DiamondCorp has began to raise the capital required – £1 million (approximately $1.2 million) – to fund “critical expenditure requirements of the Lace diamond mine during the Phase 1 business rescue process”, according to a report in Mining Weekly.
The expected capital will enable DiamondCorp to resume mining operations and recommence the ramp-up of production from the UK4 mine.
In the meantime, the net proceeds and the group’s current cash will be used “to start care and maintenance and mine remediation, cover the costs of the ongoing business rescue process and contribute to a cash settlement of the agreement to be reached with labour”.
DiamondCorp noted that if the capital is not raised in the “very near term”, the company will likely face insolvency proceedings. In November of last year, it was reported that DiamondCorp has appointed Deloitte & Touche business rescue practitioner Daniel Terblanche to handle the business rescue of its Lace mine. The South-African miner placed Lace under “Business Rescue” after the mine was severely flooded earlier in the year.
