Diamond mining junior Petra Diamonds, the AIM-listed diamond producer with operations in South Africa, on Tuesday said it has agreed to acquire the entire issued share capital of Willcroft from Cheviot Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of diamond giant De Beers, for $10-million.
Willcroft owns 75% of Williamson Diamonds, the sole owner and operator of the Williamson mine in Tanzania.
The Tanzanian government owns the remaining 25%.
“The sale of our shareholding in Williamson Diamonds is part of our ongoing drive to position De Beers for long-term growth by reviewing our portfolio of mining assets and focusing on those with the best strategic fit,” said Gareth Penny, managing director of the De Beers Group.
He said this was also creating new opportunities for other players in an increasingly diversified and competitive global diamond industry.
At 146ha, Williamson is the largest kimberlite pipe ever to be mined, having been operated continuously as an open pit mine for almost 70 years.
During this time the mine produced more than 20-million carats, and there remains a substantial resource of about 40-million carats.
“The mine regularly produces large, high-quality stones and is a source of rare and extremely valuable fancy pink diamonds,” said Petra in a statement.
The purchase price will be funded entirely from Petra’s internal cash resources and the company expects that the acquisition will be completed in mid-October this year.
Petra already owns three diamond mines — Cullinan, Koffiefontein and on completion, Kimberley Underground.
“This acquisition also marks Petra’s entry into Tanzania, further diversifying the group’s geographical spread across Africa,” said Petra CEO Johan Dippenaar. — I-Net Bridge