Petra Diamonds, Ekapa Mining agree joint venture in Australia's Kimberley
Updated : 13:01
Jersey based Petra Diamonds announced on Friday it agreed a joint venture with South Africa’s Ekapa Mining, which will combine their operations in Kimberley, Western Australia.
The Kimberley Ekapa Mining joint venture took effect from 1 July. Petra Diamonds and Bee Partners will own 75.9% and Ekapa Mining 24.1%. Bee Partners is a venture capital company which provides capital and mentoring in the early stages of venture creation.
The joint venture will comprise of Petra’s Kimberley Underground mine, which is part of its Crown Resource subsidiary, and Ekapa Mining operations, which are part of Ekapa Mining’s Super Store and Kimberley Miners Forum subsidiaries.
It will also combine its joint operations in the area, comprising Kimberley Mines, in which Petra holds 49.9% and Ekapa Minerals, part of Ekapa Mining 50.1%.
In December 2015 Ekapa Minerals bought Kimberley Mines from De Beers Consolidated Mines. Petra said the acquisition “introduced a number of producing tailing deposits in the Kimberley area”, as well as a 6m tonne per annum combined treatment plant, which would be capable of processing ore from both run of mine and tailings sources.
Petra said it had stopped processing at Kimberley Underground and future processing of both underground and surface resources will be done using the combined treatment plant.
Chief executive Johan Dippenaar said: "These assets fit well with the group portfolio, given Petra's existing Kimberley Underground operations in the area. Importantly, the transaction demonstrates our commitment to ensuring a sustainable future for the diamond mining industry in Kimberley, which will benefit the Kimberley Mines workforce and local community.
"The Kimberley Ekapa Mining joint venture is expected to bring significant synergies to the operations at Kimberley, including the ability to increase throughput and reduce operating costs, thereby extending the operation's mine life."
Shares in Petra Diamonds rose 1.10% to 114.5p at 1226 BST.