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be the pre-eminent producer in the world,” Ray said. “Anyone who will buy
(De Beers) will continue to fund its projects. I don’t see any significant drop in production from the
De Beers portfolio.”
Once De Beers formally leaves Anglo as part of the company’s restructuring, which CEO Duncan Wanblad has said could take 18 to 24 months to complete, the diamond miner will face the prospect of being purchased or going alone. Zimnisky said either option has its own difficulties. “This is something Anglo has wanted for a while,” he said. “They wanted Anglo to become more of a pure play copper producer, or a green infrastructure buildout commodity producer hoping it would lead to a higher valuation for the company. That said, De Beers is a complicated business and not easy to sell. It has (the) Debswana joint venture, which is the crown jewel of the company”.
Ray agrees that few potential buyers would have interest in a company like De Beers whose business requires massive capital investments. An IPO is also unlikely, he said.
“There’s little interest in the diamond sector from an equity perspective.
I don’t see how in a potential IPO there’s enough interest in a new diamond story,” he said. “This has to be a private sale or consortium that needs to come in and take a longer-term view of the diamond sector.
There could be growth expected in the retail segment. That’s where
I think anyone taking
a look at De Beers would see the value”.
Both analysts also see the De Beers sale having minimal impact on the junior exploration sector for diamonds.
“In order to stimulate exploration across the industry you would have to see a notable diamond price recovery”, Zimnisky said. “Prices have been flat for almost a decade now.”
IL BOTSWANA È DIVENTATO IL PRINCIPALE PRODUTTORE MONDIALE DI DIAMANTI
Il Botswana è salito al rango di primo produttore di diamanti a livello globale, scalzando la Russia colpita dalle sanzioni.
La maggior parte dei diamanti del Botswana
trovati nel deposito di diamanti di Orapa sono gestiti da De Beers, una delle principali società di diamanti.
A seguito delle sanzioni del G7 contro la Russia, De Beers ha spostato
le sue aste in Botswana per semplificare le sue operazioni commerciali e facilitare l’ulteriore sviluppo del settore dei diamanti del Paese.
Il trasferimento avviene mentre l’industria dei diamanti vacilla per gli effetti di un’iniziativa di tracciabilità introdotta dal Gruppo dei Sette principali paesi industrializzati, il G7, nel tentativo di sanzionare i diamanti russi.
Secondo l’accordo, tutti i diamanti che entrano nei mercati del G7 vengono fatti passare attraverso Anversa, in Belgio, per accertarne l’origine. Tuttavia, il Botswana
ha criticato l’accordo, sostenendo che ciò ha interrotto la catena di approvvigionamento. Il presidente del Botswana Mokgweetsi Masisi ha incontrato
il cancelliere tedesco Olaf Scholz il 21 giugno scorso, per discutere del processo
di certificazione.
BOTSWANA PROPELLED TO WORLD’S TOP DIAMONDS PRODUCER
Botswana has ascended to the rank of the top diamond producer globally, unseating sanctions-hit Russia.
Most of Botswana’s diamond found in the Orapa diamond deposit is operated by De Beers, a leading diamond company. Following the G7 sanctions on Russia, De Beers moved its auctions to Botswana to streamline its business operations and facilitate the further development of the country’s diamond sector. The relocation comes as the diamond industry reels from effects of a traceability initiative introduced by the Group of Seven leading industrialized countries,
or G7, in a bid to sanction Russian diamonds.
Under the arrangement,
all diamonds entering G7 markets are routed through Antwerp, Belgium, to ascertain their origin. However, Botswana has criticized the arrangement, arguing that it has disrupted the supply chain. Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi met German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
on June 21 to discuss the certification process.
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