De Beers Canada sells interest in Fort a la Corne

De Beers Canada confirmed yesterday (Monday) that it has agreed to sell its entire 42.245 percent interest in the Fort a la Corne joint venture project in Saskatchewan to Kensington Resources Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Shore Gold, for C$180 million (US$161.16 million) in cash.

The company said in a release that the agreement will be completed following the registration of mineral disposition transfers of the Fort a la Corne JV properties.

“This deal makes sense for the Fort a la Corne project as it allows for unitization of the assets previously held by the joint venture with the neighboring Star kimberlite held by Shore Gold. This will improve the viability of the kimberlite field and make way for Shore Gold to develop the project,” said Jim Gowans, President and CEO of De Beers Canada.

De Beers is currently constructing two mines in Canada, Snap Lake in the Northwest Territories and Victor in Ontario. A third project, Gahcho Kue, is a joint venture with Mountain Province, also located in the NWT.