DE BEERS TO RETURN SOUTH AFRICAN DIAMONDS HELD IN LONDON
JOHANNESBURG November 22 1999 Sapa-AFP
The world's largest diamond producer, De Beers, is repatriating about 100 million dollars' worth of large South
African-mined diamonds stockpiled in London, a spokeswoman said Monday.
"De Beers is in the process of bringing back large stones in the stockpile at the request of the (South African)
Diamond Board," De Beers' spokeswoman Tracey Peterson said.
About 700 million dollars' worth of regular-sized diamonds will remain in London, she said.
The board's demand that the diamonds be returned was part of a dispute which delayed the export of De Beers'
consignments twice this year.
Peterson said De Beers had agreed "in a spirit of conciliation" to return the large South African diamonds and to
hold them at their offices in the central city of Kimberley, the cradle of South Africa's diamond industry.
"We will draw on them as and when required to include in the selling mixture prepared in London," she said.
The South African-mined diamonds that are being returned are stones which are bigger than 10.8 carats and have
a value exceeding 450 dollars per carat, and coloured stones.
All regular-sized diamonds mined in South Africa will in future also be held in Kimberley, Peterson said.
The stockpiles were moved to London in 1993 in a move widely interpreted as an attempt to safeguard them
against nationalisation or seizure by the African National Congress (ANC) government, elected in 1994.
A dispute between De Beers, which accounts for 95 percent of South African diamond exports, and the
government-appointed diamond valuator has stalled exports twice this year, but sales have resumed after the
intervention of minerals minister Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.
The valuator has accused the mining group of undervaluing its stones and presented a list of demands, including
that De Beers return a portion of the London stockpile and pay the valuator's costs.
Negotiations were ongoing to resolve these differences, Peterson said.
PHIL |
