De Beers
De Beers is the largest diamond producer and merchant in the world with headquarters in Luxembourg. The company supplies about one- third of global production of rough diamonds. Bears his name the company after its first mine in Kimberley on the farm of Johannes Nicolaas and Diederik Arnoldus brothers de Beer. For over 100 years was the South African company that is steered from Luxembourg, a syndicate with a monopoly on the diamond trade. This monopoly is now hard pressed by traders from Asia.
Today, De Beers only sells diamonds from its own mines, most of which are in South Africa, Botswana and Namibia. The company produced in 2004 gems with a total weight of 47 million carats ( about 9.4 tons ), three million more than in 2003.
- 2.1 Production and Marketing
- 2.2 Corporate Investments
History
Diamond rush
The beginnings of De Beers is 100 km west of Bloemfontein in the Orange Free State in southern Kimberley in South Africa. In 1866, on the grounds of the farm of the brothers de Beer diamonds were found, spread it immediately, so that diamond hunters came from all corners of South Africa and began to dig uncontrollably. The De Beers sold perforce the farm and left the area. The farm was immediately divided into mining fields that were auctioned to diamond seekers. They came after initial sensation soon finds their technical limits, for geological reasons must with increasing depth more and more heavy debris to be cleared in increasing width in order to get to the deposits of diamonds. The therefore necessary capital expenditure was not applied by individual Diamantschürfern. "The Big Hole" in Kimberley is still part of the enormous earthwork, 1914 were needed for the final exploitation of those reserves until the closure of the mine.
Consolidation of the company
This was the hour of Cecil Rhodes, but also of Barney Barnato and a few others. They bought the mining rights of the diamond hunters who had become virtually worthless for this. In 1880, the battle for the diamond fields began. Rhodes tried it with coalitions. In April of the same year he united and their proportions to founding Charles Rudd the new group. Barnato moved in the same year and the same with his family founded the Barnato Diamond Mining Company in order to strengthen their claim in the lucrative Kimberley Mine. After a series of mergers succeeded Barnato in 1887 to gain a dominant position in the Kimberley mine. But that did not help him to the final dominance. He was a simple man of the people who had made a fortune through their own diamond deposits. He lacked the social recognition that membership in the English club, the support at the court and in the banks of the British Empire. All this, however, had Rhodes so that both merged their interests in the mine in Kimberley, from an economic opportunity to De Beers. From the Rothschild archive shows that Cecil Rhodes had 1890-1914 equities at Rothschild.
De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited
De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited was incorporated on March 12, 1888 by Cecil Rhodes as chairman. De Beers included the entire De Beers Mine, three quarters of the Kimberley Mine and controlled interests in the Bultfontein and Dutoitspan mines. Cecil Rhodes, Barney Barnato, F.S. Philipson - Stow and Alfred Beit were now the major shareholder and director of De Beers. In 1890, the London Diamond Syndicate was founded, which bought up the entire production of De Beers. This syndicate was the foundation on which Ernest Oppenheimer created the Diamond Corporation, which later became the " Central Selling Organization " was. As of August 1893, De Beers was listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
1889 Rhodes acquired the Barnato Diamond Mining Company of 5.33865 million pounds - at that time the highest check the history. Thus all diamond mines of South Africa were under his control. His alleged last words, " So much to do, so little done" should be remembered personally Queen Victoria. In the same year Ernest Oppenheimer came as an agent of A. Dinkelsbuhler & Co. ( diamond purchase) to Kimberley. By owning Oppenheimer Consolidated Diamond Mines ( CDM) in South West Africa ( Namibia from 1990 ) was 1924, the Anglo American Corporation Member of the London Diamond Syndicate. This British control, and thus the annual profit for the Empire was assured.
Policy
The Boer War was fought from the above reasons and because of the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand.
Business
Production and marketing
The company used in the 1940s for the first time the slogan " A Diamond is forever" (German: "A diamond lasts forever " ) in its public relations. Between 1980 and 1993, the company quadrupled its annual budget for advertising, public relations and image campaigns to 234 million Swiss francs. 2007, the Company issued approximately $ 220 million for marketing activities.
Because of the monopolistic position of De Beers at the time advertisements for diamonds at that time was seen as synonymous with advertising for De Beers. Anglo American owns 45% of De Beers, a further 45 %, the Oppenheimer family. Nicky Oppenheimer is chairman of the board. In addition, the De Beers Centenary ( Switzerland ) owns 50 % of Debswana ( Botswana ), 50 % of Nambdeb ( Namibia) and 75 % of the Williamson Mine ( Tanzania) in Africa. Since 2001, De Beers no joint-stock company is delisted from the stock exchanges and more from Johannesburg and London. De Beers owns 40 % of the shares of Anglo -American Corporation ( U.S. $ 15 billion in annual sales, emerged from the British South Africa Company ), and this in turn a large proportion of de Beers. Both companies are controlled by the Oppenheimer family in South Africa, which holds shares in both companies.
Corporate investments
Companies in which De Beers has holdings include:
- De Beers Canada
- De Beers Marine Namibia
- Debswana
- Diamond Trading Company
- Diamond Trading Company Botswana
- Namdeb
- Namibia Diamond Trading Company
Oppenheimer sold Anglo American De Beers stake
4 November 2011 it was announced that the group Anglo American for 5.1 billion U.S. dollars will take over the share of the Oppenheimer family in De Beers to 45% and thus increased its share to 85%. The transaction was completed in August 2012.
Criticism
De Beers stood and still stands for human rights groups in the criticism. Denounced on the one hand, that one can still find blood diamonds on offer. De Beers indicates that the proportion of blood diamonds would be a maximum of 4 %, which has not been established and is being questioned by human rights activists. Secondly, the hard working conditions for the people in the mines are criticized. In addition, De Beers is considered to be a tough business partner: Who are admitted as a buyer, must always pay cash and may reject a maximum of 5 % of the rough diamonds offered.
Films ( documentaries )
- The way the diamonds - Three-part documentary series by Nisha Pahuja ( ZDF / ARTE 2008)