De Beers also controls about 80% of diamonds sales, this means that they can keep availability low and prices high
There is a large economic impact of diamond mining in South Africa as diamonds provide a lot of money to the economy, which provides better living conditions. Diamonds today are mined in about 25 different countries but around 49% of diamonds come from South Africa. South Africa is the fourth largest diamond producer in the world. This has positive effects on their economy. Today De Beers manages and owns mines that produce about half the world’s annual output. They own the majority of the mines in South Africa. De Beers also controls about 80% of diamonds sales, this means that they can keep availability low and prices high. De Beers has a monopoly over all the mines in South Africa, other than the illegal mines. The control over all of these mines brings a lot of money into the South African economy. It accounts for 18% of South Africa's annual GDP and brings in around $3 billion annually on average per each country that has a diamond mine in South Africa. This allows for better living conditions and opportunities, such as better housing and faster development in technology this is good and sustainable as it provides better living conditions for the population. For instance Kimberly, South Africa, was the first place in the northern hemisphere to install street lighting in the entire town. Diamond mining in South Africa has a large impact on the economy and it is currently sustainable and positive.
There has been a large impact on the South African economy by the mineral revolution of diamonds. The mineral revolution of diamonds started in Kimberly, South Africa in 1867. This led to a huge influx of prospectors moving into the town, and the population dramatically increased. The population of Kimberly increased so much that by 1853 the town was the second largest in Africa and had a population of 40,000. Today the population of Kimberly has risen to 167,000 This had a positive effect on shop owners in the area. The town is still there in Kimberly and so it still has a positive effect on the shop owners in the area as if there are more people in the area then there is more people that are purchasing from their shops, and therefore more money going into the town’s economy this is sustainable as the money going into the towns economy will improve the state of areas of South Africa. This was proven to be true as South Africa's annual GDP rose from 415 in 1820 to 4793 in 2008. This also caused a 6.08% growth in GDP for South Africa between 1961 and 1969. During mining the labour force primarily comes from young men from other African States. They would come for the summer and provide temporary labour. The South African labour force in mines in 1987 was made up of 477,000 migrant workers and by 2006 there were 260,000 migrant workers in South African mines. This would have a large impact on the economy in South Africa, as people would spend their wages on living necessities. But since the labour force comes from another African state some of the wages will be sent out to their families and will not be spent on the local economy around the mines. This would be an impact as if a large amount of the money would be sent off then the town’s economy will decrease and some shops will have to close down as the miners are not spending money on that particular shop. Although the De Beers company does significantly help the local economy by enforcing "a program that gives loans to small businesses invested in 139 local enterprises between 2009 and 2012, creating more than 1,200 jobs" This is not sustainable as the shops would be permanently closing down and it is a long-term impact from people having low wages and not spending their money on the shops. This means that the shops closing down are an indirect impact of mining. Also since the miners are not staying on the site and they are not permanent they are not a reliable source of labour as they can leave at any time and that would be a very significant impact and change because it would mean that the whole mining site would have to close down.This is legally stated in their contracts as over 73% of the labour force in South Africa is on temporary contracts. The men who come from other states were often very tired from their journey and they had to be given at least 2 weeks rest at the expense of the De Beers. This is a small impact as it not only helps the people but it also helps them to get better and they will work harder which will get more diamonds for the economy. This is also is sustainable as if they are treating their workers well in the beginning it will build trust and respect from the workers. The mineral revolution in South Africa is mostly sustainable and has had many positive effects on people living in the areas impacted.