South Africa

South Africa's diamond story began in the late 1860s, when a 15-year-old named Erasmus Jacobs found a diamond at his father’s farm on the south bank of the Orange River. The discovery led to a diamond rush that stretched from South Africa to span the globe. South Africa launched the modern diamond industry and was the world’s leading supplier of diamonds for decades.

During the tail-end of the 1800s, the mining town of Kimberley produced around 95 per cent of the world's diamonds. Apart from a closure due to the outbreak of World War One, production continued until 1932, after which mining ceased following a slump in the diamond industry. However, mining resumed in 1945 and continues to this day.

Diamond manufacturing commenced in 1928 when a cutting factory opened in Kimberley, and South Africa went on to become the fifth-largest manufacturing centre in the world.

Since the earliest days of South Africa's diamond mining, the country has produced some of history's most significant diamonds. These include the Cullinan diamond, the largest ever gem-quality rough diamond at 3,106.45 carats discovered in 1905.

Transporting diamonds

Underpinned by a robust focus on safety, diamonds are extracted from kimberlite in processing plants located at the mine before being flown to a facility in Kimberley for cleaning and initial sorting. From here, they are then sent to the South Africa Government’s Diamond Office for valuation and certification under the Kimberley Process. The diamonds are then shipped to the DTC’s central sorting facility in Gaborone, Botswana, where they are aggregated into assortments for purchase by our rough diamond customers.

Once purchased, the diamonds are transferred via secure courier to the Botswana Government's Diamond Office in Gaborone for further valuation and certification under the Kimberley Process, before being shipped to our customers’ offices after the sale has been completed. Diamonds that are set aside for beneficiation in South Africa will be securely transferred directly to our customers’ cutting and polishing factories in the country.

As part of the Best Practice Principles and OECD Due Diligence Guidance requirements, every stage of the movement of diamonds must be assessed for potential risks. Because of the environment in which we operate, the management systems we adopt and the training that is provided to all security personnel, our assessment process found that the risks associated with the transport of diamonds in South Africa are very low. We continue to ensure that our systems, policies and processes remain current and effective.