The De Beers Geological Services Division is celebrating a truly impressive achievement: three years without a single lost-time injury. Prior to 2000, the division recorded a poor “lost time injury frequency rate” (LTIFR) and underwent a strategic review to improve safety, in cooperation with the National Union of Mine Workers.

Overall, the health and safety of De Beers operations improved significantly in 2003. The LTIFR was a historic .26 per 200,000 hours worked, an improvement of 19% over the previous year. Some 2.5 million fatality-free worker shifts were recorded.

The news was not all good, however. De Beers and its partners in Namibia and Botswana had four fatalities during 2002. The cause of those deaths is being investigated.