JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Kimberley Diamonds confirmed on Wednesday that the liquidators of the Ellendale mine, in Western Australia, had launched a legal claim of $22.7-million against the company and three of its directors.
The liquidators claimed alleged insolvent trading, alleged voidable transaction recovery proceedings and alleged breaches of director duties.
“Kimberley Diamonds, and each of Alex Alexander, Noel Halgreen and Rodney Sainty, refutes and intends to defend, all claims,” the company said in a statement to the stock exchange.
The Ellendale mine went under in July last year, after its revenue took a hit from lower recovered grades and a sharp downturn in the rough diamond market. The mine was once the world’s major source of “fancy” yellow diamonds.
Alexander, who is the former chairperson of Kimberley Diamonds, was arrested in September last year at the Sydney airport and charged for allegedly issuing false information to the market.
Kimberley Diamonds owns the Lerala diamond mine, in Botswana, and aims to sell its first diamonds from the African operation this month.