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Diamond mining firm, the De Beers Group, has gained recognition for its ecological approach to its mining activities.
Its mining operation, De Beers Consolidated Mines, was awarded with the Wildlife Ranching SA Award for ‘Biodiversity and Social Responsibility’.
The judges of the awards board described De Beers as being “best-class in the industry”, due to its efforts in sustaining and managing wildlife and promoting tourism.
De Beers Wildlife manages 67,000 hectares of land in the Kimberley area in the Northern Cape and Limpopo provinces. The reservation sites safeguard 35 endangered, threatened or protected species of animals.
Piet Oosthuizen, senior manager, said: “As a company, we have had a strong focus on biodiversity management for many years. For every hectare of land affected by our mining activities, De Beers Group manages five times that amount for conservation.
“Managing game animals is a privilege and we make sure we do so in a manner that contributes value to the ecosystem without losing sight of the responsibility this brings with it.”
De Beers Wildlife also runs educational youth programmes to support students who wish to gain a career in the industry.
