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T H E D I A M O N D R O U T E N E W S L E T T E R

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G A H C H O K U É 2 0 1 7 B I R D D E T E R R E N T P R O G R A M M EBY PATRICK KRAMER, ENVIRONMENT AND PERMITTING SUPERINTENDENT, GAHCHO KUÉ MINE

With the arrival, finally, of warmer weather at Gahcho Kué mine, spring also brought with it migratory birds, including various song birds as well as raptors, or birds of prey. As part of De Beers Group’s commitment to the environment, the bird deterrent programme exists to discourage migratory birds from nesting in active mining or construction areas.

For the 2017 spring bird monitoring, more than 10,000 individual birds were sighted, comprising 61 different species. Daily monitoring of bird activity is imperative to prevent birds from nesting in undesired areas. The first deterrent deployment of propane canons

and an electronic wailer was in early May. These auditory deterrents emit loud noises periodically throughout day and night to scare away birds in the pit and along the pit walls. In addition, scarecrows were installed to simulate human activity. As Peregrine Falcon and other raptors look for steep cliffs, such as the pit walls, for their ideal nesting habitat, these deterrents are of critical importance.

In addition to the mining pit, deterrents were placed at other sites within the mining area and at three lakes adjacent to Gahcho Kué where water elevation is expected to rise. In these areas, various songbirds and waterfowl look for ground cover for nesting. For these birds, decoy deterrents were also used to mimic the appearance of natural predators, such as eagles and foxes. At the end of the nesting season, the various deterrents were safely removed and stored for use the following year. Overall, the programme was successful and no nesting activity occurred within the pit.

However, one American Robin built its nest unde-tected in the engine compartment of a parked drill rig. As the nest already contained eggs, the equipment was locked out of use for three weeks and cordoned off to allow the brood to hatch and leave the nest indepen-dently. This is an excellent reminder of the importance of regular wildlife monitoring and inspection of equip-ment, to reduce impacts to both cost and biodiversity.

The robins successfully fledged from the nest during the first weekend of July, and the drill rig was brought back to active duty once fledging was confirmed.

Scarecrows simulating human activity are installed to prevent birds from nesting in undesired areas.

Left: A drill rig by the pit walls at Gahcho Kué. Right: The American Robin’s nest, which was cordoned off to allow the brood to hatch.

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D E B E E R S L E A D S T H E WAY T O WA R D S C A R B O N - N E U T R A L M I N I N G

De Beers Group is leading a groundbreaking research project that aims to deliver a carbon-neutral mining operation within five to 10 years.

The company’s scientists are working in close collaboration with a team of internationally renowned scientists to investigate the potential to store large volumes of carbon at De Beers’ diamond mines through the mineralisation of kimberlite tailings, the material that remains after diamonds have been removed from the ore.

Mineral carbonation assessment studies are currently underway at De Beers’ Venetia mine in South Africa, as well as at Gahcho Kué mine in Canada. The potential for storage at historic tailings at the Debswana mines in Botswana may also be assessed.

Mineral carbonation is a natural process where rocks on the earth’s surface react with carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and lock it away in safe, non-toxic, solid carbonate materials. According to Dr Evelyn Mervine, who is leading the research project at De Beers Group, the company could offset the emissions from its mines by accelerating the natural process in kimberlite tailings.

Dr Mervine says De Beers Group is considering three technologies for accelerating mineral carbonation of kimberlite tailings: (1) enhanced passive carbonation, (2) carbon dioxide injection, and (3) biotechnologies. Enhanced passive carbonation aims to accelerate carbonation rates through simple physical changes to tailings management – for example, by depositing thinner layers of tailings by rotating deposition points more frequently. Carbon dioxide injection accelerates carbonation rates by increasing carbon supply. Biotechnologies use microbes to accelerate rate-limiting steps in carbonation reactions, such as kimberlite breakdown and carbonate precipitation.

She says each mine has the potential to offset up to 10 times its annual emissions using its onsite

tailings, adding that the carbon dioxide can be locked away in the kimberlite “for thousands to millions of years”. However, initial efforts will focus on low-cost technologies that tap into only a portion of the total offset potential.

