South African diamond mining giant De Beers is to extend its dominance of the international diamond market with a C$167 million hostile bid to acquire a majority shareholding in the Snap Lake diamond project, in the Canadian North West Territories.
South African diamond mining giant De Beers is to extend its dominance of the international diamond market with a C$167 million hostile bid to acquire a majority shareholding in the Snap Lake diamond project, in the Canadian North West Territories.
De Beers has made a cash offer of C$4.25 per share to the shareholders of Winspear, a Canadian-listed exploration company with a 67.76 per cent stake in Snap Lake.
The project is well advanced with production at a rate of 18 million carats per year expected after 2002, and contains 12.6 million tonnes grading at 1.75 carats per tonne.
Diamonds recovered from bulk sampling are valued at US$118 per carat, placing an insitu value of US$2.6 billion on the deposit.
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