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De Beers Group invested R6.1 billion procuring goods and services locally in South Africa in 2016, a 27 per cent increase on the previous year, according to its latest Report to Society, published today.

The Group also provided R40 million in funding to communities around its mines through a number of community development initiatives. This included the continuation of the company’s successful Zimele enterprise development programme, which has supported more than 3,000 jobs and 260 enterprises in South Africa since 2009.

In 2016 the programme focused on providing a link between local enterprises and De Beers’ supply chain to create consistent and reliable business opportunities for all parties.

The Group also launched a new beneficiation project to broaden the participation in diamond cutting of Historically Disadvantaged South African entrepreneurs (pictured above) in 2016. The project involves working with five black-owned diamond companies, the South African government and the local diamond industry to develop the cutting and polishing sector.

As a result of its improved financial and operating performance, globally De Beers Group returned US$5 billion to stakeholders in 2016 – a 26 per cent increase on 2015 – through taxes, payments and dividends, emphasising the importance of the relationships with stakeholders, including governments, communities, suppliers and joint venture partners in 2016.

The publication of today’s Report comes as the company announces a ground-breaking research project in South Africa to investigate the possibility of carbon-neutral mining through storing large volumes of carbon in kimberlite tailings, the rock material left over after diamonds are liberated from mined ore.

The Report also highlights that in South Africa, De Beers Group:

• spent more than R85 million on training for employees;
• supported an additional 70 jobs in 2016 through 10 new enterprises as part of Zimele, an enterprise development programme run in partnership with Anglo American;
• worked with 700 community members to embed a road safety campaign for better pedestrian and vehicle safety around the Venetia mine in the north of Limpopo province.

Bruce Cleaver, CEO, De Beers Group, said: “We made significant progress in putting the South African supply chain to work in 2016 through our continued focus on procuring goods and services locally.

“Through the range of our community development initiatives we are fostering the growth of many small businesses, as well as the De Beers supply chain, which delivers significant long-term benefits for both the people and our South African business.

“There is always more we can do and we are focused on further extending these efforts in 2017 to ensure we continue to convert the precious asset below ground into enduring opportunity above ground.”

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Notes to Editors

The Report to Society 2016 can be viewed online at www.debeersgroup.com/reporttosociety

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About De Beers Group

De Beers Group is a member of the Anglo American plc group. Established in 1888, De Beers Group is the world’s leading diamond company with expertise in the exploration, mining and marketing of diamonds. Together with its joint venture partners, De Beers Group employs more than 20,000 people 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 Group are committed to ‘Building Forever’ 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 Group, visit www.debeersgroup.com.