Africa, the world’s largest producer of diamonds, has produced half of all diamonds. With 1.9 billion carats produced, the continent has mined about $158 billion worth of the gems.

Diamond mining in Africa dates back to 1866, when the child of a Dutch farmer found a 22-carat diamond in what is now South Africa — that was the first known diamond discovered on the continent. When an 83-carat diamond was found three years later, it drew a rush of miners into South Africa.

The first four mines in Africa were dug in 1871 in areas around the Vaal River. The largest was Colesberg Kopje, nicknamed “the Big Hole,” in Kimberly. The wealth produced by these mines triggered industrial development, with modern shipping ports, along with travel and communication networks springing up throughout the subcontinent. That ultimately lead to two wars between the Dutch settlers (known as the Boers) and the British from 1880 to 1881 and 1899 to 1901. Over the next century, Africa continued to lead the world in diamond production.

The majority of Africa’s diamond empire is controlled by De Beers. The company controlled the flow and pricing of the diamond market for a large part of the 20th century after forming Anglo American Corporation in 1917 and establishing a central selling organization to stabilize sales.