Nicky Oppenheimer, De Beers
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Oppenheimer says Alexkor deal ‘too slow’
Sandile Mchunu
Posted: Wed, 19 Mar 2008

[miningmx.com] -- PLANS to merge De Beers’ Namaqualand operations with Alexkor, the beleaguered state-owned diamond miner operating on South Africa’s west coast, had ground to a halt, said Nicky Oppenheimer, chairman of De Beers.

“There is little progress in this regard,” he said during a media visit to the group’s newly opened diamond sorting centre in the Botswana capital Gaborone.

He also said the handover of diamond bearing property, formerly owned by Alexkor, to the resident Richtenburg community had not been as quick as expected.
little progress
“We would like to move forward, it has been disappointing that there is no progress made at this stage,” he said.

The Richtersveld community, displaced from their land by government-owned Alexkor during the 1920s, successfully claimed for the restitution of some 84,000 hectares of diamond-bearing land stretching south from Alexander Bay on South Africa’s west coast.

The community also successfully claimed compensation of up to R2.5bn for diamonds removed and environmental damage caused by Alexkor’s operations. The claim was first launched in 1997.

The settlement included the transfer of land to the community from government, the restoration of mineral rights to the community, and the establishment of a ‘Pooling Sharing Joint Venture’ (PSJV), a joint mining venture between Alexkor and the Richtersveld community.

Enter De Beers which subsequently investigated a possible merger of its predominantly alluvial Namaqualand assets and Alexkor.

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“The focus has now shifted to returning the Namaqualand mine to profitability,” De Beers spokesperson Tom Tweedy.

Anglo relations

Commenting on De Beers’ relationship to shareholder, Anglo American, Oppenheimer said the partners were “all happy about the status quo.”

Anglo owns 45%, the Oppenheimer Family Trust holds 40%, and the remaining 15% by the Botswana government.

“As far as I know every part is satisfied about the relationship. There is no intention by one part to take over the other.”

It had been suggested that Anglo American, now under the management of CEO Cynthia Carroll, was considering divesting of its shares in De Beers.

Diamond cutting

Oppenheimer’s comments came during De Beers’ official opening of the Diamond Trading Company Botswana (DTCB) building on March 11.

Construction, completed by Murray & Roberts, totalled $49m, excluding $10m more in equipment. It dominates Gaborone’s skyline.

DTCB is a 50:50 joint venture between the Botswana government and De Beers. The new technology for sorting and evaluating rough diamonds will make DTC Botswana the world’s leader in the industry.

“It is a logical development and it came at the right time for both De Beers and the country. Botswana is a very investor-friendly country and we know the time is right for this kind of a project,” said Oppenheimer.

“The launch of DTCB has already created 2,200 new jobs in the cutting and sorting of diamonds and that figure will go to 3,000 for the country by the end of 2009,” said Gareth Penny, DTCB’s chairman.

The creation of DTCB is part of the renegotiation of a diamond supply agreement between Botswana’s Debswana and De Beers. In return for renewing a rough diamond supply agreement, De Beers promised to move aggregation of rough diamonds to Botswana, the world's single largest provider of such diamonds.

* Sandile Mchunu was a De Beers guest in Botswana