UPDATE: De Beers To Relocate Diamond Aggregation To Botswana
By Devon Maylie Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON -(Dow Jones)- De Beers SA will move its diamond aggregation process, or the mixing of diamonds according to value, from the U.K. to Botswana in 2010 after a delay due to the economic downturn, the company said Wednesday.
"With the recent improvement in trading conditions, both partners [De Beers and the Botswana government] will now refocus on finalizing the details necessary to allow aggregation to commence in Botswana as soon as possible in 2010," a De Beers spokeswoman told Dow Jones Newswires.
Botswana is trying to expand its role in the diamond industry out of solely mining the material. The aggregation process mixes diamonds from De Beers global operations which are then sold to De Beers' 79 clients, including local factories in Botswana.
De Beers estimates that by moving the process from the U.K. to Botswana it will create 3,000 local manufacturing jobs by the end of the decade.
In 2007 De Beers, the world's largest diamond producer, and the Botswana government launched the Diamond Trading Company Botswana. The trading company sorts and values the production from the Debswana mines.
Debswana is also a joint venture between De Beers and the Botswana government and accounted for 65% of De Beers total 2008 production.
The trading company supplied $360 million worth of rough diamonds to manufacturing in Botswana last year. That value will be less in 2009 due to the economic slowdown, the spokeswoman said.
The Botswanan government is a 15% shareholder in De Beers, 45% belongs to Anglo American PLC (AAL.LN) and the remaining 40% is held by the Oppenheimer family.
De Beers said at the end of July that it reduced diamond output globally by 73% in the first half of 2009 to 6.6 million carats due to a 57% drop in sales of rough diamonds.
Sales have since improved and De Beers plans to increase production during the second half of the year as a result, the company previously said. But it estimated output for the full year would still be half of last year's 48.1 million carats.
Earlier in the year, Debswana shut its mines for three months. Three mines were reopened in April amid signs of improving sales but Damtshaa remains shut and the company said it will likely remain so for the rest of the year.
-By Devon Maylie, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)20 7842 9483; devon.maylie@dowjones.com
Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/access/al?rnd=EfHYhFdI%2BuZekhpF4pGQ%2FA%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
Publié le 23 septembre 2009 Copyright © 2009 Dowjones
Commentaires
Faire un Commentaire