Diamond giant De Bees inaugurated its new, 250,000 hectares Diamond Route in South Africa, Mining Weekly reported.

The Diamond Route, which links nine sites across South Africa, is a partnership in environmental conservation and tourism and includes insight into South Africa's cultural, historical, and diamond-mining features.

Made up of property owned by both De Beers and the Oppenheimer family, the route stretches from the far west of the country at the Namaqualand diamond coast site next to the Namaqualand National Park, moves east to Kimberley, which includes the Kimberley big hole site, the Benfontein reserve, the Dronfield nature reserve and the Rooipoort nature reserve, and on to the Tswalu Kalahari reserve; then up to the Brenthurst Gardens in Johannesburg, and the Ezemvelo nature reserve near Pretoria, and finally up to the Venetia Limpopo Nature reserve near Musina.

The project is meant to develop each site's ecological, cultural and heritage characteristics. De Beers is said to be aspiring to extend the venture beyond South Africa and into Botswana and Namibia, where is also also has operations.