Kimberley buys Lone Star

Kimberley buys Lone Star

SYDNEY (Reuter): Kimberley Diamond Co NL said it has paid A$11.13 million for a 15 percent stake in Indonesian gold miner Lone Star Exploration.

Kimberley said it purchased 9.69 million shares and paid an average price of A$1.148 per share.

The company did not reveal the seller, but Lone Star said in a statement that Kimberley had replaced Aquarius Exploration NL as a major shareholder. Lone Star, which is also listed in Vancouver, and Gasgoyne Gold Mines NL each have a 45 percent stake in the Awas Mas deposit on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. PT Asminco Bara Utama owns the other 10 percent.

Awas Mas contains an estimated 1.8 million ounces of gold, at an average grade of one gram per ton.

Lone Star chairman Bob Wilde said this investment was the first in the gold sector by Kimberley Diamond.

South African mining house JCI Ltd said on May 15 it had purchased a 12 percent stake in Kimberley Diamond for A$1.1 million.

JCI described the outlay as "strategic, early-stage investment" and said it could become a larger investor.