminal Then you cut it and sell high It never happens Friends
13:42
13 minutes, 42 seconds
You must be professionals everywhere You don’t become a professional chef if you didn’t finish education or didn’t get it
13:51
13 minutes, 51 seconds
at home No You consult a professional chef
13:59
13 minutes, 59 seconds
you go to a cafe you go to a restaurant and eat But you come here and try to get rich
14:07
14 minutes, 7 seconds
It never happens My consultations are free Someone comes from far
14:16
14 minutes, 16 seconds
someone consults and someone keeps taking nuts and money I warn you, don’t do it
14:24
14 minutes, 24 seconds
be a professional in any field Good luck and have a good day