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Articles from DIAMONDS BY CUT - BRILLIANT (ROUND) (290 Articles)

De Beers is seeking a new operator to extend the life of the Kimberley Mines diamond operation

De Beers to sell flagship diamond mine

Posted May 26, 2015 | By Stephanie Chan • Staff Journalist

The De Beers Group is looking to sell its well-known Kimberley diamond mining operation, which was said to have dominated the diamond industry for nearly a century.

Malcolm Hendrickse, Kimberley Mines general manager

According to De Beers, the Kimberley Mines, located in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, no longer fits into the company’s strategic plan and asset portfolio, and it has consequently decided to sell the operation.

“We’ve reached a stage where we as De Beers won’t be able to take [the operation’s] life beyond 2018,” Kimberley Mines general manager Malcolm Hendrickse explained. “We’ve looked at the scenarios and we are not in a position, with our current cost structure and way of operating, to extend it beyond 2018.”

The De Beers website states that the Kimberley Mine was discovered in July 1871 and had been “the world’s richest mine for nearly a century”. The site is now a mine tailings operation, meaning diamond is extracted from previously mined “waste” rock.

De Beers Consolidated Mines CEO Phillip Barton said the Kimberley Mine was the company’s second largest diamond producing operation in South Africa, adding that it produced 722,000 carats in 2014.

Phillip Barton, De Beers Consolidated Mines CEO

“It is encouraging that our work, to date, in considering all options, has shown that Kimberley Mines may not have to close in the near future,” he said. “We are liaising with directly affected stakeholders outlining feasible options to extend the potential of the mine and its assets.”

At 31 December 2014, the site was estimated to contain 26.2 million tonnes of ore at an average grade of 10.8 carats per hundred tonnes (cpht) – translating to about 2.8 million carats. It was also said to contain an additional 93.2 million tonnes of ore deposits at a grade of 4.4 cpht, equating to about 4.1 million carats.

A De Beers media statement noted that the operation would ideally be sold as a single asset within “a matter of months”.

Hendrickse added that the company would continue to have a presence in the region through diamond processing, training and administrative operations. “Kimberley is the birthplace of De Beers,” he said. “De Beers has always been and will remain in Kimberley for many years to come.”