A joint venture between the Namibian government and Anglo American PLC unit De Beers SA sold the mothballed Elizabeth Bay diamond mine and associated marine assets as a going concern to a local consortium, Lewcor, Reuters reported Sept. 12.
The deal is worth 120 million Namibian dollars, or about US$8.2 million, with a potential to increase to 180 million Namibian dollars.
The joint venture, Namdeb Holdings Ltd., stopped operations at Elizabeth Bay in September 2018 saying it was unable to turn a profit.
Namdeb put up the mine for sale in February 2018 after a review concluded that the best way to secure a longer future for the operations, beyond the projected 2019 life, was "to find a more suitable operator."
Lewcor plans to bring the Elizabeth Bay mine into production in the near-term, according to the newswire.
As of Sept. 12, US$1 was equivalent to 14.61 Namibian dollars.
