Owner: Rogue
Medium Mountain Diamond Mine
Location: Earth, West Africa
Add-Ons:
???
- Advanced Sensor Array
- Airfield
Mobile Suits (???/???):
- ???
Mobile Armors (???/???):
- ???
Defenses:
- ???

Deep-13, formerly the Holpan-Klipdam Mine, is an extraction site set up on a terrifically rich network of extinct volcanic pipes containing diamonds so plentiful “they could be harvested with a pair of pliers”. The site of the mine, located in the mountainous region about a hundred miles from the coast off Freetown, was originally an oil exploratory base set up by Egypt-based Bar-Kemal Ltd., but operations were abandoned after only marginal results from bore holes were found. The base was sold to the Ayers & Gujarat Group, a gemological studies and harvesting firm, who suspected secretly that Bar-Kemal had actually found diamonds without realizing it – their expensive hunch turned out to be true, and A.G.G. has made a virtual killing since the late UC 220s from diamonds extracted from Holpan-Klipdam, much to Bar-Kemal’s chagrin. The mine had another “change of ownership” (as well as name) in UC 241 when Continuation Army-affiliated renegades seized the site, leading some to speculate as to whether the Deep-13 as it is now known will be the first of many such raids by the resurgent ex-ZAFT rebels.

Much of the surface construction of the site was built by Bar-Kemal for the exploratory operations, and as a result the base resembles a medium-sized oil drilling complex nestled in the nearby hills, with an airfield partially excavated out of one to facilitate transportation to and from the site. Most of the Bar-Kemal structures have been abandoned for decades and allowed to degrade – a quick observation might lead one to believe the entire site was a derelict. Closer inspection reveals quite the opposite as transport jets disappear into subterranean hangars via elevator after coming to a rest at the end of the landing strip. The mining and processing of diamonds is carried out almost entirely below the surface, and with a relatively high degree of automation. Robot “diggers” crawl through the kimberlite pipes, crushing the old volcanic flow into a fine-grained substance which is filtered for diamonds at the processing center. The rough stones are then packaged for shipment on regular aircraft flights, although where the “conflict diamonds” are ultimately ending up has proven somewhat enigmatic under the new management.

Because of the mine’s location in a politically “less than stable” area, A.G.G. devoted a not-insignificant amount of its profits toward fortifying the installation against prospective attackers. Garrisoned mobile suits are stored below ground in a series of centralized hangar caverns that double as repair bays, while a few concealed elevators allow the mobile forces to deploy either within the base perimeter or into the surrounding hills. Furthermore, a series of well-camouflaged gun batteries are positioned throughout the immediate valley, arranged in staggered lines that unusually enough point inward rather than out. The smaller emplacements are hidden by false rocks that clamshell open to allow the turret within to fire, while the bunkers housing the heavy weaponry are simply disguised as natural terrain features that seem innocuous enough until the guns open fire. All of the batteries are provided with a type of thermal retardant laminate so as not to spoil their location to nosy infrared scanners. After A.G.G. was evicted, heavy weapons in retractable mounts more commonly seen at Continuation Army installations have begun popping up around the rim of the valley, furthering the circumstantial links between the mine’s new owners and that group.