Yellowknife (Sep 24/04) - A deal is on the table for Sirius Diamonds.

Finance Minister Floyd Roland said Wednesday that he was given the nod from cabinet to move forward with a proposal from Israel-based Lev Leviev Group.

He has asked the Financial Management Board Secretariat to check the fine print on the deal, worth more than the $6.5 million minimum bid.

"We're still taking a hit, but it's a lot better than what we were looking at," said Roland. "We were looking at a complete loss."

He said the government will not provide loan guarantees. The Leviev proposal came in on the Sept. 14 deadline and was one of five bids.

Sirius was placed in temporary receivership in May when the territorial government moved to protect a loan guarantee.

The company was placed in full receivership Aug. 16. Sirius has a cutting and polishing factory in Yellowknife and an office in Vancouver.

Roland said he expects the deal to be complete by the end of October.

The company's owner is Lev Leviev, whose net worth was estimated by Forbes Magazine to be $2 billion.

"He does very large volumes and is into cutting and polishing, as well as selling rough diamonds," said Roland.

Along with a host of real estate around the world, Leviev owns 1,700 gas stations, 173 7-Eleven stores, a gold mine in Kazakhstan and parts of two diamond mines in Angola.

Leviev is also a shareholder in Southern Era Resources Ltd., which is exploring property near the BHP Ekati Mine and the Diavik Diamond Mine.