De Beers To Supply 10% Of Snap Lake Production To Local Sightholders
March 31, 07
In a joint statement with the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT), De Beers Canada confirmed that from 2008, it will make available for sale 10 percent of diamonds from their Snap Lake Mine in the NWT, by value, in economically cuttable categories, to GNWT approved manufacturers who have successfully fulfilled the Diamond Trading Company’s (DTC’s) client selection criteria.
Snap Lake’s production will be sorted in Yellowknife for royalty valuation purposes in accordance with the requirements of Canada Mining Regulations, before being sent to London for sale to Sightholders. This is similar to the arrangement the DTC has with Botswana.
“In order to ensure the identity of the Snap Lake production, the GNWT will have the right to monitor the valuation process in Yellowknife and the process for selling 10 percent of Snap Lake diamonds,” the two parties announced in a press release. The arrangement also includes a commitment by De Beers to provide diamond sorting training for NWT residents.
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Bell recently led a GNWT delegation to the DTC in London at the invitation of De Beers Canada’s NWT Vice President, Chantal Lavoie.
“The purpose of inviting the GNWT to the DTC was to show how the Snap Lake diamonds will flow through the DTC, where they will be prepared and made available for sale to GNWT - approved manufacturers for purchase,” said Lavoie. “Ensuring the GNWT has an understanding of, and supports, De Beers’ sorting and selling processes and its global distribution and marketing initiatives was an important part of this visit,” she added.
Through providing local supply, a growing requirement of De Beers wherever it mines, the miner will fulfill its political and contractual obligations to comply with the GNWT policy regarding support for the secondary diamond industry in the Northwest Territories.