De Beers, Namibia Sign New Agreement

The Government of the Republic of Namibia and De Beers have
signed a new agreement that will let De Beers continue to market the country’s
production and give Namibia a bigger stake in the proceeds, De Beers announced
May 18.

The new deal allows the government to increase its
shareholding in  De Beers Marine Namibia
(DBMN) from 15 percent to 50 percent, deepening the partners’ joint commitment
to diamond mining in Namibia, the statement said.

As part of the agreement, the shareholders have agreed to
establish a new 50/50 joint venture holding company for Namdeb and DBMN.  The company will hold all of the licenses
both for land and sea operations,  and
will own the diamonds mined from those areas.

All the diamonds produced by Namdeb and DBMN will continue
to be sorted, valued and marketed exclusively by the Namibia Diamond Trading
Company, which is also a 50/50 joint venture between the government and De
Beers.

The GRN and De Beers have continually deepened their partnership
since it began in 1994, the statement noted.

“Our agreement, and the partnership between GRN and De
Beers, have created a solution that will benefit the people of Namibia now and
in the long-term,” said Namibia’s minister of mines and energy Isak Katali in a
statement.

The new structure will be implemented when all the
statutory, regulatory and other commercial conditions have been met, which is
expected to be in the second half of 2011.

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