Lonrho Regulatory News (LONR)

15 May 2008 08:26



15 May 2008

Lonrho Plc

("Lonrho")

LONRHO MINING DISCOVERS EXCEPTIONAL 61 CARAT DIAMOND

Lonrho (AIM: LONR), the conglomerate with a structured portfolio of African investments, is pleased to announce that Lonrho Mining Ltd (formerly known as Nare Diamonds) owned 23.01% by Lonrho, has made the following announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange this morning:

HIGHLIGHTS

Exceptional 61.30 carat fancy yellow diamond discovered at the Schmidtsdrift Mine 

The diamond is octahedron in shape and is expected to yield a high value

Australian based diamond exploration and development company Lonrho Mining Limited (ASX: LOM) ("Lonrho Mining" or the "Company"), today announced that it had discovered an exceptional 61.30 carat stone at its Schmidtsdrift Mine located in the Republic of South Africa. 

The diamond is a fancy yellow perfect octahedron and is expected to yield a high value (see Figure1). Further photos of the diamond can be viewed on the Company's website at www.lonrhomining.com. 

The Schmidtsdrift mine - owned by Nare Diamonds (80%) and the Schmidtsdrift Communal Property Association (20%) - comprises six contiguous farms along the western bank of the Vaal River, with a combined area of 320km². 

Since the Company commenced operations in April 2006 up to 30 April 2008, the Schmidtsdrift mine has produced 16,395 carats of diamonds from 3,255,969 tonnes at an average grade of 0.5 carats per hundred tons. The production included 328 stones in excess of 5 carats in size, including a rare 235 carat stone, two 66 carat stones and 25 stones between 15 and 50 carats in size.

The latest discovery follows an extensive organizational restructuring at the Schmidtsdrift Mine. 

An earlier announcement by the Company advised of a significant development at the Company's Lulo Project in Angola, where it identified a potential 160 kimberlite pipes from a recently completed airborne survey.

Commenting on the discovery, Chief Executive Officer of Lonrho Mining, Charles Mostert stated: 

"This diamond is of extremely high quality and is expected to achieve a very high value. We are confident that the recently completed operational review at the Schmidtsdrift mine will continue to have a positive effect and hopefully yield further diamonds of this quality."

  Figure 1

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/5136U_-2008-5-15.pdf

LONRHO ENQUIRIES

NOTES TO EDITORS

Background

The Schmidtsdrift diamond mine comprises six contiguous farms along the western bank of the Vaal River, with a combined area of 320km² and divided into 24 mining zones.  

The Company's flagship project is the Lulo Diamond Concession located in north eastern Angola. The Company recently announced the identification of 217 magnetic anomalies from a helicopter borne aeromagnetic and radiometric survey conducted at Lulo. Other diamond operators in this region have reported that up to 75% of the targeted magnetic anomalies drilled are kimberlite pipes. Based on this comparison, approximately 160 of the anomalies on the Lulo concessions are likely to be kimberlites.  Lulo is located an area which many experts believe will become a prolific region for the production of diamonds. The Catoca mine, which is approximately 90 kilometers from Lulo, produced approximately 7 million carats in 2007. Lulo is also adjacent to the Alto Cuilo concession which is a joint venture between Petra Diamonds and BHP Billiton where 77 kimberlite pipes have already been discovered.

In addition, the Company owns interests in three other South African diamond exploration projects.

For more information please visit: www.lonrhomining.com 

About LONRHO:

Lonrho Plc is an expanding conglomerate that is rapidly growing a successful business throughout Africa. The Company's shares are traded on the London AIM stock exchange (LONR). Lonrho is strategically focused on the development of business opportunities in infrastructure, transportation, support services, hotels and natural resources. The Company has over 19,000 shareholders and substantial institutional backing to support its mandate to build a profitable business that plays a fundamental role in the development of the African economy. 

Since 2006, the Company has invested in or acquired control of: 

Hotel Cardoso - www.hotelcardoso.co.mz  (retained)

Lonrho Mining - www.lonrhomining.com 

Luba Freeport - www.lubafreeport.com 

Fly540 - www.fly540.com 

Swissta Holdings - www.swissta.com 

SA Independent Liner Services - www.saliners.com 

Bytes and Pieces www.bytespieces.com 

Kwikbuild - www.e-kwikbuild.co.za 

LonZim - www.lonzim.co.uk