De Beers has announced a R16,8-million investment in its “Big Hole project” at the Northern Cape mining city of Kimberley, the provincial capital, to develop the facilities on the perimeter of the famous diamond mine, which closed operations in 1914, and to boost the city’s future tourism potential.
The three-year project — which would see the upgrading of the museum which houses famous buildings from Kimberley’s mining history, including Barney Barnato’s boxing academy – could see De Beers eventually investing a total of 50 million rand, said spokesperson Brian Roodt on Friday. Restoration of some buildings will begin almost immediately.
The De Beers board approved the Big Hole Project concept-development study in November 2002 but the go-ahead for the funding has now been given. It is envisaged that the existing Kimberley Mine Museum complex will be divided into
two sections that have been provisionally named “Diamond Rush” and “The World
of Diamonds”.
Diamond Rush is envisaged to become a unique historically-themed leisure and commercial retail trading area for the local community focusing on small to medium businesses, black economic empowerment and tourists, while the World of
Diamonds would tell the story of De Beers.
Some of the buildings will be relocated further away from the Big Hole — the walls of which are still subsiding — and be incorporated into the commercial operation which will be open to the public without charge.
Members of the public will, however, be charged to enter the World of Diamonds which will have a high security diamond display facility. It would also provide corporate information focusing on the diamond industry.
Roodt, who noted that tourism numbers had been dropping in recent years, said that first shops in the commercial area could open as early as January next year. It was envisaged that new restaurants and coffee shops would use existing buildings or new buildings in the style of the turn of the 19th century.
De Beers managing director Gary Ralfe said: “Even before De Beers has exhausted all ways of optimising and extracting value from its diamond resources in Kimberley, the Big Hole Project will be contributing to sustaining the Kimberley community.”
“This will last well beyond the end of De Beers’ operations in Kimberley. We see the Big Hole Project, with its tourism-related business opportunities and recreational facilities, as a unique and exciting way to invest in the communities that surround our existing operations.”
Roodt noted that the existing diamond recovery operations from the mining dumps would last for about 35 to 45 years. – I-Net Bridge