LESOTHO DIAMOND SELLS OVER $16.5 MILLLION
Lets'eng Diamonds latest discovery, the Lets'eng Star, has been sold for a little over M132 million (USD 16.5 million), according to a press statement released on Monday.
The statement from Lets'eng Diamonds (Pty) Ltd, Gem Diamonds, indicated that the diamond was sold into a profit sharing arrangement for a rough price of USD 16.5 million payable immediately.
The release further highlighted that Lets’eng Diamonds will benefit from a significant share of the downstream polished margin uplift resulting from the sale of the polished diamonds cut from the Lets’eng Star.
The Chairman of the Board of Lets’eng Diamonds and Gem Diamonds’ CEO, Mr. Clifford Elphick has been quoted in the release as having commented that the Lets’eng Star has the potential to yield an exceptional polished product.
He noted that the profit sharing arrangement for the polished margin of the Lets’eng Star will ensure that its true value is realised and that Lets’eng Diamonds benefits directly from the exposure to the resulting upside.
Again, Mr. Clifford said Letseng Diamonds' strategy of maximising revenue generation from their rough diamonds by seeking value-added initiatives, further that the diamond value chain is gaining importance for the Group.
'We are becoming increasingly successful in selling rough and polished diamonds with good margins being realised', he is said to have commented.
The Lets’eng Diamonds (Pty) Ltd, Gem Diamonds is the majority shareholder of 70 percent of the shares of the mine while the government of Lesotho has 30 percent shares.
The Lets’eng Star is a 550 carat, Type IIa, D colour, white gem diamond recovered on August 19, 2011 at the Company's Lets’eng mine in the Mokhotlong district.
It (The Lets’eng Star) is currently ranked the 14th largest white diamond on record and is the fourth diamond of such historical significance to be recovered at Lets’eng since 2006.
Source: LENA 24/10/2011
