De Beers to sell Cullinan mining property

The world's premier diamond mining house, De Beers, is selling all its property in Cullinan and has put its mining operations on the market to bidding consortiums. "The future of Cullinan is now a template to be re-designed by its private stakeholders and whoever wins the mine bid," said the Gauteng Provincial Government's Dinokeng Blue IQ Project.

De Beers Investments is a South African diamond mining, holding and financial company which operates several diamond mines in the country. The company manages 18 mines in four countries and is responsible, with its partners De Beers Marine, Nandeb in Namibia and Debswana in Botswana, for more than 50 percent of world gem diamond production. The mine in Cullinan is still in operation although it was previously closed off to the public. There are already a number of exciting new developments, particularly the recent opening of the diamond mine for underground tours.

The tour also includes a stopover in the Historic Room, containing a fascinating jumble of old mining machines and instruments and sepia-toned photographs. De Beers and its associated companies play a pivotal role in the world diamond industry.

Although its amazing safety innovations make it well worth a visit, Cullinan is renowned for having produced a fourth of the world's diamonds.

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