Sky Park strengthens De Beers rough diamond operations

Since opening in March 2023, De Beers Group's Sky Park facility has become the central hub for processing and selling South Africa's rough diamond production

Operated by De Beers Sightholder Sales South Africa (DBSSSA), the facility manages each stage of the diamond journey from cleaning and sorting through to valuation, traceability and final sale.

Located near O. R. Tambo International Airport, east of Johannesburg, the facility serves as the primary processing and sales centre for De Beers' South African rough diamonds. It combines proprietary technologies, specialist expertise and strict operational controls to ensure the secure and efficient movement of diamonds from mine operations to market.

Designed to streamline every stage of processing

According to Blanche Louw, senior operations manager at DBSSSA, the facility was specifically designed to support the logical progression of each diamond through the processing chain.

"Our operation is meticulously sequenced - moving diamonds through the cleaning zones and immediately into technical sorting and valuation areas," she said. "The layout of the building is specifically designed to bring optimal efficiencies into our processes."

After arriving at the facility under tightly controlled custody, rough diamonds are weighed and registered before entering the Central Cleaning Plant. Here, De Beers has implemented an alternative to traditional hydrofluoric acid cleaning, improving both safety and sustainability while continuing to meet the required valuation and export standards.

The company's focus on sustainability is also reflected in the facility itself, which has achieved a five-star Green Star rating. A 360 kW solar installation, consisting of more than 1,200 solar panels and 575 kilowatt-hours of battery storage, contributes to improved environmental performance while helping reduce energy costs.

Technology and expertise support diamond valuation

Following the cleaning process, diamonds move into dedicated sorting and valuation streams where they are assessed according to carat weight, clarity, colour and cutting potential.

High-volume, smaller stones are processed using automated technical sorting systems, while larger, higher-value diamonds continue to be evaluated by experienced human sorters. Together, these processes enable rough diamonds to be classified into more than 10,000 categories, each aligned with De Beers' global pricing framework.

The facility also supports the company's Sightholder sales model by combining similar categories of rough diamonds from multiple mines to create consistent rough diamond 'boxes' that meet customers' manufacturing requirements and downstream market demand. These boxes are presented during ten Sight sales events held each year, with South African customers viewing their allocations in dedicated rooms at Sky Park.

Traceability remains a key part of the operation. Every rough diamond weighing one carat and above is digitally scanned upon arrival to create a unique fingerprint record. Before sale, each stone is scanned again and matched with its original intake data through Tracr, De Beers' blockchain-backed traceability platform, which now holds records for more than five million rough diamonds.