1. The Global Impact
of De Beers
Diamond Company
Frances Cooke, Katie Doran, Ana
Geltman, Jack Groper, Camila
Hernandez, Ben Lipper, Allie
Lushan, Tracey Shi
De Beers Diamond Picture. Digital image. Moissanite or Diamonds. N.p., n.d. Web.
<http://www.moissanitevsdiamondrings.com/are-diamonds-evil/>.

2. De Beers Family of Companies
● Founded 1888 by Cecil Rhodes
● Mining and trading diamonds
● Global monopoly on diamond industry
● Before the end of the 19th century, South
Africa experienced a heavy diamond rush
● Coined the advertising line "a diamond is
forever"

3. Labor NGO
● Starting with the diamond rush in the 19th century, De
Beers success rates shot up
● Job opportunities were growing rapidly
● De Beers wanted maximum success/wealth
● They began employing children for cheap labor
● During apartheid, they also employed poor black
workers
● Wages were low and there were unsafe conditions
● De Beers had major control over all of South Africa, and
they pushed for higher taxes so that people would come
into the mines to work them off
Child Miners. Digital image. Sierra Express Media. N.p., n.d. Web. 17
June 2013. <http://www.sierraexpressmedia.com/archives/56268>

4. Labor NGO: Global Witness/The
Kimberley Process
● NGO: Global Witness
○ Noticed the conflict diamond trade going on within De
Beers
○ Organized a meeting between several diamond
companies
● Came up with the Kimberley Process
● Soon after, Global Witness left the Kimberley
Process because they refused to address the
clear links between violence and diamonds
● Miners often caught in crossfires of the war,
and were paid poorly when employed by these
warlords or corrupt rulers.

5. Company Labor: Jobs
● Values: Safety, Equality, Human Rights
● Employ: disabled, women, men
no child labor & no forced labor
● Cut-8: protecting jobs (2,400+) by
expanding lifetime of mines
Mpumi with the Kimberly Mines
Women in Mining. Digital image.
De Beers. De Beers, n.d. Web.
<http://www.d-b.
co/en/Careers/Meet-De-Beers-
people/index.htm>.

6. Company Labor: Safety & Risks
● HIV: testing, treatment, awareness : free
● Safety: Training/Educate workers
-Goal: zero-harm workplace
-Security on site
● Risks: Hearing loss, death, injury, disease
● Past Experiences: "Learning-from-incidents"
-Identify & Prevent

7. NGO: Culture
● De beers has been accused on many accounts of unfair
treatment against their workers
● This corporation changes the family dynamics
● They give children strenuous work hours with little pay,
expose them to various diseases, and put their mental
health at risk as well
● The NGO, International Labour Organization have been
doing what they can to stop child labour
● The NGO's goal is to ensure peace for workers and
maintaining justice for all
● Pop culture world: famous rapper Kanye West wrote a
song "Diamonds in Sierra Leone" based off of the abuse
that children face in diamond mines
Diamond. Digital image. Diamond
Mining in Africa. N.p., n.d. Web.
<http://diamondinvestingnews.
com/5897-diamond-mining-in-africa.
html>.

8. Social Welfare
● De Beers used to be involved in 'blood
diamond' trading before the Kimberley
Process was made
● Giving back 2.7% of the money they make
back to the communities (US$19.94 million)
● Money given back goes towards educational
purposes and families sakes
● De Beers Fund-39% money back to
communities affected by company
Give Back Hands. Digital image. At Home Personal Care’s
“Give Back Program”. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.athomeprc.
com/give-back-program.html>.

9. Social Welfare of Mining Communities
● Communities adapted
to mining culture
● Native Bushmen
forcibly resettled
● Human rights
violations by RUF
● De Beers relocated
main mine to
Gaborone, Botswana
● Children maimed and
left traumatized
Photograph. Survival International. Web. <http://www.
survivalinternational.org/tribes/bushmen/diamonds>.

