Crowds Gather for De Beers’ Community Fairs

The company staged the fairs in Musina, Eldorado and Alldays in Limpopo Province to improve engagement with the mining communities at grassroots level.

They were the first of their kind held by De Beers Consolidated Mines (DBCM) and are now set to become an annual event.

The fairs, held in February, were designed to help people in rural communities learn more about Venetia mine and how they might benefit from the development opportunities on offer – for example, jobs, financial study assistance and the company’s Youth Development Programme.

Each fair began with an opening ceremony and a welcome from Phillip Barton, Chief Executive of DBCM. Also on hand was Benford Mokoatle, recently appointed General Manager of Venetia mine.

Then exhibits were opened and guests were encouraged to visit stalls run by De Beers and its major contractors Murray and Roberts Cementation, Basil Read and Barloworld, which co-hosted the fairs with De Beers. 

One De Beers stall featured a model of the Venetia Underground Project, showing progress on the US$2 billion underground extension of the Venetia mine, scheduled to begin production in 2022.

There was also a ‘Kiddies’ corner’ with entertainment and refreshments for children, as well as radio stations broadcasting live from the event.

Tarryn Rae Genis, Senior Corporate Affairs Officer at De Beers, said: “We were thrilled by how many came along to the fairs and the interest shown in our work. It gave us an opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to the communities and to our social investment in the areas around the mine.”

About De Beers
De Beers is a member of the Anglo American plc group. Established in 1888, De Beers 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 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 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, visit www.debeersgroup.com.

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