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Diamond Miner Octéa Says Ebola Not Affecting Operations
Sep 2, 2014 8:48 AM
By Ronen Shnidman
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RAPAPORT... Octea Diamond Group said that its operations at the Koidu diamond mine have not been directly impacted by the outbreak of the Ebola virus in the region. Brett Richards, Octéa's CEO, said that the company has a plan in place, devised in conjunction with the Sierra Leone Chamber of Mines, to deal with outbreak if the situation escalates.
Richards response came after the country's Deputy Minister of Mineral Resources, Abdul Ignosis, told news outlets that Sierra Leone would not it reach its goal of exporting $200 million in diamonds in 2014 due to the impact of the Ebola outbreak.
"We have not been affected by the virus to date," Richards told Rapaport News by email. "However, we have had to reorganize a few areas of the business in response to the situation, namely expat travel, implementing procedures and processes to address the Ebola outbreak and adjusting our level of supplies and inventory."
Octéa is fully owned by BSG Resources, a company associated with Israeli diamantaire Beny Steinmetz.
The Koidu mine is located two kilometers from the city of Koidu, which scientists have determined to be the focal point for the current Ebola virus outbreak in Sierra Leone.
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Tags:
Benny Steinmetz, Ebola, Koidu, Octea, Ronen Shnidman, Sierra Leone
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