"Petra believes that there is a space for artisanal small scale miners to co-exist with formalised, large-scale mining, since ASM can often profitably recover diamonds from resources that would be unprofitable, or at best marginal, for a larger operator due to the capital and overhead costs involved," Petra said in a statement on Thursday.
As part of the process, Petra said it wanted to create a framework "within which ASM can be conducted by community members in a legal and regulated manner".
The move to bring in artisanal miners at Koffiefontein follows Petra's decision in 2017 to open up two tailings at its former Kimberley resource to two community-based mining cooperatives.
Petra announced the sale of Kimberley in July 2018 having struggled with disruption by illegal miners.
Petra acquired Koffiefontein in 2007 and the asset generated US$28.9 million in revenue for FY 2019, an increase of 6% year on year.
