The South African Sea Areas (SASA) operation was established in 2003 when we were granted Mining Licence 3.
ML3/2003, as it is called, covers a concession area of 8,000km2 along the West Coast of South Africa (click here for the map).
The SASA project yields 240,000 carats a year.
The De Beers Marine SA fleet undertakes sampling and mining in the 40km2 area covered by the SASA mine plan. The fleet consists of four ships:
- Peace in Africa (mining vessel)
- Coral Sea (sampling vessel)
- Douglas Bay (sampling vessel)
- The AUV (underwater vessel)
Our environmental management programme for SASA is ISO14001 certified. We are upgrading the harbour facilities at Port Nolloth and establishing a waste management site.
We focus on recruiting historically disadvantaged South Africans and invest in community programmes to contribute to the area’s development.
Approximately 45% of project expenditure is awarded to black-owned companies.