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32. Planned diamond exploration in the Kalahari Game Reserve is unrelated to relocation of indigenous people
The Company is a 20 per cent shareholder in Kalahari Diamonds Limited, a joint venture operation that holds prospecting licences in Botswana, including areas of the Kalahari Game Reserve. The Botswana Government has been undertaking a program to resettle Indigenous people from the Reserve under its Remote Area Dwellers program. We are aware of the concerns of some people that there is a link between the relocation of the indigenous people and planned exploration activities by Kalahari Diamonds. However, we reject this assertion.
At any one time since 1974, between 20 per cent and 75 per cent of the landmass of Botswana has been covered by prospecting licences, including large areas of the Kalahari Game Reserve. Year by year, the number of licences and area covered has expanded or contracted according to a range of factors, such as market demand, the findings of geological surveys or the introduction of new technologies.
In that time, more than 1400 new licences have been issued by the Government of Botswana. If there were any link between prospecting and the resettlement of people in Botswana, then much of the country's population would have been subject to relocation at one time or another, in advance of prospecting activity. In reality, any resettlement takes place strictly in terms of the Government's Remote Area Dwellers program, and there have been instances of communities being resettled into areas covered by existing exploration licences.
The area of land covered by the exploration leases held by Kalahari Diamonds is very large and will not be explored in its entirety. It is very likely that the leases for a substantial proportion of land will be surrendered, on the basis of desktop studies that involve no exploration at all.
Of the remaining areas, specific zones will be selected for airborne exploration utilising our Falcon™ system. The system enables high-resolution gravity gradiometer surveys to be performed from a light plane without any impact on the ground. Conventional ground-based surveys can be limited to tightly focused areas of interest, if any, minimising the potential for any disruption to local communities.
The relocation of indigenous communities is not a prerequisite for exploration activities to proceed. We routinely explore over similar areas and have never advocated the removal of indigenous or local communities prior to the commencement of exploration. An example is the exploration and development of our EKATI Diamond Mine on indigenous land in the Northwest Territories of Canada. The indigenous communities were not displaced and have been active participants in the development and success of the project.
Although we are a minority partner in the venture in Botswana and are not the operator, we recognise that we have an important role to play as a shareholder, in accordance with our Company Charter and HSEC Policy. We do not proceed with any activity that is in breach of our values.
Kalahari Diamonds has undertaken to conduct its activities in accordance with our policies and management standards. These prescribe consultation with affected communities, respect for the traditional rights of indigenous peoples and care for the environment and cultural heritage.
At present, there are no plans to explore in the central Kalahari Game Reserve before the second half of 2004; and extensive community consultation will take place beforehand. Kalahari Diamonds is already engaging with a number of community groups in Botswana, and we are confident the company will continue to engage responsibly and in a timely manner.
