In a recent announcement, South Africa-based diamond mine development and exploration company DiamondCorp revealed that the funding which the company requires for expanding its Lace diamond operation in the country has been finalized.

According to the JSE- and Aim-listed DiamondCorp's Stock Exchange News Service announcement, the funding needs of the company's Lace Mine in South Africa has been met with the help of a $6.8 million convertible bond issue, which carries a coupon of 14 percent.

Describing the bond issue as the "last piece of the funding jigsaw," DiamondCorp's CEO Paul Loudon said the company has also sought loans from Tiffany's subsidiary Laurelton Diamonds, and South Africa's State-owned Industrial Development Corporation. As a result, DiamondCorp now has the requisite funds to go ahead with the 1.2 million tonne-per-year block cave development on 47 level at Lace.

Going by the information shared by DiamondCorp, the bond issue and the $6-million term loan Laurelton Diamonds together helped the company reach the R-113 million which it required for finalizing the funding for the underground block cave development at Lace.

Noting that "the loans from IDC and Tiffany illustrate confidence in Lace," Loudon said: "We are very pleased to have arranged the funding required for the Lace underground development in a period of extremely challenging capital markets."