Namwaka to invest $37 million in Lesotho Koa mine

Namwaka Diamonds is planning some further investments. It plans to utilize the $55 million that it has generated in its public offering, as - $37 million to be investment in its Lesotho Koa mine completing its funding requirements for first phase development, and $15 million to repay its debts.

The company noted a significant recovery in prices during fiscal first quarter results today for the period that ended November 24, 2010. Its sales valued around $14 million worth of rough diamonds. A sale in October included 5,994 carats of rough diamonds from Namakwa’s alluvial projects in South Africa’s North West province which sold at an average of $954 per carat; 10,549 carats from the Kasai central node in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) generating an average price of $175 per carat; and 6,298 carats from the Lesotho Kao mine sold at an average between $340 - $200 per carat. The sales of the company have offered both Namwakas’s own production and goods purchased from other miners in South Africa. In addition it sold $4.1 million worth of rough diamonds on behalf of third parties.

Namakwa also bought 145 carats of polished at an average cost of $6,284 per carat, and sold 620 carats of polished for $6,274 per carat, or a total $3.9 million. The company also noted a strong demand and weak industry supply, reports say.