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Gold/Mining/Energy : SOUTHERNERA (t.SUF) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: VAUGHN who wrote (2384)	1/29/1999 4:57:00 PM
From: Goalie	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 7235

Hello Vaughn:De Beers to Sell Stake in Deposit to Black Investors From Bloomberg today: Johannesburg, Jan. 29 (Bloomberg) -- De Beers, the world's biggest diamond miner and marketer, said it will sell just under half of its 60 percent stake in the undeveloped Marsfontein diamond deposit to black investors for 200 million rand ($16.6 million). De Beers will transfer all of its stake in the deposit to a new company provisionally known as Newco. A 49 percent stake in Newco will then be sold for 200 million rand ($16.6 million) to a group of black-owned companies: New Diamond Corp., Domba Investments Ltd., Vulwani Projects Ltd. and Umkhonto We Sizwe Investment Holdings Ltd. The other 40 percent of Marsfontein is held by Canada's SouthernEra Resources Ltd. ''Black empowerment is a new thing for De Beers,'' said De Beers' managing director, Gary Ralfe. ''This is a base for other things to be added to. There are small mining projects. This is the ideal vehicle for developing these projects.''Since Democratic elections in 1994 South African mining companies have been under political pressure to increase black participation in the mining industry. Anglo American Coal Ltd. last year bought Gold Fields Coal Ltd. and has said it will sell this company to black investors. De Beers shares rose 1 rand to 87 rand.While Marsfontein's main diamond ore pipe -- known as a kimberlite -- is yet to be developed, initial mining in the last six months of last year yielded 532,337 carats at a rate of 457.16 carats per hundred metric tons. These were sold at an average of $148.20 a carat and 116,000 tons of ore were treated, at a cost of about $33 a ton. According to Belgian company Terraconsult, South Africa produced 10.033 million carats of diamonds in 1997 and these were sold at an average of $93 a carat. South Africa is the world's third biggest diamond producer by value. Ralfe said he expects Marsfontein's diamond yield to fall to below 200 carats per 100 metric tons when the main ore body is mined. De Beers would not give an estimate Marsfontein's total reserves. New Diamond Corp. is also partnering De Beers in its bid for state-owned diamond company Alexkor. ______________________