26th Sep 2005 14:54
Petra Diamonds Ld26 September 2005 26 September 2005 Petra Diamonds Limited Further re acquisition of Kalahari Diamonds Petra Diamonds Limited ('Petra' or 'the Company'), the AIM-quoted and ASX-listeddiamond mining group, announces that at the EGM of Kalahari Diamonds ResourcesPlc ('KDR') held earlier today the resolution approving the sale to Petra ofKalahari Diamonds Limited ('Kalahari') was passed. In consideration for the sale of Kalahari's entire issued share capital toPetra, the Company will issue 16,166,529 new ordinary shares ('the ConsiderationShares') to KDR, representing 12.3% of Petra's current issued share capital.Completion of the acquisition is conditional on the admission of theConsideration Shares, which will rank pari passu with existing ordinary shares,to trading on AIM and quotation of the Consideration Shares on the AustralianStock Exchange, which is expected to be on 30 September 2005. Adonis Pouroulis, Chairman of Petra, commented, "We are delighted with theresult of today's EGM. This acquisition is indicative of Petra's strategy tosimultaneously grow and diversify the Company, by providing key positioning in acountry renowned for its prolific diamond production. We are also very pleasedto be working in conjunction with BHP Billiton on this project, an invaluablepartner." A Petra presentation, covering Petra's proposed acquisition of Kalahari andrecent developments in Petra's other operations, can be viewed on the Company'swebsite. For further information, please visit www.petradiamonds.com or contact: Petra Diamonds, South Africa Parkgreen Communications, London Johan Dippenaar/David Abery Justine Howarth / Cathy Malins Tel +27 11 467 6710 Tel +44 20 7493 3713 John Baillie, Perth Field PR, Adelaide Tel +61 8 9381 8888 Kevin Skinner Tel +61 8 8234 9555 Mobile +61 414 822 631 Editors Notes Kalahari is a diamond exploration company which explores for diamonds inBotswana through a strategic alliance with BHP Billiton. Kalahari's foundingshareholders include BHP Billiton (20%), International Finance Corporation(9.36%), some of the world's leading diamantaires (approximately 40%) andinstitutional investors. Kalahari is the holder of approximately 77,000 km2 of highly prospective diamondprospecting licences in Botswana. Botswana is the world's largest diamondproducer by value and hosts two of the world's biggest diamond mines, Orapa andJwaneng. Kalahari also has an agreement with BHP Billiton, whereby Kalahari hasrights to direct the deployment of BHP Billiton's proprietary Falcon technologyand access to an experienced Falcon data acquisition and geophysics team. The acquisition of Kalahari represents a significant step in Petra's strategy ofbuilding a quality exploration portfolio to complement its current producingmines, as Petra continues with its objective of becoming a significant player inthe diamond industry. One of Petra's objectives has been to increase itsgeographical spread of assets across the African continent, focusing on areasthat are known to hold major diamond deposits so as not to be overly reliant onany one country. Kalahari applies the airborne Falcon gravity survey method in conducting diamondexploration on its prospecting areas in Botswana. The Falcon technologyprovides a new dimension in exploration for diamonds. It is able to "seethrough" the surface cover which overlies much of Botswana and detect anomaliesthrough these cover rocks. Falcon is an airborne system that can cover largerremote areas rapidly and cost effectively. Falcon is of great value in areascovered by desert sand, such as in Botswana, and Petra considers the deploymentof Falcon, in conjunction with other geophysical and exploration techniques, tobe a more effective approach. BHP Billiton has back-in rights with respect to the license areas whereby BHPBilliton is entitled to a 51% or 60% joint venture interest (depending on howthe relevant prospecting licence was acquired). Upon the exercise of back-inrights, BHP Billiton would pay 400% of the past expenditure on the specificproject area to Kalahari and fund Kalahari's share of expenditure of apre-feasibility study on the relevant property. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Petra Diamonds