WORDS:DEBBIE HATHWAY:: PHOTOS: SUPPLIED
WBHO completes construction on schedule in line with green building ratings.
De Beers Group has relocated its sightholder sales activities from Kimberley, which has been operating since 1974, to Sky Park in Joburg. The recent unveiling was attended by the minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe, Gauteng MEC of Economic Development, Tasneem Motara, and De Beers Group CEO, Al Cook. This new 6,747m² facility occupies two floors comprising sightholder offices, hand and machine rough diamond sorting areas, a training academy, an automated diamond cleaning plant and vault storage.
The relocation resulted in De Beers Sightholder Sales South Africa (DBSSSA) transferring 87 employees to the new facility to continue their diamond sorting, valuation and sales work.
GREATER OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES
The move supports the government’s strategy of consolidating the country’s mineral beneficiation sector into one area at the Gauteng Industrial Development Zone (GIDZ), close to OR Tambo International Airport. In addition, the Group has been consolidating activities for greater operational efficiency, and as such, there have been no mining activities in the Northern Cape since 2015. The world-class Venetia mine in the Limpopo Province is the Group’s only active mine. It is being extended into an underground mine following the closure of open-pit operations in November 2022 in a R35bn investment that will extend the life of the mine to 2046.
“Whilewe congratulate De Beers for the grand opening of the sightholder sales facility, we also welcome the R35bn investment in the underground mining in Limpopo. We encourage you to continue investing in South African mining, particularly in the Northern Cape and other provinces. Doing so will help us change the economic architecture, which stands on three legs Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape,” said Mantashe.
DBSSSA is part of the Global Sightholder Sales network that sells rough diamonds for beneficiation purposes in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Canada, distributes De Beers rough diamonds in South Africa and supports the industry in maintaining a sustainable diamond manufacturing industry. Its beneficiation strategy aligns with the country’s economic goals regarding skills development, enterprise development, industry development, and marketing and promotion of South Africa abroad.
UPSKILLING THE INDUSTRY
In South Africa, DBSSSA has nine sightholders to which it sells rough diamonds 10 times a year. The consistent and predictable supply of rough diamonds to local sightholders supports their ability to invest in local cutting and polishing factories; together, they have employed 620 cutters and polishers since 2020.
Last year, De Beers Group and several key industry players –including the SA Diamond and Precious Metals Regulator, the SA Diamond Manufacturers Association, the SA Diamond Dealers Club and the State Diamond Trader –partnered to launch a Small Beneficiator Customers (SBC) pilot programme with seven identified cutting and polishing businesses receiving assistance.
Moses Madondo, MD of De Beers Group Managed Operations, said: “South Africa is a significant source of rough diamonds and aside from helping to upskill the industry, it is important for us as diamond producers to assist small beneficiation customers with access to affordable parcels of rough diamonds. We are excited to be in the beneficiation hub where we can continue working with our partners to support the local beneficiation industry further. South Africa is sharply focused on being internationally competitive. With government’s support as envisaged through the GIDZ, the country is well placed to support the growth of its beneficiation sector.”
GROWTH AND TRANSFORMATION IN THE DIAMOND PIPELINE
The SBC programme follows the successful launch of the Enterprise Development Project for Diamond Beneficiators in 2016, which saw one of its alumni companies, Molefi Letsiki Diamonds, becoming the first majority black-owned SA Sightholder for the De Beers Group. Nungu Diamonds, also part of the first cohort, partnered with Pluczenik, a De Beers Group sightholder, to establish Pluczenik SA, headed by Nungu Diamonds owner Kealeboga Pule. Now in its second cohort, the project aims to facilitate the growth and transformation of diamond beneficiation in South Africaby optimising interventions in all aspects of the diamond pipeline, from rough diamond purchasing and state-of-the-art manufacturing of diamonds and jewellery to marketing and distribution. To date, 10 diamond-cutting and polishing companies have benefited from the project, with 60% of these companies women-owned and 80% black-owned.
Established in 1888, De Beers Group is the world’s leading diamond company with diamond exploration, mining and marketing expertise. The Group is committed to ‘Building Forever’ ensuring that it makes a lasting contribution to the communities where employees live and work and transforming natural resources into shared national wealth.
CONSTRUCTION – GOOD TO KNOW
The main building contractor, WBHO, completed construction in almost eight months (24 April to 14 December 2022. The building occupies 6,672m² of the 12,830m² total land area. DBSSSA will take up 4,720m² with Petra Diamonds, a leading independent diamond producer, occupying 1,952m². The ground floor accommodates sight offices, admin offices, executive offices and security. There are 162 parking bays onsite. The first floor is reserved for technical services, hand and machine sorting, a training academy and a chemical cleaning plant. This facility has achieved a 5 Green-Star Rating for indoor environmental quality and a 4 Green-Star Rating for the base build. A solar plant is pending ACSA approval to provide power for the roof and parking bay system.
