Oranjemund on the Up!

[Gordon Brown]

Pete I am sure you will agree that management operates within constraints and parameters set by the Board of Directors who in the case of De Beers are advised by a team of consulting engineers.Major decisions relating to mining policy which affect the life of the mine and its profitability are taken at Board level; not by mine management. In the 1970s, CDM management objected to the overmining policy introduced by the De Beers Board but they were overruled of course and had to comply with this overmining directive. If mine management had had its way there would have been no overmining and today the life of the mine and its profitability would have been much healthier. Overmining suited De Beers as a group but not the good folks of Oranjemund or the citizens of Namibia. Now that the chickens are coming home to roost, all must apply their minds to see what can be done to secure Oranjemund's future! There was scant concern for that when an unhealthy overmining policy was foisted on the mine in the late 1960s / 1970s.Always best to keep things in perspective.