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De Beers Consolidated Mines (DBCM) has appointed Nompumelo ‘Mpumi’ Zikalala to its Board, bringing a wealth of experience in mining, diamond trading and in the advancing the economic and social transformation of the South African Company.
Ms Zikalala joined De Beers in 1996 as a bursar and has filled a number of senior roles in the organisation, in both mining and diamond trading. In 2007, she was appointed general manager of the Kimberley Mine, becoming the first female general manager of a major diamond mine. She also held the same position at Voorspoed Mine from 2010.
In May 2013, Ms Zikalala was appointed Vice President of De Beers Sightholder Sales South Africa, the rough diamond trading division.
Barend Petersen, Chairman of DBCM, said: “I am delighted to welcome Mpumi to the Board. Her appointment is proof that De Beers identifies and nurtures home-grown talent, creating opportunities for talented leader’s at the most senior levels of the business.
“Mpumi’ s extensive diamond experience, together with the insight she’s gained in her non-executive capacity at Mintek, will create value for both De Beers and its partners. I look forward to working with her as we advance the business in South Africa.”
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About The De Beers Group of Companies
De Beers is a member of the Anglo American plc group. Established in 1888, De Beers is the world’s leading diamond company with unrivalled expertise in the exploration, mining and marketing of diamonds. Together with its joint venture partners, De Beers employs more than 23,000 people (directly and as contractors) across the diamond pipeline, and is the world’s largest diamond producer by value, with mining operations in Botswana, Canada, Namibia and South Africa. As part of the company’s operating philosophy, the people of De Beers are committed to Living up to Diamonds by making a lasting contribution to the communities in which they live and work, and transforming natural resources into shared national wealth. For further information about De Beers visit www.debeersgroup.com .
Nompumelelo ‘Mpumi’ Zikalala biography
Nompumelelo ‘Mpumi’ Zikalala is a South African hailing from Vryheid, KwaZulu-Natal. She holds a BSc Chemical Engineering degree from the University of the Witwatersrand and completed the Emerging Leaders course at the London Business School.
Mpumi started her mining career in 1996 as a De Beers bursar and has worked in various leadership roles at Cullinan Mine, The Oaks Mine, Kimberley Mine and at Voorspoed Mine, the latter two as General Manager.
In January 2010, Mpumi was appointed General Manager of Voorspoed Mine, near Kroonstad in the Free State (one of three De Beers Consolidated Mines in South Africa). Voorspoed Mine is known for being one of the most transformed mines in South Africa and boasts a diverse complement where 50% of management are categorised as historically disadvantaged South African (HDSA), 30% of employees in technical and mining positions are women and 2% of employees have disabilities.
Since 1 May 2013 she has, as Vice President, headed the De Beers Sightholder Sales South Africa (DBSSSA) business based in Kimberley, where De Beers undertakes diamond sorting, grading and valuation of its production. The DBSSSA operation is the trading arm of De Beers in South Africa and focusses on promoting the beneficiation of De Beers’ rough diamond production by its South African based clients cutting factories.
Mpumi has served as the Chairperson of the De Beers Equal Allocation Trust – the Ponahalo Holdings Trust (Ponahalo: Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment shareholder of 26% of DBCM). The employee trust was formed to accommodate the interests on employees and pensioners in Ponahalo arising from the 2006 empowerment transaction with De Beers Consolidated Mines.
Mpumi is recognised for her professionalism, technical knowledge and application, having achieved challenging and significant targets throughout her career with De Beers. She believes that an individual’s success should not be measured by their own success but by the impact that the individual has made in other people’s lives.
Mpumi is passionate about the development of young people and believes that life is about ‘Vukuzenzele’, which is a Zulu word meaning ‘stand up and do it for yourself’. She says: “Life is about choices and we all need to focus on making the right ones”.