JOHANNESBURG (Commodity Online): Tension is brewing between diamond giant De Beers and African Diamonds, the diamond exploration company, after African Diamonds informed the London Stock Exchange that De Beers failed to notify the company about a disposal of shares.

However, De Beers said it was seeking a full retraction of the statement by African Diamonds. “We take our regulatory obligations extremely seriously and confirm that we made the necessary filings in accordance with the relevant regulations. We are seeking a full retraction of the statement by African Diamonds,” De Beers said in a statement.

African Diamonds said its board has been informed by its registrars that 1 million shares in an account it believed to be controlled by De Beers had been sold or transferred without the company being notified.

Under FSA rules, an account holder must inform the company when shareholdings breach percentage points. African Diamonds said it had not been informed and were asking the FSA to examine the trades.

African Diamonds and De Beers first locked horns in late 2008 when the companies disagreed on the timing of the development of the AK6 diamond deposit in Botswana.

The dispute was later settled with De Beers clutching an agreement to market the mine’s diamonds. Last year De Beers sold its 70.3% stake inAK6 to Canadian junior diamond mining company Lucara Diamond Corporation for US$49 million in cash.

Smaller mines do not fit into De Beers’ global production portfolio, which is focused on large-scale projects that deliver superior rates of return and the right production volumes, said De Beers at the time of the sale.

If African Diamonds claims are true, than De Beers would be in breach of Financial Services Authority (FSA) rules.
(Source: miningmx.com)

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