Lucara Diamond ends sales deal with trader HB Antwerp By Reuters

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<span>© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: An over 1,000-carat uncut stone by Lucara Diamond is pictured during a press availability in New York City, New York, U.S., September 20, 2021. REUTERS/David ‘Dee’ Delgado/File Photo</span><br />
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<p>By Brian Benza</p>
<p>GABORONE (Reuters) – Canada’s Lucara Diamond said on Thursday it had ended its gem sales agreement with HB Trading BV, a unit of HB Antwerp, in a move that could affect a deal between the Belgian trader and the government of Botswana. </p>
<p>“Lucara exercised its right to terminate the agreement following a material breach of financial commitments by HB,” the Toronto-listed miner said in a statement, without giving details.</p>
<p>HB was not immediately available to comment.</p>
<p>The two parties first entered into a diamond sales agreement in 2020, which was extended for 10 years in 2022. Under the deal, HB would buy stones of 10 carat quality and above from the Toronto-listed Lucara’s Karowe Mine in central Botswana at prices based on the estimated polished value of each diamond.</p>
<p>In March, the government of Botswana, the world’s No. 1 diamond producer by value, said it had agreed to buy a 24% stake in HB Antwerp. As part of the deal, state-owned Okavango Diamond Company would supply HB with an undisclosed quantity of rough diamonds for five years.</p>
<p>The government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether that deal might be affected by Lucara’s move.</p>
<p>HB Antwerp has recently been rocked by the removal of co-founder Oded Mansori from management following differences over strategy. Mansori, who co-founded HB Antwerp in 2020 with partners Shai de Toledo and Rafael Papismedov, said he was taking them to court over his removal.</p>
<p>Lucara, which expects rough diamond output between 395,000 carats and 425,000 carats and revenue up to $230 million this year from Karowe, said it would continue to sell its stones through its Clara diamond platform, traditional tenders and “other value-added mechanisms”. </p>
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