Lucara Ends "Groundbreaking" Sales with HB Antwerp
September 28, 23
(IDEX Online) - Lucara has ended its rough diamond sales agreement with HB Antwerp, accusing the company of "a material breach of financial commitments".
It was less than a year into a 10-year deal. The move comes less than a month after HB removed Oded Mansori, one of its three co-founders, citing "a sharp difference in strategic vision and approaches to business". He responded by launching legal action.
Lucara's press statement, issued yesterday (27 September) provided no further details of the "breach".
Vancouver-based Lucara signed a 10-year deal last November for HB to sell all the specials (+10.8-cts) from its Karowe mine, in Botswana.
The deal was heralded as a "groundbreaking partnership" that would bring transparency to the world of rough diamonds.
HB bought Lucara's diamonds based on the estimated polished outcome of each diamond - rather than its rough value - determined through state-of-the-art scanning and planning technology.
A true-up was paid to adjust for any difference between the estimate and the actual price paid, less a fee and the cost of manufacturing.
But Lucara said that it had "exercised its right to terminate the agreement".
William Lamb, Lucara's new CEO said: "The Lucara production profile is unique in the diamond industry and the company will continue to look at innovative sales mechanisms to maximize the value of our rough diamonds."
The company said it would continue to use its Clara diamond sales platform and traditional tenders to sell Karowe's rough diamond production.
HB was founded in 2020. In April of this year the Botswana government said it would be buying a 24 per cent equity stake, in what the country's president described as a potential "game-changer".
We have approached HB Antwerp for comment.
Pic courtesy HB Antwerp