Smith recalls a bit of wisdom the industry leader, who died last week, shared at a diamond conference years ago.
De Beers Honored for Ecological Conservation in S. Africa
The mining company received the Biodiversity and Social Responsibility award for its work protecting species at private game reserves.

Johannesburg--De Beers Consolidated Mines has received the Wildlife Ranching South Africa award for Biodiversity and Social Responsibility, the company announced via a press release on March 30.
The award honors the company’s ecological conservation efforts at its four private game reserves in the Northern Cape and Limpopo provinces in South Africa. (De Beers Consolidated Mines, or DBCM, is the subsidiary of De Beers SA that operates its diamond mining operations in South Africa.)
“As a company, we have had a strong focus on biodiversity management for many years,” said Senior Manager, Ecology and DBCM Properties Piet Oosthuizen.
“For every hectare of land affected by our mining activities, De Beers Group manages five times that amount for conservation.”
The reserves encompass 67,000 hectares (more than 165,000 acres) of land, where animals like elephants, hippopotamus, and crocodiles were introduced in the 1970s.
De Beers Wildlife, the branch of DBCM that oversees the reserves, was also one of the first breeders of disease-free buffalos, the company said.
Today, the reserves are home to more than 35 species that are endangered, threatened or protected.
Oosthuizen commented: “Managing game animals is a privilege and we make sure we do so in a manner that contributes value to the ecosystem without losing sight of the responsibility this brings with it.”
De Beers Wildlife also champions conservation education programs for young people.
In partnership with the Northern Cape Nature Academy, De Beers Wildlife provides post-school game industry training for students and has two dedicated research facilities for this purpose.
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