De Beers inspires with stirring oratory, Petra changes to larger diamonds, JCI-Randgold & Exploration rematch

Ranking first for inspiration in the face of unprecedented global economic adversity is the stirring oratory of De Beers chairperson Nicky Oppenheimer and De Beers MD Gareth Penny. Read on page 16 of this edition of Mining Weekly of the mood in the world diamond camp as last year’s growth plans are put into sharp reverse.

When the Diamond Trading Company (DTC) group met with Oppenheimer 12 months ago, the talk was about carat expansion, which this year quickly gave way to talk of curtailment, cutting and closure.

Against that background, Oppenheimer quoted Churchill: “If you’re going through hell, keep going”, and Penny was also on hand to add that “level-headed leadership . . . positions you well to weather the storm”.
Closures, cuts and catastrophes may in future serve to further aggravate the worsening shortage of rough, especially since, according to Penny, there are only 20 years of known reserves left in the ground at 2007 rates of production.

Midtier diamond-miner Petra Diamonds is tweaking the Cullinan diamond plant to recover larger stones. Read on page 18 of this edition of Mining Weekly that the new processing procedure at Cullinan protects diamonds in the 500-ct to 600-ct size range, compared with the maximum size of some 200 ct of the past.

Anything bigger than 25 mm went to the crushers, but the unencumbered Petra is upgrading the large-diamond recovery plant and also producing at a rate far greater than what it promised the market.

The spat between Randgold & Exploration (R&E) and JCI may reach a climax on Monday when the two companies that had operated under the leadership of the controversial, deceased mining boss, Brett Kebble, meet again to discuss their futures.

Read on page 7 of this edition of Mining Weekly that senior counsel Vincent Maleka, who has been appointed to act as chairperson by an order of court, will hear shareholders’ views on a scheme of arrangement that R&E has proposed in terms of Section 311 of the Companies Act.

Both companies’ shares have been suspended from trading on the JSE since 2005, after they failed to produce financial statements.

To watch a video on Maleka and the JCI-R&E merger meeting, go to www.miningweekly.com and click on ‘Multimedia’ and then on ‘Video Clips’.