De Beers to Sell Botswana Diamond Deposit for $49 Million

De Beers will sell its 70 percent share in Boteti Exploration, which owns the AK06 diamond deposit, to Lucara Diamond Corporation, a Canadian junior diamond mining company, for $49 million in cash, the company announced Wednesday.

“The sale, which is subject to a number of conditions including the consent of the Government of Botswana, became an option once the global economic crisis constrained the project to a smaller mining plan,” De Beers said.

In the past few years, the diamond mining giant has sold smaller mines that do not fit into its global production portfolio of large-scale projects that deliver superior rates of return and the right production volumes.

“This is a win-win solution for diamond mining in Botswana,” said Stephen Lussier, chairman of De Beers Botswana. “While De Beers will focus its resources in Botswana on large-scale projects that give us a better strategic fit - and in this regard expects to announce a major $500 million expansion project at the Jwaneng mine in the coming month - smaller operators will have the opportunity to bring AK06 into production, helping to reinforce Botswana’s position as the world’s leading diamond producing country.”