Wraps on Kimberley mine

JOHANNESBURG – The world’s biggest diamond producer De Beers said yesterday it had concluded the closure process of its underground operations at its historic Kimberley mine in South Africa.

Most production halted earlier in the year at the loss-making underground mine, but negotiations with unions continued until an agreement was recently signed with the National Union of Mineworkers, a statement said. De Beers, 45 per cent owned by mining group Anglo American Plc, has agreed to retrain the 693 employees who will lose their jobs and is also investing in the region to create non-mining jobs, it added.Production at Kimberley will continue above ground from processing old waste dumps with new technology to find missed gems, contributing around two million carats each year.De Beers’ South African mines, which have been involved in a restructuring process this year, produced 13,7 million carats of rough diamonds in 2004 – 29 per cent of the 47 million carats produced by the group.-Nampa-ReutersDe Beers, 45 per cent owned by mining group Anglo American Plc, has agreed to retrain the 693 employees who will lose their jobs and is also investing in the region to create non-mining jobs, it added.Production at Kimberley will continue above ground from processing old waste dumps with new technology to find missed gems, contributing around two million carats each year.De Beers’ South African mines, which have been involved in a restructuring process this year, produced 13,7 million carats of rough diamonds in 2004 – 29 per cent of the 47 million carats produced by the group.-Nampa-Reuters