De Beers, gov’t talks enter last lap

BusinessWeek is informed that with the negotiations having dragged on for five years, finalising a deal by June is seen as key to settling market jitters that have grown, fuelled by speculation about why the industry’s major players are yet to wrap up their talks.

The current agreement expired in September 2020 and has been extended several times, initially because of the pandemic and later without clear explanations by either party. In 2018, when they kicked off their negotiations, both sides had established five-member teams to work on their heads of agreement.