Gem Diamonds Offloads Ghaghoo Mine

RAPAPORT... Gem Diamonds has sold its Ghaghoo mine in Botswana for $5.4million, following a two-year search for a buyer. Pro Civil, a Botswana-based company, will acquire the asset, which has been on care and maintenance since March 2017. The company will also take on environmental responsibility for the deposit, Gem Diamonds said Thursday. "This sale is in line with our strategic objective todispose of non-core assets," said Gem Diamonds CEO Clifford Elphick. "[We]remain focused on optimizing production and efficiency at the Let??eng mine inLesotho." Ghaghoo opened in 2014 but was mothballed after the average price for its rough slid from$210 to $142 per carat between early 2015 and late 2016. Gem Diamonds was in discussions to sell the mine in August 2017, but those talks fell through, and thecompany had since been unable to find a buyer. Gem Diamonds expects the sale to be completed in the thirdquarter. Image: The Ghaghoo mine. (Gem Diamonds)