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Firestone Diamonds starts trading on Botswana stock exchange

Published: 07:26 13 Jun 2011 BST

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Firestone Diamonds PLC (LON:FDI) said it has satisfied all of the requirements for a second listing on the Botswana Stock Exchange's Venture Capital Board (VCB).  Firestone's shares are expected to begin trading on the VCB today, June 13 2011.

Chairman Philip Kenny said: "Firestone Diamonds is currently the only company selling diamonds by tender in Botswana, both from the BK11 mine in Botswana and the Liqhobong mine in Lesotho. 

“We are very pleased to be able to offer Botswana-based investors the opportunity to participate in the growth that we expect as production from Firestone's mining operations continues to increase and the shortfall in diamond supply continues to drive rough diamond prices higher."

Firestone is an international diamond mining and exploration company with operations focused on Lesotho and Botswana.

Firestone is also the largest holder of mineral rights in Botswana's diamondiferous kimberlite fields, controlling approximately 10,000 square kilometres around the major Orapa and Jwaneng mines and the entire Tsabong kimberlite field. 

In addition to Liqhobong and BK11, Firestone has 108 kimberlites in its portfolio, of which 30 have been proven to be diamondiferous.

Lesotho is emerging as one of Africa's significant new diamond producers, and hosts Gem Diamonds' (LON:GEMD) Letseng Mine, Firestone's Liqhobong Mine as well as the Kao and Mothae development projects. 

Botswana is the world's largest and lowest cost producer of diamonds, with annual production worth over US$2.5 billion, and is considered to be one of the most prospective countries in the world to explore for diamonds.

Firestone announced earlier this month it expects Liqhobong to soon become a large scale and profitable operation.

At the moment the plant one is operating at 400,000 tonnes per annum rated capacity and this is set to expand to 600,000 tonnes by the end of the second quarter through the phase one expansion.

Beyond that it will expand further, through phase two, up to 1.3 million tonnes per annum by the end of 2011. Currently plant one is achieving a mining grade of 32 carats per hundred tonnes (cpht), which is 15 percent higher than the 28 cpht resource grade.

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