Petra Adds Ex-De Beers Exec to Board

RAPAPORT… Petra Diamonds has appointed former De Beers executive Varda
Shine as a non-executive director in line with a plan to refresh its leadership,
the miner said Monday.



Shine was CEO of the Diamond Trading Company — now De
Beers Global Sightholder Sales — between 2006 and 2014, during which she
oversaw the division’s move from London to Gaborone.


She is currently an independent director of the state-owned
Mineral Development Company Botswana, as well as a non-executive director of
miner Lonmin. In March 2017, she became an independent director of Sarine
Technologies, which provides equipment and services to the diamond trade.


Bernard Pryor, a former executive at De Beers parent
company Anglo American, will also join Petra’s board in the same role. Both will
begin on January 1.


The moves are the latest step in Petra’s succession plan,
through which it aims to ease the comapny’s transition from expansion to steady
operations, it explained. Petra CEO Johan Dippenaar will leave, the miner said last month, and the company will review the structure of its board, committee and senior-management structures.



“[Shine and Pryor’s] significant experience and expertise in
both the mining sector and the diamond world will be a considerable asset to
our board, and we look forward to working with them,” said Petra chairman
Adonis Pouroulis. “Today’s announcement demonstrates the solid progress the board
has made in its succession plan, and we expect to be in a position to make
further announcements with regards to board composition later in [fiscal 2019].”



Image: Varda Shine