Shear Diamonds Ltd—a Canadian-based company that specializes in diamond exploration and development activities in Canada’s North— has made a financing agreement and formed a strategic alliance with Belgian diamond firm Tache.  Tache will finance Shear’s plan to recover and sell diamonds from Canada’s mothballed Jericho Diamond Mine.

Tache— who manufacturers, polishes, and markets diamonds through a network of partner companies— will purchase raw and polished diamonds from the Jericho project and will provide Shear with a $2 million loan, repayable over 12 months, after Shear begins receiving the proceeds of diamond sales. Tache will also give Shear a $3 million line of credit.

“The debt provides us with the capital required to begin processing our recovery stockpiles in the near term, as well as long term support in the form of a marketing agreement that has Shear participating in profits on the sales of both the rough and, more importantly, the polished stones,” said Julie Lassonde, the CEO of Shear. 

Shear purchased the mothballed Jericho property from Tahera Diamond Corp in 2010, with a plan of extracting diamonds from ore stockpiles Tahera had left behind.  Tahera opened the mind in 2006, but declared bankruptcy by 2008, in the face of fuel supply shortages and difficulties with a diamond processing plant. Shear believes that the site has potential and would like to bring the mine, which has an estimated three million carats of subterranean diamonds, back to production.

“This agreement provides an exciting new strategic alliance for Taché whilst respecting our need to partner with a group that share our vision and our values,” said Jacky Taché, the CEO of Taché.

Shear’s current portfolio includes eight diamond projects, including three with development potential.

 

 

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