OREANDA-NEWS. January 16, 2009. A deal between international diamond major De Beers and Lukoil on the development of the Verkhotinsky diamond project in Arkhangelsk Oblast has been cancelled following state disapproval of plans.
The Arkhangelsk Diamond Corporation, a subsidiary of De Beers, has announced that it will not buy a 49,9 percent stake in the Verkhotinskoe field in Arkhangelsk Oblast as previously agreed upon.

According to RBK, the deal needed the state’s blessing by 31 December in order to come into force. A government commission responsible for foreign investments approved the project in October 2008. The Federal Anti-monopoly Service did not however give the necessary final green light for the project, thus putting a stop to plans.

The two companies, which have negotiated over the development of the diamond field for several years, last April reached compromise in the project. Now, however, that deal is no longer valid.

The deal would give De Beers and the Arkhangelsk Diamond Corporation a 49,99 percent stake in the Arkhangelsk Geological Extraction Company (AGD), the license holder in the field. Now, Lukoil controls 100 percent of the AGD. The deal would have a 225 million USD price tag.