Marine diamond mining Image credit: Alexkor
Small-scale diamond miners in South Africa’s Alexander Bay have opposed recent proposals to put the struggling State-owned diamond mining company Alexkor’s concessions up for sale.
The Equitable Access Campaign (EAC), which includes local marine diamond miners operating off the coast of Alexander Bay, was quoted by Mining Weekly as saying that Alexkor’s assets are “unquestionably strategic” and “arguably priceless”.
Sable Metals & Minerals chief executive James Allan recently advised the South African government to sell two deeper offshore diamond resources owned by Alexkor.
He said that R500 million is needed for the systematic and detailed evaluation of the B and C Concessions, money that the South African government does not have.
“These deep water concessions should be sold off to capable and well-resourced private enterprise as a priority, so as to prevent a repeat of Alexkor’s recent history,” he opined.
"Mineral resources are finite, and after some 90 years of exploitation, which included high-grading, and mining without concomitant robust exploration and a mine plan due to lack of financial resources and technical capacity, Alexkor obviously faces declining production and an uncertain future.”
The EAC also disputed Allan’s claim that diamond deposits on the shore and at sea had been mined for 90 years and had depleted to a large degree.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
