Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 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. Meya holds a 25-year exclusive diamond mining license for the Kono District.
The diamond, recovered on Tuesday, 20 August 2024, is the second exceptional diamond mined from the Meya River kimberlite domain—the first of 16 kimberlite domains within the company’s licensed area to be targeted. Notably, in November 2017, Meya Mining recovered a 476-carat Type IIa diamond, known as the Meya Prosperity, during its initial bulk sampling program.
Similar to the Meya Prosperity, which was originally part of a 523.44-carat diamond that fragmented into three pieces (476.98 carats, 27.89 carats, and 18.58 carats), this latest discovery involved a 514.99-carat diamond that also broke into three pieces, yielding stones of 391.53 carats, 105.43 carats, and 18.11 carats.
Quinton Z van Rooyen, Deputy CEO of Trustco, commented on the discovery: “Six of the world’s largest diamonds have been discovered in the area surrounding Meya Mining’s licensed zone. These notable diamonds include the 770-carat Woyie Diamond (1945), the 620-carat Sefadu Diamond (1970), the 969-carat Star of Sierra Leone (1973), the 709-carat Peace Diamond (2017), the 476-carat Meya Prosperity (2017), and now the 391-carat diamond recovered in 2024. Where the Meya Prosperity diamond was once viewed as a unique occurrence, it is now clear that this region possesses an exceptional geology. We are excited about the prospect of continued exploration and the opportunity to uncover even more significant diamonds in the future.”
Jan Joubert, CEO of Meya Mining, commented on the Meya’s latest recovery: “Only four mines in the world infrequently recover these exceptional >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.”
In response to this discovery, Julius Mattai, Sierra Leone’s Minister of Mines and Mineral Resources, expressed hope that, “the discovery of the 391-carat diamond would once again alert the world to Sierra Leone’s mineral resource potential and engender a renewed interest in investing in the country’s mining sector. I am especially pleased with the transparent approach taken by the Company to determine the market value of this stone and maximise the economic distribution to all key stakeholders.” More recently, on June 5, 2024, shareholders were advised that Z Star Mineral Consultants, an independent consulting firm, established that the site resource value of Meya Mining was valued at USD 763 million. This value referred to the Meya River domain, which represents less than 3% of the Meya Mining project.
The current valuation matrix used to value Trustco’s 19.5% holding in this venture at USD 110 million might change in the future to include these historical exceptional finds. 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 Trustco’s investment holdings into the natural resources sector. It aims to generate USD 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 license area has yielded five of the world’s largest stones recovered. Trustco will continue to provide updates as the Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) report is finalized 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. Trustco’s strategic investment in Meya Mining is set to yield sparkling returns for years to come.