De Beers’ scientists are researching low-cost carbon storage technologies in collaboration with external experts at universities in Canada (University of British Columbia, University of Alberta, and Trent University) and Australia (University of Queensland). In addition, De Beers is a project partner for a collaborative Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) grant that was awarded by the UK government to the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Southampton, and Cardiff to study the carbon storage potential of mine tailings.

The work being undertaken by the project team could have significant applications for the broader mining industry as the ideal carbon storage characteristics of kimberlite rock are also found in rocks mined for other commodities, such as nickel and platinum.

Evelyn Mervine at tailings at Voorspoed mine in South Africa. Photographer: Emil Wessels

Tailings of kimberlite at Venetia mine in South Africa. The ability of kimberlite to absorb carbon dioxide could deliver carbon-neutral mining.

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The discovery of a population of endangered White-backed and Lappet-faced Vultures near key exploration drill locations in Botswana led to the postponement of drilling activities to accommodate breeding cycles.

De Beers Holdings Botswana, a De Beers Group exploration company, was granted two new prospecting licences to undertake diamond prospecting activities near the town of Tsabong in the Kgalagadi District of southern Botswana. The early stage prospecting activities in the project involved an extensive core-drilling programme when, in September 2015, nesting vultures were observed at one of the planned drill sites.

The local Department of Environmental Affairs and Department of Wildlife and National Parks, together with Birdlife Botswana, were involved to procure a site-specific drill plan, aimed at minimising potential impact on the breeding season. A two-month drilling window, ending in May 2016, was agreed upon because the breeding season was beginning in June.

The company also went a step further, initiating

awareness campaigns centered on avoiding approaches towards active nest sites, cordoning off sensitive areas and re-routing nearby tracks, in order to minimise potentially adverse impacts on nesting sites.

Dr Kabelo Senyatso from Birdlife Botswana applauded De Beers Group for engaging them on this issue and not just proceeding with the development on the basis that “a few nests of these vultures may be inconsequential”. Dr Senyato says the reality is that the few birds at the prospecting site are significant, given the rate at which Botswana (and Africa as a whole) is losing its vultures.

Drilling began in April 2016 and was completed in the first week of May 2016. In November, breeding Lappet-faced and White-backed Vultures were observed in the area.

V U LT U R E S W I N T H E D AYBY WELCHA MINNIE, SENIOR SAFETY & SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND RISK MANAGER, DE BEERS GROUP EXPLORATION

Clockwise from top-left: A Lappet-faced Vulture chick near a drill site; creating awareness around nesting areas during drilling activities; a core rig used in the Tsabong Project; a White-backed Vulture on a nest with a chick.

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The 8th Annual Oppenheimer-De Beers Group Research Conference will take place on Tuesday 17 and Wednesday 18 October 2017 at De Beers Group’s office in Ormonde, Johannesburg. The conference will be jointly hosted by E Oppenheimer & Son and De Beers Group.

Anyone wishing to attend the conference is requested to email a completed registration form (which can be downloaded from www.diamondroute.com) to duncan.macfadyen@eoson.co.za.

All parties that have conducted research on any of the Oppenheimer or De Beers Group properties (Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve, Telperion, Rooipoort Nature Reserve, Tswalu Kalahari, Benfontein, Dronfield, Wakefield, Brenthurst Garden, Orapa Makgadikgadi, Namaqualand and the Kimberley Big Hole), as well as other De Beers Group or E Oppenheimer & Son sites, are encouraged to attend and present papers at the conference.

The objectives of this conference are to provide a platform to:

• share the outcomes of a range of research projects that have taken place across these properties and sites.

• provide an opportunity for students and researchers to present their outcomes and findings to a diverse audience of academics, students and environmental managers, as well as the media.

• provide a networking opportunity for site managers and researchers.

• guide future research and post-graduate opportuni-ties across De Beers Group and E Oppenheimer & Son sites.

From top: Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, opening speaker at the 2016 conference; delegates listen to one of the many speakers; a wide range of informative posters are exhibited; a group picture of those attending in 2016.

