Trustco's Sierra Leone operation unearths mega diamond

Trustco Group Holdings has announced that Meya Mining, in which Trustco holds a 19.5% interest, has recovered a remarkable 391.45-carat diamond. This significant find was made in the Kono district of Sierra Leone, within an area that spans the Kamara Gbense and Tankoro chiefdoms, the company said.

Meya holds a 25-year exclusive diamond mining licence for the Kono district.

Jan Joubert, CEO of Meya Mining, commented on the latest recovery, saying only four mines had been able to produce diamonds in excess of 500 carats.

“Only four mines in the world infrequently recover these exceptional greater than 500 carat diamonds. The fact that Meya has recovered two >500 carat Type IIa diamonds after treating only 84 195 tonnes of competent kimberlite from the Meya River domain suggests that there is a high probability of recovering more and possibly bigger diamonds once the mine reaches steady state production of 500 000 tonnes kimberlite throughput per annum. Our priority now is to ensure that going forward we can recover these high-value stones intact. We will work closely with our engineering and processing partners to upgrade the plant, eliminate breakages and increase its capacity to recover exceptionally large diamonds.”

The current valuation matrix used to value Trustco's 19.5% holding in this venture at US$110 million might change in the future to include these historical exceptional finds, the company said. "Shareholders are advised that this could potentially impact future valuations."

Trustco’s investment in mining was initiated in 2015 with the strategic objective of diversifying its investment holdings into the natural resources sector. It aims to generate US dollar returns, acting as an internal hedge against potential macroeconomic impacts on the group's traditional markets in Namibia and South Africa.

While the mining mandate encompasses building a diversified mining portfolio, the primary focus remains on unlocking the full economic potential of its diamond assets, as Meya Mining’s mining licence area has yielded five of the world's largest stones recovered, the company noted.

"Trustco will continue to provide updates as the preliminary economic assessment report is finalised and as more information on these discoveries is released. With the ongoing development of Meya Mining, Trustco continues to demonstrate its ability to position itself for continued high growth success in its mining portfolio. The company's strategic investment in Meya Mining is set to yield sparkling returns for years to come."