To: james flannigan who wrote (2378 ) 9/12/2002 6:41:26 AM From: IngotWeTrust Read Replies (1) | Respond to If I may, this was too rich to pass up, James. ( The emphasis is mine.)s >The results have been a long time coming, but that usually seems to be the way with the big South African. Testing the nerves of their partners is the way they see it.... which comes up for review at the end of this year, has been in place for three years during which time BHP Billiton has proved to itself that it can do much better, profitwise, by carrying out its own marketing. This it does by way of joint venture with the leading Antwerp diamantaire David Lapa who recently announced a similar arrangement with Australia’s first independent diamond producer, Kimberly Diamonds. Lapa may have close commercial connections with De Beers, but this is not the same as dealing direct with the producer.Tiffany, the famous New York jewellers, is going ahead with building a new cutting factory at Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories. Some time ago Tiffany acquired a 15 per cent stake in Aber and as part of this deal it was agreed not only that Tiffany would be able to buy US$50 million worth of the production allocated to Aber from the Diavik mine, but that it would also get first choice of the rough stones. This takes quite a slice off the market as far as De Beers is concerned as Rio Tinto has already established its own sorting and marketing facilities and it was to maintain maximum throughput for these that it hit back so hard in the battle for Ashton as this involved production from the prolific Lake Argyle mine in Australia. The day when De Beers will be able to market its own branded Canadian diamonds into the North American market therefore seems to be slipping into the distance.minesite.com
