Finsch Mine

Petra Diamonds announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the Finsch diamond mine in South Africa from De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited. In addition, the Company has completed a placing of 136 M new ordinary Petra Diamonds shares of 10 pence each, at a price of 150 pence per share, raising gross proceeds of US$325 M.

The Finsch life extending Block 5 project, would come on stream in 2011, costing $523 million.

De Beers Société Anonyme (DBSA) is taking the opportunity provided by South Africa’s laws on black empowerment to cash in on part of its South African operations, writes Mineweb. Luxembourg-domiciled DBSA has agreed to sell 26% of DBCM, its South African subsidiary, to Ponahalo Capital, owned by various small black empowerment groups and, indirectly, by De Beers’s South African employees for R3.7 billion -- $600 million at the current rand:dollar exchange rate. Ponahalo does not, itself, have the cash to pay for the 26% stake in DBCM and will be borrowing all but R10 million, or less than 0.3% of the total, from Standard Bank. DBSA will itself “guarantee” R800 million advanced by Standard Bank.