|
De Beers set to create black-run company
 |
DIAMOND PRODUCER De Beers and the South African government have announced plans to create a new, blackcontrolled diamond mining company. The deal will bring together South Africa’s state-run firm, Alexkor and De Beers’ Namaqualand mining operations.
De Beers has been working to meet black economic empowerment rules for some time now, and last year the company sold 26% of its South African business to a black-owned company. The news came as De Beers reported a 6% fall in rough diamond sales in 2006.
The company, which is currently 45%-owned by mining giant Anglo American, said that diamond sales have slipped to $6.15bn (£3.16bn) from $6.54 in the previous year, largely because of reduced wholesale supplies from Russia. However, De Beers forecast that increasing demand for diamond jewellery in the emerging economic powerhouses of China and India would help to drive future growth. |
And they added that they planned to issue a 20% stake in their Namaqualand mining operations to the government, as part of plans to create the new black-run company.
“It is expected that the process of consolidating these assets will be concluded in 2008 and thereafter the option of a listing may be fully examined by the operator of this new company,” the firm said. Both De Beers and the South African government are involved in diamond mining along the country’s North West coast.
|
