Lonrho Regulatory News (LONR)

26 Oct 2006 12:40

Lonrho Africa PLC26 October 2006 LONRHO AFRICA PLC ("Lonrho" or "the Company") Nare Diamonds Limited ("Nare") Update and Senior Operations Appointments Lonrho notes today's announcement made by Nare, in which Lonrho has a 15%interest. "We are pleased with Nare's progress and we continue to believe in thesignificant potential of our investment," said Lonrho's Joint Executive Chairmanand Chief Executive, David Lenigas. The full text of Nare's announcement is as follows: Nare Diamonds Limited ("Nare" or the "Company") Company update and senior operations appointments The Board of Nare is pleased to advise that it has made four senior operationsappointments in advance of its intended listing on the Australian Stock Exchange("ASX") this year. The Company and its advisors are finalising the Prospectus and associatedcapital raising and Indian Ocean Capital has been engaged as Corporate Advisorand Lead Manager to support the offer and ASX listing. Lonrho Africa, currentlya 15% shareholder in Nare, intends to increase its shareholding in Nare to19.99% of the expanded issued share capital. Further details on the offer willbe available when the Prospectus is lodged with the Australian Securities andInvestments Commission and ASX in November. Following the successful completion of the ASX listing, Nare intends to seekadmission to the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange andthe Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Nare was established in 2004 and through its South African subsidiary, NewDiamond Corporation ("NDC"), has interests in a combination of diamondproduction and exploration operations in South Africa. These include theSchmidtsdrift Diamond Mine (80% interest), the Klipspringer Joint Venture (20%interest), the Groen River Project (100% interest) and the KamfersdamKimberlite Pipe and tailings operation (100% interest). Since commencing trial mining at Schmidtsdrift in April 2006 Nare has sold atotal of 3,849 carats of diamonds at an average price of US$1,161 per caratraising a total of US$4,467,259. This includes a rare 235 carat gemstone whichwas sold in August for US$10,205.91 per carat, totalling US$2,398,695. Narealso recently discovered a 66 carat gemstone which has yet to be valued. The Company has also made a number of senior appointments as it seeks to developits operations and expand production at Schmidtsdrift: •Otto Graven has been appointed as Operations Manager; •Manfred Marx as a Consulting Geologist; •Kevin Dabinett as a Mining Consultant; and •William Johannes as Community Liaison Officer. All have considerable experience of working in the diamond mining industry atcompanies such as De Beers, Normandy Mining and Petra Diamonds and theirappointments will significantly strengthen Nare's executive team. Commenting on the company's intention to list, Jack Griffin, Chairman of NareDiamonds said: "The Schmidtsdrift mine is a world class alluvial diamond deposit and thesignificant value the company has released in the months since trial miningstarted underlines Nare's potential. "The fundraising and admission to the ASX will enable us to finalise therestructuring of NDC and fund the ongoing exploration at Schmidtsdrift and GroenRiver while also providing the Company with a solid platform for future growth." Commenting on the appointments, Charles Mostert, Chief Executive Office of NareDiamonds said: "On behalf of the Board I am pleased to welcome the new members of our seniormanagement team to the Company. I'm sure that the significant knowledge andexperience they bring to Nare will enable us to continue to grow and develop ourbusiness to the benefit of shareholders. "Our ability to continue to attract such highly qualified and experienced peopleis testament to the quality of our assets and the Company's good prospects." Disclaimer This announcement does not contain or constitute an offer or invitation topurchase or subscribe for any securities of Nare in any jurisdiction and shouldnot be relied on in connection with any decision to purchase or subscribe forany such securities. Offers of securities in Nare are to be accompanied by a copy of the Prospectus.Anybody wishing to acquire securities in Nare will need to complete anapplication form that will be incorporated in, or will accompany, theProspectus. This announcement has been prepared for publication in Australia and the UnitedKingdom and may not be released in the United States. This press release doesnot constitute an offer of securities for sale in the United States or any otherjurisdiction. Any securities described in this press release may not be offeredor sold in the United States absent registration under the U.S Securities Act of1933 or an exemption from registration. End For further information, please contact: Lonrho Africa Plc +44 (020) 7016 5105David Lenigas, Chief Executive +44 (0)7881 825 378Emma Priestley, Executive Director +44 (0)7867 785 177 Strand Partners Limited +44 (0)20 7409 3494Simon RaggettMatthew Chandler Cardew Group +44 (0)20 7930 0777Nadja Vetter +44 (0)7941 340 436Eden Mendel +44 (0)7887 676 603Emma Consett +44 (0)7971 468 308 Nare Diamonds LimitedCharles Mostert +44 (0)20 7321 0000 Notes for editors Lonrho Africa Lonrho is in the process of re-establishing a significant presence on theAfrican continent. Its investment and acquisition strategy, which was adoptedfollowing the appointment of David Lenigas as Chairman and Chief Executive andsubsequent shareholder approval in February 2006, focuses on the naturalresources, infrastructure, leisure and agribusiness sectors. Lonrho's executiveteam has considerable experience across these industries in a wide range ofcountries. This year, the Company has announced investments in Brinkley MiningPlc, Nare Diamonds Ltd, Luba Freeport in Equatorial Guinea and Fly540 (a lowcost start-up airline based in Kenya). Nare Diamonds Otto Graven was appointed as Operations Manager in October 2006 and isresponsible for managing all alluvial and tailings mining operations. Otto hasmore than 15 years experience in alluvial diamond operations. He has a proventrack record to transform marginal alluvial mining assets into profitable miningoperations. Prior to joining Nare, Otto was responsible for the management of anexisting alluvial diamond operation with a production output of approximately650,000 tonnes per month. Manfred R Marx will join Nare as a Consulting Geologist in November 2006. He isresponsible for the development of African sourced projects. Manfred is a Fellowof the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. He has more than 39 yearsexperience in diamond exploration and mining. During this time he worked for DeBeers in Angola, Botswana and Australia, and the Normandy Mining Group at theirBow River Diamond Mine. While working for De Beers in Botswana, he managed asoil sampling team at the Orapa kimberlite pipe which became Botswana's firstdiamond mine. Kevin Dabinett joined Nare as a Mining Consultant in October 2006 and isresponsible for the evaluation and development of hard rock mining operations.Kevin was born in Zambia and educated in the UK, graduating with an HonoursDegree in Mining Engineering from the Royal School of Mines in London. Hiscareer in the mining industry spans 30 years during which he gained extensiveoperational experience within the mining industry across southern Africa. Mostrecently Kevin was with Petra Diamonds Limited as Chief Operating Officer. William Johannes was recently appointed as Community Liaison Officer for theSchmidtsdrift Mining Project. He is responsible for liaison between Nare, theSchmidtsdrift local community and mining contractors, together with health andsafety matters, and the co-ordination and development of sustainable smallbusiness initiatives. William obtained an N4 in Engineering from the WelkomTechnical College. He is able to speak 8 of the 11 South African officiallanguages. William has served on numerous committees as an executive includingthe Schmidtsdrift Communal Property Association and the Garamatale Small Miners'Association. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange