TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Shareholders of TSX-listed Tiomin Resources have approved the company's plan to buy diamond-miner Vaaldiam Resources and a name change to 'Vaaldiam Mining'.

Vaaldiam investors also voted to approve the acquisition, the company reported.

When the deal closes later this month, Tiomin will have completed a transformation from an exploration and development company with a stalled mineral sands project and a noncontrolling stake in a Peruvian copper/gold project, to a fully-fledged diamond miner.

“For more than three years, Tiomin has had no story to tell and now it does,” commented Tiomin CEO Robert Jackson.

The combined company will focus on immediately restarting and increasing diamond production from Vaaldiam's diamond operations in Brazil, he said.

The Duas Barras diamond and gold operated profitably before it was halted during the financial crisis, and will be restarted first.

Tiomin is forecasting production of 20 000 ct this year, ramping up to 40 000 ct in 2011, when it also expects to restart Vaaldiam's second operation, the Chapada mine.

Tiomin will issue about 215-million shares for the acquisition, and will subsequently consolidate its shares on a one for ten basis, the firm said on Monday.

The new Vaaldiam will have about 70-million common shares outstanding following the consolidation and completion of the acquisition, which remains subject to final regulatory and court approval and should be completed by March 31.

Tiomin announced last month it would sell its 49% in the Pukaqaqa copper/gold project in Peru for an initial $7-million, plus further cash payments and a net-smelter return royalty if the project enters production.

A few weeks later, it also said it had found a buyer for its Kwale mineral sands project, in Kenya.