JOHANNESBURG – (miningweekly.com) Details of the terms of a mining licence for the AK6 diamond discovery, a joint venture (JV) between African Diamonds and De Beers in Botswana, would be finalised in the next two weeks, as an extension for negotiations had been requested and agreed to by all parties.

The companies, the Botswana government and Boteti Exploration stated that the envisaged deadline of September 30, as indicated by the Director of Mines of Botswana, would be met.

“Public holidays and the volume of work meant that all sides agreed to a two-week extension to conclude the terms of the Mining Licence. Last week’s discussions were productive and constructive, and went well,” said Africa Diamonds chairperson John Teeling in a statement.

In July, African Diamonds made known its intention to start legal proceedings against its JV partner De Beers, as the latter sought to delay the start-up of the project, citing power constraints as a limiting factor.

However, the government of Botswana, in September, denied De Beers’ application for a retention licence, as it did not consider the application formally lodged, because the mining license application was still pending.

African Diamonds thus shelved plans to challenge De Beers in court.

De Beers recently indicated that the talks were constructive and added that the discussions principally focused on mitigating the impact of the regional power shortage, which presented a challenge, particularly with regard to the development timelines, for the AK6 project.

De Beers was confident that the successful conclusion of these discussions would result in AK6 joining Botswana’s stable of diamond mines in 2011.

Separately, De Beers and government also agreed that the diamonds from AK6 would be sold through Diamond Trading Company Botswana, a 50:50 JV partnership between the State and the miner.

“Government has acknowledged the gravity of the power supply issue and is investigating solutions to address the challenge and ensure the project has a sustainable supply of power. We are appreciative of the positive and meaningful engagement that government has shown throughout this process,” said De Beers group MD Gareth Penny.

African Diamonds holds a 28% stake in the JV company that owns the AK6 project – Boteti, with De Beers holding 71%.

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