11th Apr 2006 10:00
Lonrho Africa PLC11 April 2006 LONRHO AFRICA PLC ("Lonrho Africa" or "the Company") Lonrho Africa takes stake in South African diamond producer Lonrho Africa is pleased to announce that it has agreed to acquire a substantialdirect interest in South African diamond producer Nare Diamonds Limited("Nare"). Lonrho Africa's Chief Executive Mr David Lenigas will becomenon-Executive Chairman of Nare. Lonrho Africa has subscribed for 14.44 million ordinary shares at 10.4 pence pershare as part of a pre-IPO funding. This £1.5 million investment represents a 17% holding of Nare's issued share capital. Nare is seeking an admission to AIM inthe first half of 2006 and is advised by London's Fox-Davies Capital Limited asbroker and Grant Thornton Corporate Finance as Nominated Adviser. Lonrho Africa views the timing of this investment as fortuitous. David Lenigas,Lonrho Africa's Chairman and CEO, commented: "This investment is the second under Lonrho Africa's new management followingthe recent 10% investment in South African uranium player Brinkley Mining Ltdand is in-line with our strategy to re-establish Lonrho Africa on the Africancontinent. This investment will provide Lonrho Africa with exposure to thelucrative diamond industry and offers the potential of excellent return to ourshareholders. The demand for natural rough gems continues to be high and pricesare still rising. This transaction demonstrates our strategy of re-establishinga major presence in Africa through investments in the natural resources,infrastructure and leisure sectors." Nare Diamonds Limited Nare is headed up by Mr Charles Mostert (ex Director of Crown Diamonds which wastaken over by London listed Petra Diamonds PLC) with diamond interestsconsisting of a combination of production and exploration projects in SouthAfrica. These projects are the Schmidtsdrift Diamond Mine (80% interest), theKlipspringer Joint Venture (20% interest), the Groen River Project (100%interest) and the Kamfersdam Kimberlite Pipe and tailings operation (100%interest). Diamond production at the Schmidtsdrift Mine commenced in March 2006. The mineis located some 80km north west of Kimberley in the Northern Cape Province andconsists of 31,227 hectares of highly potential diamondiferous gravel deposits.Previous mining activities at Schmidtsdrift yielded 33,679 carats with anaverage stone size of 1.14 carats. Infrastructure on the Schmidtsdrift Mine is well developed and the assetinventory includes state-of-the-art diamond recovery plant and equipment. Miningoperations are sub-contracted to experienced operators. Nare's second diamond operation, the Kamfersdam tailings operation, is expectedto be commissioned by 1st May 2006. Ends For further information, please contact: Lonrho Africa PlcDavid Lenigas +44 (0)7881 825 378Emma Priestley +44 (0)7867 785 177 Strand Partners Limited +44 (0)20 7409 3494Simon Raggett +44 (0)7769 883 666 Cardew Group +44 (0)20 7930 0777Nadja Vetter +44 (0)7941 340 436Eden Mendel +44 (0)7866 525 836Emma Consett +44 (0)7971 468 308 Notes to editors Lonrho Africa is in the process of re-establishing a significant presence on theAfrican continent. The new investment and acquisition strategy, which wasadopted following the appointment of David Lenigas as Chief Executive inDecember 2005, will focus on the natural resources, infrastructure and leisuresectors. Lonrho Africa's executive team has considerable experience across theseindustries in a wide range of countries. Recently, the Company announced itsfirst investment in Brinkley Mining Plc, which has important uranium andmolybdenum prospects in the Karoo region of South Africa. Lonrho Africa believesthat this investment is illustrative of the exciting opportunities available inAfrica. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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