VANCOUVER, British Columbia, September 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --
Rockwell Diamonds Inc. ("Rockwell" or the "Company") (TSX: RDI; JSE: RDI) is pleased to announce that all the resolutions put forward in the Company's notice of meeting and management information circular, both dated August 24, 2015, were passed by the shareholders at the annual general and special meeting held in Toronto today.
Votes representing 30,441,749 shares (55.80% of the issued and outstanding shares at the record date) were cast. Having taken cognisance that the matters to be voted on included some contentious matters including the loan arrangement, the Company extended the period for voting and accepted late votes up until 12:00 AM on Wednesday September 23, 2015, allowing sufficient time to engage with shareholders to address any outstanding issues.
Shareholders voted in favour of setting the number of directors at seven (7) and elected all incumbent directors. The details of the voting results for the election are set out below:
Director Votes For % For Votes Withheld % Withheld
Mark Bristow 24,838,166 87.16% 3,660,577 12.84%
James Campbell 24,838,406 87.16% 3,660,337 12.84%
Willem Jacobs 24,603,406 86.33% 3,895,337 13.67%
Richard Linnell 24,235,588 85.04% 4,263,115 14.96%
Johan van ' Hof 24,838,166 87.16% 3,660,577 12.84%
Stephen Dietrich 24,838,406 87.16% 3,660,337 12.84%
Rick Menell 24,838,166 87.16% 3,660,577 12.84%
Shareholders also voted in favour of the following:
- KPMG Inc. Chartered Accountants were reappointed as Auditors of the Company;
- A share bonus of a maximum of 425,000 common shares to certain officers and employees was approved;
- A transaction comprising the sale by Rockwell Resources RSA Proprietary Limited ("Rockwell RSA"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, of 30% of the shares in Saxendrift Mine (Pty) Ltd. and HC Van Wyk Diamonds Ltd. in compliance with the Black Economic Empowerment policies of the Government of South Africa; and
- Amendments to certain loans advanced to the Company by Daboll Consultants Ltd. and Emerald Holdings Ltd. and certain loans advanced to Rockwell RSA by Ascot Diamonds Proprietary Limited.
About Rockwell Diamonds:
Rockwell is engaged in the business of operating and developing alluvial diamond deposits, with a goal to become a mid-tier diamond production company. The Company's flagship mine is the Saxendrift Mine, in the Middle Orange River. It has recently built two new internally funded mines in the Middle Orange river region, namely the Saxendrift Hill Complex and the Niewejaarskraal Mine which are both in production. Rockwell also has a development project and a pipeline of earlier stage properties with future development potential. The operations are based on high throughput processing capability and Saxendrift has among the lowest unit costs in the industry as a result of implementing fit for purpose technologies.
The Company is known for producing large, high quality gemstone comprising a major portion of its diamond recoveries that is enhanced through a beneficiation joint venture that enables it to participate in the profits on the sale of the polished diamonds.
Rockwell also evaluates merger and acquisition opportunities which have the potential to expand its mineral resources and production profile and to provide accretive value to the Company.
No regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained in this news release.
Forward Looking Statements
Except for statements of historical fact, this news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements.
Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include uncertainties and costs related to exploration and development activities, such as those related to determining whether mineral resources exist on a property; uncertainties related to expected production rates, timing of production and cash and total costs of production and milling; uncertainties related to the ability to obtain necessary licenses, permits, electricity, surface rights and title for development projects; operating and technical difficulties in connection with mining development activities; uncertainties related to the accuracy of our mineral resource estimates and our estimates of future production and future cash and total costs of production and diminishing quantities or grades if mineral resources; uncertainties related to unexpected judicial or regulatory procedures or changes in, and the effects of, the laws, regulations and government policies affecting our mining operations; changes in general economic conditions, the financial markets and the demand and market price for mineral commodities such as diesel fuel, steel, concrete, electricity, and other forms of energy, mining equipment, and fluctuations in exchange rates, particularly with respect to the value of the US dollar, Canadian dollar and South African Rand; changes in accounting policies and methods that we use to report our financial condition, including uncertainties associated with critical accounting assumptions and estimates; environmental issues and liabilities associated with mining and processing; geopolitical uncertainty and political and economic instability in countries in which we operate; and labour strikes, work stoppages, or other interruptions to, or difficulties in, the employment of labour in markets in which we operate our mines, or environmental hazards, industrial accidents or other events or occurrences, including third party interference that interrupt operation of our mines or development projects.
For further information on Rockwell, Investors should review Rockwell's home jurisdiction filings that are available at http://www.sedar.com.
For further information on Rockwell and its operations in South Africa, please contact James Campbell, CEO, +27(0)83-457-3724; Stéphanie Leclercq, Investor Relations, +27(0)83-307-7587; David Tosi, PSG Capital - JSE Sponsor, +27(0)21-887-9602