The unforeseen global health crisis triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic has had dire economic repercussions, to which South Africa is not immune.

With many local diamond mining operations reaching their end of life, the rehabilitation and remediation of such sites – in a closure and liquidation context – has been a particular focus in recent years, says law firm Bowmans partner Wandisile Mandlana.

Although diamond prices were gradually recovering from their low during the 2008/09 financial crisis, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the lockdowns in many countries have caused trading to come to a halt.

Some mined commodities, particularly precious metals, such as gold, have increased in value, owing to the perception that they can be safe-haven assets during times of crisis.

The diamond industry has been dealing with an oversupplied market since upstream production hit a multi-year high in 2017 and as the mid-stream segment delivered inventory in 2018 and 2019.

The Minerals Council South Africa, in its third weekly Covid-19 update briefing on June 4, reported that, to date, the domestic mining industry has 527 positive cases of Covid-19, with 7 461 miners having been tested and 226 796 having been screened. The mining industry has also reported 72 recoveries, with no