Steinmetz’s Koidu Holdings Wins Sierra Leone Exploration License

Koidu Holdings S.A has won a two-year exploration license for the Tongo Diamond Field in Sierra Leone, which covers an area of 34 square miles.

Work is to begin immediately and the company is optimistic the area will produce good results.

Koidu Holdings, which won the license following a tender that included 11 foreign investors, also holds the Koidu Kimberlite Project mining lease and three other exploration licenses in Sierra Leone.

Diamonds from the Koidu and Tongo kimberlite pipes and dykes are mostly of excellent color and clarity, the company said.

“Koidu Holdings is optimistic about developing the Tongo field and bringing the project to production,” said James Campbell, Chairman of Koidu Holdings.

“Koidu Holdings is progressively increasing output from its recently commissioned operations and has the infrastructure in place to undertake the bulk sampling program. If proven economic, Tongo can be brought into production relatively quickly as an additional source of quality stones for the Company.”

Koidu said it aims to create a substantial diamond-mining portfolio within Sierra Leone producing over 250,000 carats per annum.

Koidu is 60 percent owned by Israeli diamantaire Benny Steinmetz through two subsidiaries of his Benny Steinmetz Group. The balance of the ownership is held by a subsidiary of DiamondWorks Ltd.

Steinmetz owns Israel’s Steinmetz Diamond Group, a De Beers Sightholder, with his brother Daniel.

He was last week cited as Israel’s fifth richest person, worth some $1 billion, in a survey by TheMarker, of the Ha’aretz group.