The mine was opened by the Honourable Ms Buyelwa Sonjica, South African Minister of Minerals and Energy.
Ms. Sonjica was joined at the opening ceremony by Nicky Oppenheimer (Chairman of the De Beers Group), Manne Dipico (Chairman of De Beers’ Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) partner, Ponahalo Holdings Limited, and the Deputy Chairman of De Beers Consolidated Mines (DBCM)), together with Gareth Penny (Managing Director of the De Beers Group) and David Noko (Managing Director of DBCM).
The mine Operations Manager, Andy Taylor, hosted the guests, with leaders of local government, members of the community and all mine staff. South Africa is the home of the modern diamond mining industry following the discovery of diamonds in 1866.
Voorspoed is the first De Beers mine to be opened in South Africa since DBCM entered into the groundbreaking BBBEE transaction with Ponahalo in 2006. The mine has an exemplary environmental, rehabilitation and eventual closure plan that began to be implemented before construction of the mine, and long before the first diamond was even recovered from the ground. As a result, Voorspoed has a far-reaching environmental and social investment programme that has already begun to ensure that the mine’s impact will be felt in the communities in which De Beers and Ponahalo operate.
As a new generation mine, Voorspoed will be operated by a new generation of miner. Voorspoed employees are more qualified than is traditional for a mining environment in South Africa. All employees have fully completed secondary school, and many have had tertiary education. The mine already has an outstanding record of ‘women in mining’ and 25 per cent of technical and mining jobs are held by women, while 36 per cent of the mine complement is female.
Speaking before the opening ceremony today, Nicky Oppenheimer said “This is an historic milestone for De Beers and our empowerment business partners. Voorspoed is the embodiment of insights we have made throughout our years of operation, about how to operate an efficient mine in a way that helps our producer partners achieve their aspirations of turning natural resources into shared national wealth. I am particularly pleased that Ponahalo has played such an active role in developing this new mine and in involving the community, members of which account for nearly fifty per cent of the Voorspoed workforce.”
Mr. Oppenheimer added, “Voorspoed is the first major new diamond mine to be opened in South Africa for almost two decades, and is testament to our confidence in the robust future of the diamond industry."
Also speaking before the ceremony, David Noko said “Voorspoed represents a new generation of mines operated by De Beers; the employee profile is young - less than 35 years - and all employees recruited have an education level higher than any other diamond mine in South Africa. The role of the modern miner is more empowered and well-rounded than ever before. Voorspoed is an example of what is meant by mutually beneficial partnerships – the model that De Beers works to and continually strives for.”
Mr. Noko concluded “I would particularly like to pay tribute to our partners, Ponahalo, who have contributed so much to the success that we are celebrating today. Few people fully appreciate that it is more than just financial investment that is required to bring a mine on stream. It also takes the commitment of a vast team over many years. I would therefore like to thank all the people that have worked tirelessly to make today possible.”
More about Voorspoed >