| Mon 12 Sep 2011, 7:22 | | RDI - Rockwell - Annual and Special General Meeting Results & Strategic Update |
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RDI
RDI
RDI - Rockwell - Annual and Special General Meeting Results & Strategic Update
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 DIAMONDS SHAREHOLDERS PASS ALL RESOLUTIONS AT AGM
COMPANY PROVIDES STRATEGIC UPDATE
September 9, 2011 Vancouver, BC - Rockwell is pleased to announce that all the
resolutions put forward in the Proxy were passed by the shareholders at the
annual and special general meeting of shareholders held in Vancouver on 9
September 2011. The Company has also provided a strategic update on the
operations and its immediate priorities.
ANNUAL AND SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING RESULTS:
The resolutions which were passed at the meeting were as follows:
- Dr. Mark Bristow, James Campbell, David J. Copeland, Gary Wu, Dr Willem
Jacobs, Richard Linnell and Sandile Zungu were re-elected as Directors;
- KPMG Inc. Chartered Accountants were appointed as Auditors of the Company for
2012;
- Approval was obtained for the new Share Option Plan; and
- Shareholders voted unanimously in favour of the refinancing plan with Daboll
Consultants Ltd.
Strategic update:
Substantial progress has been made at the Company`s mining operations in the
second quarter of fiscal 2012:
- At Tirisano, the first two streams will be ramping up to a monthly production
of 90,000 cubic metres during the course of October 2011 and this includes
relocating the Holpan recovery plant to Tirisano and expanding the existing
front-end. Having received the Section 11 cession from the DMR, the focus is
also on finalizing the transaction, which is expected to occur before the mine
starts ramping up production. It is encouraging that the quality and price per
carat of the stones recovered at Tirisano to date exceeds any historically
produced by the mine`s previous operators.
- Mining at Klipdam has migrated from the palaeo channel to mine to the
Rooikoppie gravels where diamonds can be recovered at a significantly lower unit
cost. Accordingly there is now potential for the life of this mine to be
extended beyond the one year life which was previously reported.
- Recoveries at Saxendrift have improved substantially, with particularly good
production in August 2011 from the multiple mine faces which have recently been
opened and despite the persistent high sand content of the gravels and the
absence of a suitable front-end at the plant. The Bivitec front end screen, for
which Rockwell announced the planned installation in early July 2011 will be
commissioned towards the end of October 2011. The mine`s performance is now
moving towards the production levels originally estimated by the Company`s
geologists. The addition of diamond processing skills to the team is already
beginning to pay off.
There was strong interest in the private placement which has now closed with
total proceeds of $7.8 million. The final amount of the placement was lower that
what was initially targeted because the Company received $6.5 million from asset
sales, reviewed immediate capital requirements and made a conscious decision to
limit the dilution of existing shareholders. It is also particularly gratifying
that this level of support was achieved from shareholders without issuing shares
at discounted values or the issue of special warrants.
The emphasis at Rockwell is now firmly on unlocking its profit potential to
supplement the capital which has recently been raised with internally generated
cash resources. The Company has also heightened its focus on resolving the
funding issues with its black economic empowerment partners who have significant
outstanding liabilities to the Company. A favourable resolution to these
negotiations would substantially improve Rockwell`s cash position.
The majority of the Company`s shareholder support is currently through the TSX.
However, in order to capitalize on its South African roots, Rockwell is actively
engaging with the South African investment community to achieve a more
representative ownership balance between the JSE and the TSX.
"We are pleased with the progress that Rockwell has made in the last three
months in creating a much more commercially aligned business, focused on diamond
value management to generate profit and to unlock value for its loyal
shareholders," concluded Dave Copeland, Chairman of Rockwell. "The capital which
has been raised will immediately be applied to value creating growth
opportunities, in order to enhance cash generation with the focus on cash flow
that will contribute to funding the longer term growth objectives."
For further information on Rockwell and its operations in South Africa, please
contact
James Campbell
CEO
+27 (0)83 457 3724
Stephanie Leclercq
Investor Relations
+27 (0)83 307 7587
About Rockwell Diamonds:
Rockwell is engaged in the business of operating and developing alluvial diamond
deposits, with a goal to become a mid-tier diamond mining company. The Company
has three existing operations, which it is progressively optimizing, two
development projects and a pipeline of earlier stage properties with future
development potential. Rockwell is also at an advanced stage of completing the
acquisition of the Tirisano property.
Rockwell also evaluates merger and acquisition opportunities which have the
potential to expand its mineral resources and production profile and would
provide accretive value to the Company.
No regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained in
this news release.
Forward Looking Statements
Except for statements of historical fact, this news release contains certain
"forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law.
Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan",
"expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other
similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will"
occur. 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 uncertainties and costs related to
exploration and development activities, such as those related to determining
whether mineral resources exist on a property; uncertainties related to expected
production rates, timing of production and cash and total costs of production;
uncertainties related to the ability to obtain necessary licenses, permits,
electricity, surface rights and title for development projects; changes in and
the effect of government policies regarding mining and natural resource
exploration and exploitation; operating and technical difficulties in connection
with mining development activities; uncertainties related to the accuracy of our
mineral resource estimates and our estimates of future production and future
cash and total costs of production. In particular there can be no assurance
that refinancing funds will be available to Rockwell on acceptable terms or any
terms at all.
For further information on Rockwell, Investors should review Rockwell`s annual
Form 20-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
12 September 2011
Sponsor
Sasfin Capital (a division of Sasfin Bank Limited)
Date: 12/09/2011 07:22:01 Produced by the JSE SENS Department.
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