Lonrho Regulatory News (LONR)

30 May 2006 07:03

Lonrho Africa PLC30 May 2006 For Immediate Release 30 May 2006 Lonrho Africa Plc ("Lonrho Africa" or the "Company") Lonrho Africa Announces Diamond Sale Lonrho Africa is pleased to announce that Nare Diamond's Ltd ("Nare") has soldits first parcel of stones including the 235.03 carat diamond discovered at theSchmidtsdrift mine in the Republic of South Africa. The diamond was sold forUS$10,205.91 per carat, yielding a total price of US$2,398,695. The Company sold an additional parcel of 381.77 carats of diamonds alsodiscovered at the Schmidtsdrift mine for a sum of US$226,305. The average pricewas US$592.78 per carat and the average size of the diamonds was 1.52 carat perstone. This parcel was discovered within the first 14 days of the commissioningof the mine. These sales are part of Nare's strategic business plan. The second diamondproject, Kamfersdam tailings operation, will become functional within the nextcouple of weeks. Lonrho Africa subscribed for 14.44 million ordinary shares at 10.4 pence pershare as part of a pre-IPO funding on 11 April 2006. This £1.5 millioninvestment represents a 17% holding of Nare's issued share capital. Nare isseeking an admission to AIM in the first half of 2006. Commenting on the announcement, David Lenigas, Joint Executive Chairman ofLonrho Africa, said: "These diamond sales underline the potential of Nare. In the short space oftime since trial mining started at the Schmidtsdrift mine, Nare has producedsignificant value for Lonrho shareholders." Enquiries Lonrho Africa Emma Priestly +44 (0)20 7016 5100 Nare Diamonds Limited Charles Mostert +44 (0)20 7321 0000 Cardew Group Nadja Vetter / Eden Mendel / Emma Consett +44 (0)207 930 0777 Notes for editors About Lonrho Africa 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, leisure, andagribusiness sectors. Lonrho Africa's executive team has considerable experienceacross these industries in a wide range of countries. Recently, the Companyannounced investments in Brinkley Mining Plc, Nare Diamonds Ltd and LubaFreeport in Equatorial Guinea. About Nare Diamonds Limited Nare has a combination of diamond production and exploration operations locatedin the Republic of South Africa. These include the Schmidtsdrift Diamond Mine(80% interest), the Klipspringer Joint Venture (20% interest), the Groen RiverProject (100% interest) and the Kamfersdam Kimberlite Pipe and tailingsoperation (100% interest). Diamond production at the Schmidtsdrift Mine commenced in April 2006. The mineis located 80km north west of Kimberley in the Northern Cape Province andconsists of 31,227 hectares of diamondiferous gravel deposits. Previous miningactivities at Schmidtsdrift yielded 33,679 carats with an average stone size of1.14 carats. Infrastructure on the Schmidtsdrift Mine is well developed and the assetinventory includes modern diamond recovery plant and equipment. Miningoperations are sub-contracted to experienced operators. end This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange