The Kimberley group of mines are located in the Northern Cape in South Africa, around the famous mining town of Kimberley.
David Noko, Managing Director De Beers Consolidated Mines, with Johan Dippenaar, CEO of Petra Diamonds at the sale of Kimberley underground mines
There are five pipes in this group: De Beers, Kimberley, Bultfontein, Dutoitspan and Wesselton.
The mines were established in 1871. The original Kimberley mine closed in 1914, and the De Beers underground mine in 1995.
In September 2007, Petra Diamonds bought the underground operations from De Beers.
In 2004, De Beers opened a combined treatment plant (CTP) in Kimberley to retreat the dumps in the area. The plant treats around 7.5 million tons of ore a year, producing 1.8 million carats at its peak, thereby tripling current carat production.
The largest diamond recovered to date was a 93-carat stone, with the largest gem being 45 carats. The CTP has extended the life of the mine to 2011. If all opportunities are realised, this could even extend to 2030.
De Beers is involved in numerous socio-economic development activities to improve the Kimberley region.
Kimberley mines has forged formal partnerships with the Northern Cape provincial government and the Sol Plaatje municipality to explore opportunities for creating jobs and alleviating poverty.
The biggest project in this regard is the Kimberley Big Hole Project, which helped develop the Big Hole into a world-class tourism facility.
The project was completed at the end of 2006 and besides providing more than 300 jobs, has also created numerous business opportunities for local small and medium enterprises.
It is managed by a trust, which includes representatives from De Beers, stakeholders and the broader community.