I am passionate about breaking down gender stereotypes and creating a positive, inclusive environment for women in the mining sector.
Nosiphiwo Mzamo
In this interview, Joyce Nwezeh speaks with Ms Nosiphiwo Mzamo, the Chief Executive Officer of the State Diamond Trader of South Africa.
Ms. Nosi has been nominated for the Energy and Mining Sector Award at the PAWES 2025 Awards, set to take place in Cape Town.
Introduction
My name is Nosi Mzamo. I’m the Chief Executive Officer of the State Diamond Trader of South Africa. And our mandate is to ensure that we make sure that the diamond industry is transformed. And we do that by providing diamonds to the historically disadvantaged South Africans for benefits of diamond cutting and polishing.
1. Inspiration Behind Her Career in Energy and Mining
Joyce: My first question is what inspired you to pursue a career in energy and mining? And what was that pivotal moment that swayed you in that direction? What was that moment that made you decide, okay, I want to do energy and mining and what’s inspired you?
Nosi: Growing up from historical disadvantaged background, for me, I’m a geologist by background. So to participate in the mining industry as a geologist and as a woman, it was very important for me. What drove me is the under-representation of women in that sector. And for a very long time in our country, women were never given positions to be working in the mining industry, especially as technical people.
So for me, this was an industry that made me curious. And also, not being an easy industry to be part of, I saw this as a growth opportunity. I’m also passionate about breaking down gender stereotypes. I was inspired by the fact of creating a positive and inclusive environment. And also, even now, there’s still very few representatives of women in senior and top management positions. So there’s still a lot that needs to be done. So it’s an industry that, if one cares about women development, one can participate in.
The pivotal moment for me was when I got involved in the sector and realized that there were no women mentors. So, for the first few women that joined the mining sector, it was an opportunity to play the role of mentoring young women that want to participate in this space. So I took it upon myself to make sure that I provide them with guidance, how to endure and not give up, and also achieve their career roles in this difficult environment.
2. Contributions to Society and Empowerment
Joyce: What meaningful contribution or impact have you made in your career, especially in driving change and uplifting others in society?
Nosi: South Africa is one of the top 10 countries in the diamond mining industry. And with that, South Africa has been mining diamonds for over a hundred years. So we have a rich history of mining diamonds. And currently we are driving the downstream value chain of diamond manufacturing, where we cut and polish diamonds here in South Africa.
It is one of the mandates of our entity to ensure that diamonds of the country don’t just leave the country as rough diamonds. They get to be cut and polished here in the country. Most of our people participating in this space used to sell these diamonds in international markets like Hong Kong and the JCK market in Las Vegas.
So we sat and decided: why are we allowing this to happen? Why can’t we make sure that we build a market here in South Africa? So this year’s Mining Indaba, running parallel to the Mining Indaba, we launched the very first of its kind diamond show here in South Africa. The theme was “Evolution and Promotion of Natural Diamonds.”
This diamond show was to address current challenges faced by the natural diamond market, exhibit our rich diamond legacy, and most importantly, build a market where people around the world know that in South Africa, we cut and polish our diamonds.
We promoted local beneficiation. The people who participated were the diamonteers, those who cut and polish diamonds here in South Africa. This was a remarkable initiative that showcased that the diamond industry in South Africa can do more than just mining. We can add another leg where we promote local beneficiation of our diamonds. And I think this was a huge event that put South Africa in the market.
3. Using the PAWES 2025 Platform to Drive Change
Joyce: Should you win the PAWES 2025 award, how would you use this platform to influence others and drive change in your country and the mining sector?
I’m very passionate and dedicated to women empowerment and youth. I want to drive their participation in economic growth within South Africa, specifically within the mining and diamond sectors.
I will use this opportunity to make sure that they get to be educated in diamond cutting and polishing, provide them with necessary information, give them training opportunities on how to be diamond cutters and polishers, but most importantly, how to be entrepreneurs and run their own local factories producing beautiful cut and polished diamonds here in South Africa, marketing the South African brand of our diamond industry.
4. Growth Strategy and Sustainability
Joyce: What’s your growth strategy to ensure sustainability and minimize risk in what you do?
Nosi: For me, what is very important is financial sustainability. But while you are pushing financial sustainability, it is important that you don’t do it at the sacrifice of your employees. They are a very important asset of the State Diamond Trader. Their personal growth is important while I am pushing financial sustainability. It is important for me to balance this.
We also ensure that we don’t compromise the environment. Consumers of diamonds are now critical about understanding where their diamonds are coming from, how they were mined, whether child labor was used, or if it was funding wars. So transparency and traceability are key. We ensure that in the diamonds we sell, there is transparency and the consumer knows exactly where their diamonds come from, which ensures sustainability in the diamond sector.
