The small and junior diamond mining industry in South Africa is in dire straits, says South African Diamond Producers Organisation (Sadpo) vice chairperson Lyndon de Meillon. “Over the past 16 years, we’ve lost about 90% of the companies involved in the sector and about 20 000 jobs. Covid-19 has exacerbated the situation to a point where the industry might disappear in the next ten years if we don’t take urgent steps to rectify things,” he tells Mining Weekly.