8 T H A N N U A L O P P E N H E I M E R - D E B E E R S G R O U P R E S E A R C H C O N F E R E N C E

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O R A PA G A M E PA R K I S G R O W I N GBY KAY SOOPU, BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION COORDINATOR, ORAPA, LETLHAKANE AND DAMTSHAA MINES

An initiative by former Orapa, Letlhakane and Damt-shaa Mines (OLDM) General Manager, Dr Adrian Gale (sadly no longer with us), in 2014 has now come to frui-tion. The expansion of the Orapa Game Park, adjacent to the Orapa mine, from the current 12,210 hectares to 48,964 hectares began earlier this year.

The expansion is one of four components of a joint effort between Debswana and the Government of the Republic of Botswana to diversify the economic base of Orapa and the Boteti area. Following extensive consulta-tions between all the stakeholders from 2014 to 2016, agreements were put in place. Two local companies were awarded the tender to install a 2.4m high game fence. The total length of the additional fence line is 62km. The project will be completed within the next few months.

The Orapa Game Park is situated within the world’s richest diamond region and forms the gateway to Botswana’s popular Makgadikgadi Pans, about 240km west of Francistown. The Orapa Game Park was estab-lished in 1985 by a group of nature lovers whose objec-tive was to protect the few remaining animals around the Airport Pan. By 1987, the first springboks were intro-duced to the area from Makgadikgadi Pans. By October 1991, official conservation policy and procedures were put in place and, in 1992, development of the park continued with improvements to the road network. The following year, 6,000 hectares, with 50km of perimeter fencing, was added to the game park.

In June 2014, 10 white rhinos from the Manketti Nature Reserve in the Limpopo Province were success-fully relocated to the park as part of the Rhino Reintro-duction Project. The park is also home to species such as Giraffe, Blue Wildebeest, Brown Hyena, Spotted Hyena, Red Hartebeest, Warthog, Springbok, Black-backed Jackal, Lappet-faced Vulture, White-backed Vulture, Ground Hornbill and Kori Bustard.

In 2014, a project was launched in conjunction with the NGO Birdlife Botswana to study one of the globally threatened migratory bird species found in the Orapa Game Park, the Lappet-faced Vulture, over a period

of three years, the objective being to make a meaning-ful contribution to the conservation of bird species in Botswana.

While camping and tourist facilities are still in the planning phase, the Orapa Game Park already offers educational tours to schools. The Diamond Route Centre comprises a lecture hall able to accommodate 20 people at a time, two dormitories with eight rooms each to cater for schoolchildren and two bedrooms for use by teachers.

Tourists can arrange self-guided tours in the park.

Top: Part of the vast extension area. Above: A section of the extension area fencing in progress.Photographer: Kay Soopu

Above: A water hole in the extension area.Photographer: Johan Steyn

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M Y S T E R I O U S TA L E O F T W O B E A C H E D H U M P B A C K W H A L E S AT S O U T H E R N C O A S TA L M I N E S BY JEAN PAUL ROUX, LÜDERITZ MINISTRY OF FISHERIES AND MARINE RESOURCES, AND LIEZL MARITZ, SENIOR ENVIRONMENTAL OFFICER, SOUTHERN COASTAL MINES

On 16 March 2017, it was reported that a Humpback Whale had washed ashore along the coastline of Nam-deb’s mining area. Evidence indi-cated that the whale had been dead at sea for some time before being beached about 7km north of the Orange River mouth. Unfortunately, three days later, another Humpback Whale was found ashore about 70km further north.

Both whales were young, the first one measuring 10.5m and the second 11m in length. Puberty in female Humpback Whales is estimated as being reached when around 11.7m in length. This means that both these females probably never had a chance to breed.

The Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is a species of baleen whale, meaning that it possesses baleen plates instead of teeth, which hang down from the inside of their mouths and filters small prey and planktonic organisms from the water. Baleen plates are made of a protein similar to human hair or nails and are strong as well as flexible. The adult females are larger than adult

males, reaching lengths of up to 16m. These marine mammals are generally either a dark grey or black, with white patches on their pectoral fins and belly, and knobs (known as tubercles) covering their head.

