BHP to sell its stake in Ekati

As Canadian Sailings reported in its October 22 issue, it appeared that BHP Billiton was set to sell its controlling share in the Ekati diamond mine in the Northwest Territories. Recently, BHP confirmed that it was selling its stake in the mine, as well as its diamonds marketing operation in Antwerp, to Harry Winston Diamond Corp, a Toronto-listed publicly held company which already owns a 40 per cent stake in the nearby Diavik diamond mine, in a joint venture with Rio Tinto. The sale will be for cash of $500 million.