| Wed 26 Nov 2008, 9:26 | | RDI - Rockwell Diamonds Incorporated - Changes to board |
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RDI
RDI
RDI - Rockwell Diamonds Incorporated - Changes to board
ROCKWELL DIAMONDS INCORPORATED
(A company incorporated in accordance with the laws of British Columbia, Canada)
(Incorporation number BCO354545)
(Formerly Rockwell Ventures Inc.)
(South African registration number: 2007/031582/10)
Share code on the JSE Limited: RDI ISIN: CA77434W1032
Share code on the TSX: RDI CUSIP Number: 77434W103
Share code on the OTCBB: RDIAF
("Rockwell")
Rockwell revamps its board of DIRECTORS
November 25, 2008 Vancouver, BC - Rockwell Diamonds Inc. ("Rockwell" or the
"Company") (TSX: RDI; JSE: RDI; OTCBB: RDIAF) announces changes to its Board of
Directors, resulting in a more independent and balanced board.
These positive changes have been implemented as a result of a recent board
review of the Company`s operations in light of volatile capital market
conditions and investor perceptions of listed diamond entities. The changes
also reflect alignment with Rockwell`s black economic empowerment partner and
its largest shareholder, Pala Investments.
The changes, effective as of November 21, 2008, include the following:
- After playing key roles in the advancement of Rockwell, Mr Pat Bartlett, Mr
Rene G. Carrier, Mr Scott Cousens, and Mr Douglas Silver have resigned from the
Board;
- Mr Sandile Zungu, a mechanical engineer with an MBA and a founding member of
Zungu Investments Company (Proprietary) Limited ("Zico") , a diversified
investment company which is the majority shareholder of Rockwell`s empowerment
partner Africa Vanguard Resources ("AVR"), has joined the Board as an
independent director;
- Mr Terry Janes, a geological engineer who was involved in the establishment of
Canada`s Ekati diamond mine and managed BHP Billiton`s diamond marketing
operations in Antwerp has joined the board as an independent director;
- Mr Bill Fisher, a geologist with alluvial diamond mining experience in Africa
and Brazil, and broad experience in the management of Canadian publicly listed
companies has joined the board as an independent director;
- Mr Greg Radke, a lawyer with 15 years experience in international finance has
joined the board as an independent director; and
- Mr David Copeland, Dr Mark Bristow, and Dr John Bristow will all continue to
serve as directors.
President and CEO John Bristow said, "These changes create a strong balance of
independence, as well as operational, diamond market, and corporate experience,
on the Board, which will benefit the Company in the currently harsh global
financial environment. At the same time, the Company welcomes representation
from its empowerment partner to the Board and looks forward to strengthening its
South African footprint with the assistance of AVR. I would like to thank the
retiring members of the Board for their important hard work, support and
contributions towards the growth of the Company."
New Directors
Sandile Zungu is founder, Chairman and majority shareholder of Zico, a broad-
based black empowerment company. Mr Zungu spent six years in engineering and
production at Richards Bay Minerals, Engen Refinery, National Sorghum Breweries
and South African Breweries. He subsequently joined the corporate finance
division of African Merchant Bank, following which he played a key role in the
formation of Sarhwu Investment Holdings growing it from a zero asset base to
more than R400 million in the net asset value. Thereafter he assumed the role
of Executive Director for Strategy and Empowerment at New Africa Investments
Limited. He created Zico in 2002, a broad based and diversified industrial
holding organization with interests in financial services, media, health care,
and resources, the latter being held in AVR. AVR is Rockwell`s empowerment
partner and holds 26% of the prospecting and mining rights held in South Africa,
with Rockwell holding the remaining 74%. Sandile completed a mechanical
engineering degree at the University of Cape Town and an MBA at the Graduate
School of Business, University of Cape Town.
Terry Janes has worked for 35 years in the mining industry, the last 30 with BHP
Billiton and its predecessor companies. In 1993 he became involved in the
evaluation and subsequent development of the Ekati Diamond Mine in the Northwest
Territories, Canada. He was responsible for the completion of the Environmental
Impact Statement and the project Feasibility Study. In 1997 he moved to
Antwerp, Belgium to establish and manage BHP Billiton`s diamond marketing office
through which the rough diamond sales were conducted. In 2000, he was appointed
Vice President Marketing, Diamonds and subsequently, Marketing Director,
Diamonds. Mr. Janes was responsible for the establishment of a multi-channel
marketing model designed to optimize pricing and create value-added
opportunities which also included the selling of branded polished diamonds. Mr.
Janes holds B.A.Sc. and M.A.Sc. degrees in geological engineering from the
University of Toronto.
William (Bill) Fisher, a British geologist, spent much of his early career in
diamond exploration and mining in Africa. He was a mine production geologist in
Angola for de Beers, and also in Guinea, West Africa for AREDOR where he was
responsible for mine control of alluvial, colluvial and open pit kimberlite
operations. He was also Mine Manager of a small alluvial gold mine in northern
Queensland, Australia and as CEO of Ambrex Mining, he established a diamond
pilot plant in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Mr. Fisher moved to Canada in 1993 as a
diamond expert. He subsequently became Vice President of Exploration for
Boliden, and then CEO of GlobeStar Mining Corporation. He has been Chairman and
Director of a number of publically listed Canadian companies, including Treasury
Metals, and currently serves as director of PC Gold as well as CEO of Karmin
Exploration. Mr. Fisher holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology from
Kingston University, London UK and is a practicing Professional Geologist.
Gregory Radke has worked for more than 15 years in international finance,
including extensive experience with both private and public companies in diverse
capital markets such as New York, London, Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo. He is
currently General Counsel for Pala Investments AG, the exclusive advisor to Pala
Investments Holdings Limited, a multi-strategy investment fund with a focus on
mining and natural resources. Mr. Radke received his J.D. from Columbia
University and his B.A., magna cum laude, from Harvard University.
For further details on Rockwell Diamonds Inc., please visit the Company`s
website at www.rockwelldiamonds.com or contact Investor Services at (604) 684-
6365 or within North America at 1-800-667-2114.
John Bristow
President and CEO
No regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained in
this news release.
Forward Looking Statements
This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking
statements". Other than statements of historical fact all statements in this
release that address future production, reserve or resource potential,
exploration drilling, exploitation activities and events or developments that
each Company expects are forward-looking statements. Although the Company
believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based
on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future
performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those
in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market
prices, exploitation and exploration successes, changes in and the effect of
government policies regarding mining and natural resource exploration and
exploitation, availability of capital and financing, geopolitical uncertainty
and political and economic instability, and general economic, and market or
business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not
guarantees of future performance and that actual results or developments may
differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. For
more information on Rockwell, Investors should review Rockwell`s annual Form 40-
F filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission www.sec.com
and the Company`s home jurisdiction filings that are available at
www.sedar.com.
Canada
26 November 2008
Sponsor
Sasfin Capital (A division of Sasfin Bank Limited)
Date: 26/11/2008 09:26:02 Produced by the JSE SENS Department.
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