Blom to possibly bring bourse to Lesotho

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Blom to possibly bring bourse to Lesotho

March 12, 2008

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Antwerp, Belgium—The World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) President Ernie Blom confirmed this week that he was working with the Lesotho government to see if a diamond bourse would work in the country, an industry Web site reported.

According to Polishedprices.com, Lesotho has two producing mines, Letseng and Liquabong.

Letseng, owned 30 percent by the government and 70 percent by Gem Diamonds, produces about 70,000 carats a year.

Liquabong has the lowest carats per ton of any commercial kimberlite mine. But the mine achieves the highest average prices for its rough in the world, more than $2,000 per carat.

The vast bulk of value in production at the Liquabong mine is in special stones, or stones larger than 10.8 carats.

In addition, there are two other prospective mines in Lesotho attracting foreign investment interest and, in February, Gem Diamonds announced a number of successful beneficiation trials on Letseng goods, selling polished at record prices.

According to Polishedprices.com, Blom, who is acting as an advisor to the Lesotho government, said he is "neutral" on the idea of creating a diamond bourse in the South African nation.

Despite several visits to Lesotho, he said, "I don't now have enough data at my disposal about exports and production of the country to see if it warrants a bourse or not. If there is enough volume, and this is a big question mark, then it will warrant it, yes."

Various African governments have approached Blom, who also serves as chairman of the South African Diamond Council, to advise on beneficiation, including Namibia, Sierra Leone and Angola.

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