Ekapa Minerals

Ekapa is a diamond mining company operating in Kimberley, Northern Cape, in one of the world’s oldest continuously worked diamond fields. Its roots go back to 1990, when its precursor, Super Stone Mining, secured a contract with De Beers to treat tailings mineral resources around Kimberley, work Ekapa has continued for over 30 years. In July 2018 Ekapa acquired full ownership of the historic Kimberley mining operations from Petra Diamonds, becoming the largest privately owned diamond mining company in the world and the sole owner-operator of the Dutoitspan, Bultfontein and Wesselton mines, and in 2016 it took over an advanced diamond-processing plant previously run by De Beers. Within the group, Ekapa Resources holds the underground mining rights and Ekapa Minerals the surface and tailings rights.

Ekapa’s bursary programme is targeted at students who live in the Frances Baard District Municipality, the area around Kimberley where the company operates, and covers tuition fees, accommodation and meals or an allowance, an annual cash allowance and a travel allowance, generally for mining-, engineering- and geology-related qualifications. The company’s motivation is closely tied to its role as effectively the last major diamond miner still active in Kimberley: by funding local students in mining-related fields, Ekapa is investing in a skills pipeline for its own tailings and underground operations and helping sustain a local economy and employment base that has depended on diamond mining for more than 150 years.

Publicly available information about the Ekapa Minerals bursary does not describe a formal work-back or bonded-employment obligation for recipients; applicants should confirm current terms directly with Ekapa before assuming a return-of-service requirement applies.