10. Corporation: Culture
● Supports women achieving higher management
positions in businesses
● "I enjoy my job driving the loads to and from the
crusher. It is inspiring to other women to see that this
job is not only for men." -Chandapiwa Monamati, haul
truck operator at Orapa Mines ("Fairness, Diversity &
Development")
● Participates in Kimberley Process to keep blood
diamonds (a.k.a. conflict diamonds) off the

11. Corporation: Culture
international market
● Allows people to use diamonds to express love and
romance
● Diamonds used in traditions (engagements, marriages)
Fig. 1. Vera Wang Love Engagement Rings For Zales. Digital
image. OneWed. OneWed, n.d. Web. 18 June 2013.
Fig. 2. Proposal with diamond ring. Digital image.
Behind the Bliss. Wordpress, n.d. Web. 18 June 2013.

12. NGO: Environment
● De Beers uses strip mining the most often
when coal mining
● strip mining/open pit mining is the most
harmful to the earth and air around it
● strip mining literally blasts mountains apart
in order to reach the thin coal seams within
● Strip mining destroys landscapes, forests,
and wildlife habitat at the mine site.
● the water washes the top soil into streams
which then goes on to pollute waterways
killing fish, plantlife, and causes flooding

13. NGO: Environment
- Greenpeace, the world's most powerful NGO
works hard against coal mining
- Greenpeace suggests that if companies won't
stop coal mining, they will use the methods
that are better for the environment
- Most companies including De Beers use open
pit mining-the fastest but the worst.
- Open pit also requires less man hours and is
easier to find coal

14. NGO: Environment
De beers has been accused on many accounts
of unfair treatment to their workers
The NGO, International Labour Organization
have been doing what they can to stop

15. Corporation: Environmental Impact
● Water-stress
● Degradation of biodiversity
○ Loss of habitat
○ Pollution
● High energy use
○ Electricity
○ Fuels

16. Corporation:
Environmental Stewardship
● Environmental Policy
○ ISO environmental
standards
● Avoiding World
Heritage Sites
● Partnerships
○ WWF South Africa
● UN Water Mandate
● Energy Preservation
Limpopo River Basin. Digital image. Railtours. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 14 June 2013.
The Limpopo River Basin

17. Essential Questions
1. What are the upsides and downsides
of globalization?
2. How do you find the right balance as
an individual, NGO, corporation?
3. Globalization is here; how do we, as
global citizens, deal with it?

18. Bibliography
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"De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd. Is Founded to Exercise Control over Diamond Production in South Africa |
South African History Online." De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd. Is Founded to Exercise Control over Diamond
Production in South Africa | South African History Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 June 2013.
Diamond. Digital image. Diamond Mining in Africa. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://diamondinvestingnews.com/5897-
diamond-mining-in-africa.html>.
"Ghana Country Profile." Ghana Country Profile. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 June 2013.
"Namibia: Exposing The Corrupt Practices Of The De Beers Diamond Cartel." ZNet Recent Items. N.p., n.d.
Web. 10 June 2013.
N.d. Photograph. Http://www.thecommonwealth.org/Shared_ASP_Files/UploadedFiles/%7BF9DEAC0C-3677-
4E11-B0E6-6F5C9013B892%7D_Ghana.gif. Web.
"Fairness, Diversity & Development." De Beers Group. De Beers. Web. 11 June 2013.
Vera Wang Love Engagement Rings For Zales. Digital
image. OneWed. OneWed, n.d. Web. 18 June 2013.
Proposal with diamond ring. Digital image. Behind the Bliss. Wordpress, n.d. Web. 18 June 2013.
Lio, Ada. "Conflict Diamonds - Blood Diamonds." About.com. About.com, n.d. Web. 18 June 2013.
"The Kimberley Process." Kimberley Process. Kimberley Process, n.d. Web. 14 June 2013.
Price, Tom. "Exiles of the Kalahari." Mother Jones. N.p., Jan. 2005. Web. 17 June 2013.