JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – London-listed Stellar Diamonds has secured a two-month extension to the longstop dates with the noteholders of its two outstanding convertible loan notes.
“Stellar is undergoing a transformation from an explorer to a mine developer. I would like to thank the noteholders for their continued support as we progress towards the commercial development of the 4.5-million-carat Tongo-Tonguma underground kimberlite diamond mine, in Sierra Leone,” said Stellar CEO Karl Smithson on Friday.
Key advances have been made in recent weeks in terms of signing the binding tribute mining agreement and signing the contract for the front-end engineering design (FEED) for the initial mine development.
The West Africa-focused diamond development company in April signed a legally binding conditional tribute mining agreement and revenue share agreement with Octea Mining for the diamond project.
A FEED study contract for the project was signed shortly thereafter, with Paradigm Project Management appointed to prepare the study.
“With a low capital expenditure requirement of $32-million, the proposed Tongo-Tonguma mine has the potential to be the second-largest kimberlite diamond mine in West Africa, with forecast production levels of 200 000 ct/y, generating revenues of over $45-million a year over a minimum life-of-mine of 21 years,” Smithson concluded.