De Beers, the world’s largest producer of rough diamonds, says it will seek offers for its Cullinan diamond mine (which includes its C-Cut diamond resource) and portions of Kimberley (including the dormant underground mines).
“The move continues De Beers’s drive to position itself for future growth by focusing its resources on those mines that fit the company’s strategy and form part of its long-term future,” said the company in a statement.
The announcement follows the recent agreement between De Beers and South Africa’s Department of Minerals and Energy to consolidate diamond operations on the country’s West Coast into a single, independent diamond company, as well as the sale to Petra Diamonds of infrastructure associated with the dormant Koffiefontein mine.
The South African division, De Beers Consolidated Mines (DBCM), will sell the Cullinan mine as a going concern, according to a statement on Tuesday.
The Kimberley underground mines as well as the tailing resources are not currently being utilised by DBCM.
DBCM says it will continue to process tailings resources through its combined treatment plant “well into the future”.
“As we build the De Beers of the future, we are carefully examining our portfolio of mining assets, as our new global business model is no longer based simply on maximising our market share of production. Instead, we’re looking to drive greater returns on capital,” said Gareth Penny, MD of De Beers, in a statement.
Cullinan, located in Gauteng, was established in 1903 and produced 1,3-million carats in 2005. Kimberley underground mines started in 1884 and were closed in late 2005.
The C-Cut resource, a large diamond resource that could sustain production of two million carats a year for three to four decades, also forms part of Cullinan.
“DBCM management believes that the real opportunity for Cullinan diamond mine lies in further capital investment to unlock future resources,” said the company. — I-Net Bridge