Humpback Whales travel great distances during their seasonal migration, the farthest migration of any mammal. Humpbacks are regular commuters along our coast, migrating from their regular feeding grounds in the Antarctic to their breeding and calving grounds in tropical waters of Northern Angola to Gabon. There are international efforts to track Humpback Whales during their migrations and there-fore Namdeb was requested to record coordinates and take photos and measurements of the two whale carcasses.

Humpback Whales are well known for their long pectoral fins, which can be up to 4.6m in length. These whales often have distinct pig-mentation patterns, colouration and indentations on the underside of their dorsal fin. The tail flukes can be used to identify individual whales,

similar to a human fingerprint. Unfortunately, both whales

were washed ashore on their backs making it impossible to take photos of their dorsal fins for identification purposes. However, good quality photographs and measurements could be taken of their underside tail flukes. This is particularly valu-able, allowing scientists to check if these two individuals are already in the identification database for Namibia, South Africa and all the way to Gabon to the north and Ant-arctica to the south.

There was no evidence of any scars or wounds, nor sign of injuries, making it challenging to identify the cause of death. Humpback Whales face a series of threats, including entanglement in fishing gear, ship strikes and habitat impacts.

It is therefore crucial to keep monitoring these magnificent creatures and provide support, by sharing information or photographs of sightings, to conservation organ-isations that actively try to protect Humpback Whales and other cetaceans.

Left: Liezl Maritz examines the bottom tail fluke. Individuals in this species can be identified by the serrated edge and the black and white patterns of the tail flukes. Humpback Whale pectoral fins are huge, giving the species its name ‘megaptera’, meaning ‘huge wings’. Right: The second whale, washed up three days later.

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L E T T I E ’ S L I V I N G A P O S I T I V E L E G A C Y

“My main drive in life is to live it to the fullest without compromising my integrity. In whatever I do, I try to leave a positive legacy. I take pride in looking back and saying ‘those are my footprints and I am proud of how they look’.”

Those words emanate from the effervescent Lettie Pitlagano, Environmental Manager at Orapa, Letlhakane and Damtshaa Mines (OLDM) in Botswana.

Lettie is responsible for managing the environmental function and providing strategic input, as well as specialised advice, on the management of environmental programmes. She says: “It’s a lovely job which I truly enjoy, because I care a lot about the environment. However, the challenge is that people sometimes don’t see the

need to protect the environment as the consequences of environmental pollution and degradation become clear only after a long time, unlike an injury in the safety space.”

She adds that after seven years at OLDM she has seen a significant improvement in how employees embrace environmental management and become drivers of processes in their areas of responsibility: “One of the ways we drive key messages on environmental management is through celebrations and projects around environmental days, such as World Environmental Day, Earth Hour, Biodiversity Day and World Water Day.”

Lettie completed a BSc in Environmental Science and Biology at the University of Botswana in 2007, followed by an MSc in Tropical

Ecology and Management of Natural resources at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. She has completed several management courses at Unisa and holds a Diploma in Safety and Health in the Workplace from Cambridge International College in the UK.

She started her career as an assistant wildlife biologist in the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, and later moved to Geoflux as a senior environmental consultant before joining Debswana in 2010.

Lettie and husband Godfrey were married in 2004 and they have a son and two daughters. She says: “We all stay in Orapa and my husband shares a common background in wildlife management. He is the quieter one and keeps the family together with his humbleness and discipline.”

A gym fanatic, she loves aerobics but likes quieter moments too: “I like going to church and I receive a lot of solace from my Bible. I enjoy reading a lot but, due to increased responsibilities, I hardly have time for my books, but I buy a lot of them. I also like travelling. It is a very good stress reliever for me!”

Summarising her approach to life, she explains that she is a results driven person, whether personal or at work: “I strongly believe in dialogue. Talking and discussing as colleagues or members of the family is the medicine to find solutions to work-related, as well as family, issues.”

Kudu near the Orapa mine.

Lettie (second right) on her 10th wedding anniversary with her family (from left) Laone, Godfrey, Katlego and Olorato.