Academy Award-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o, who is also a De Beers global ambassador, recently visited South Africa and Namibia to understand the contribution of natural diamonds to sustainable development.
The diamond miner said in a statement that the actress visited the Venetia diamond mine in Limpopo, South Africa, where she gained an appreciation for how every stage of the production value chain supports sustainable development for host communities.
She visited the 32,000-hectare Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve, which De Beers owns and manages and which offers a protected habitat for a diverse range of flora and fauna, including threatened and endangered species, as part of De Beers Group's extensive conservation efforts.
While in Namibia, Nyong’o visited the Namibian Diamond Trading Company and Namdeb, both 50:50 joint ventures between the Namibian government and De Beers.
During her visits to both countries, the actress was shown how De Beers is empowering communities local to its operations through projects that support equal opportunities for women and girls, promote education and early childhood development, advance local entrepreneurs and provide essential infrastructure support such as water and road upgrades.
“I have had a relationship with De Beers jewellery for a while now and I was very curious to go to the source and experience the journey a diamond makes first-hand,” she said.
“It was a pleasure to meet with people working in South Africa and Namibia’s diamond industries, and I was especially struck by the female staff who are breaking barriers and having real success in a sector that has traditionally been the realm of men.
“It was illuminating and inspiring to meet women from the surrounding communities who occupy and thrive in technical roles, as drill operators, geologists, and engineers.”
De Beers Brands chief executive Sandrine Conseiller said there can be a lot of misperceptions about diamond mining.
“So it was a real pleasure to give Lupita the opportunity to experience our world-class operations, our strong commitment to sustainability and some of the vital ways that a De Beers diamond supports and advances the people and places it came from,” she said.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
