De Beers puts Voorspoed up for sale
The diamond producer says it has decided to put the mine on the market to give lower-cost operators the chance to possibly extend its life beyond 2020
Rough diamond producer De Beers put its Voorspoed mine in the Free State up for sale after talking about closing its second-last operation in SA. De Beers, which is 85% owned by Anglo American and is the world’s largest diamond producer by value, said it was looking for buyers of the opencast mine near Kroonstad. "After evaluating a range of options, the decision to place Voorspoed mine on the market has been taken to provide the opportunity for responsible lower-cost operators to employ a different operating model that could potentially extend the mine’s operating life beyond 2020, thereby contributing to the host community through continued employment opportunities and economic activity," the company said. De Beers has the Venetia mine in Limpopo where it is spending $2bn developing an underground mine at its open pit operation. This will be its last mine in SA, the home of the company that dominated the local diamond industry.
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