| Tue 25 Sep 2007, 9:17 | | LAF - Lonrho - Nare Diamonds Completes New Final R |
|
LAF
LOLAF
LAF - Lonrho - Nare Diamonds Completes New Final Recovery Plant And
Recovers 32 Carat Gem Diamond
Lonrho Plc
(Formerly Lonrho Africa Plc)
(Incorporated and registered in England and Wales)
(Registration number 2805337)
(Share code: LAF; ISIN number: GB0002568813)
("Lonrho" or "the Company")
NARE DIAMONDS COMPLETES NEW FINAL RECOVERY PLANT AND RECOVERS 32 CARAT GEM
DIAMOND
Lonrho (AIM : LONR), the conglomerate with a structured portfolio of African
investments, is pleased to announce that Nare Diamonds Limited ("Nare"), the
Australian listed African diamond mining company in which it holds a 21.94%
stake and which recently announced its intention to change its name to Lonrho
Mining and pursue a dual listing on AIM, has completed and commissioned a new
final recovery processing plant at its Schmidtsdrift mine in South Africa which
should significantly increase the recovery of diamonds.
The new final recovery plant will treat all diamondiferous concentrates produced
by the mining operations at the Schmidtsdrift mine. The plant contains six
proprietary Flowsort X-ray diamond recovery machines, each calibrated to recover
specific diamond size fractions. The recovery process is expected to attain
recovery levels over 95%. The hands free process is undertaken in a closed
circuit, with no human interaction.
Nare is pleased to announce that, after the commissioning of the plant, it has
recovered a gem quality 32 carat diamond from the Schmidtsdrift mine. The
diamond has been valued with an average value per carat of US$2,000.
David Lenigas, Chairman and CEO of Lonrho Plc and Chairman of Nare Diamonds
commented:
"I am confident that the new technology that has been commissioned at the
Schmidtdrift mine will add significant value to the operations in terms of the
quality and volume of diamonds recovered. The X-ray based recovery is regarded
by the industry as the optimal recovery process and the most secure.
"Additionally the recovery of the 32 carat diamond last week emphasises the
strong potential of the Schmidtsdrift resource and operations"
ENQUIRIES
Lonrho Plc +44 (0) 20 7016 5105
David Lenigas, Chief Executive +44 (0)7881 825 378
Emma Priestley, Executive Director +44 (0)7867 785 177
Pelham PR
Charles Vivian +44 (0) 20 7743 6672
+44 (0) 7977 297903
Alisdair Haythornthwaite +44 (0) 20 7743 6676
+44 (0) 7714 721379
Collins Stewart Europe
Hugh Field +44 (0) 20 7523 8350
Jonny Sloan
NOTES TO EDITORS
About NARE DIAMONDS
Nare Diamonds is an Australian diamond mining company with a portfolio of
exploration and production assets in southern Africa. The Company is headed up
by Mr Charles Mostert and has interests in four Diamond mining projects:
Schmidtsdrift, Kamfersdam, Groen River and the Klipspringer Joint Venture.
The Schmidtsdrift diamond mine is comprised of six contiguous farms located on
the Western bank of the Vaal River covering a total combined area of 320km2. The
mine is a producing alluvial diamond mine. Prospecting and trial mining
activities, since 2001, have provided consistent historical production. Reho
have recovered 5,686 carats since April 2006. This was at an average grade of
0.63 carats per hundered tonnes, with an average stone size of 1.41 carats. 177
stones that exceeded 5 carats in individual size were mined during this period
as well as a rare 235 carat diamond.
About LONRHO:
Lonrho Plc is an expanding conglomerate that is rapidly growing a successful
business throughout Africa. The Company is listed on the London AIM stock
exchange (LONR). Lonrho is strategically focused on the development of business
opportunities in infrastructure, transportation, support services and natural
resources. The Company has over 20,000 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)
Nare Diamonds - www.narediamonds.com
Luba Freeport - www.lubafreeport.com
Fly540 - www.fly540.com
Norse Air - www.norseair.co.za
Swissta Holdings - www.swissta.com
SA Independent Liner Services
25 September 2007
South African sponsor to Lonrho Africa Plc
Java Capital (Proprietary) Limited
Date: 25/09/2007 09:17:01 Produced by the JSE SENS Department.
The SENS service is an information dissemination service administered by the
JSE Limited (`JSE`). The JSE does not, whether expressly, tacitly or
implicitly, represent, warrant or in any way guarantee the truth, accuracy or
completeness of the information published on SENS. The JSE, their officers,
employees and agents accept no liability for (or in respect of) any direct,
indirect, incidental or consequential loss or damage of any kind or nature,
howsoever arising, from the use of SENS or the use of, or reliance on,
information disseminated through SENS.
