Rockwell Diamonds appoints new CEO
VANCOUVER, May 11 /CNW/ --
VANCOUVER, May 11 /CNW/ - Rockwell Diamonds Inc. ('Rockwell Diamonds' or
the 'Company') (TSX: RDI; JSE: RDI; OTCBB: RDIAF) is pleased to
announce the appointment of Mr. James Campbell as President and Chief
Executive Officer of the Company with effect from 1 June 2011.
James joins Rockwell Diamonds from Lucara Diamond Corp where he was the
Vice President - New Business. Prior to this he was Managing Director
of African Diamonds plc ('AFD'), listed on London AIM and the Botswana
Stock Exchange, for a period of four years until its acquisition by
Lucara in December 2010. During this time he played an instrumental
role in the process which led to the award of a Mining License for AK6,
Lucara's flagship diamond project in Botswana.
Prior to joining AFD, James worked at De Beers for over twenty years.
His career there culminated in his appointment as General Manager
responsible for advanced exploration and resource delivery in the
Global Mining and Exploration group.
James holds a degree in Mining & Exploration Geology from the Royal
School of Mines (Imperial College, London University) and an MBA with
distinction from Durham University. James is a Fellow of the Institute
of Mining, Metallurgy & Materials, Chartered Engineer (UK), Chartered
Scientist (UK), a Professional Natural Scientist (RSA) and a member of
the Institute of Directors of South Africa.
Commenting on his decision to join the Company, James explains that:
'Rockwell Diamonds has overcome a number of significant challenges in
the last two years, and is on the verge of delivering on its growth
potential. It has exciting investment plans to leverage its projects
and sustainably ramp up carat production. During the process of
evaluating this opportunity, both the projects and the management team
made a positive impact on me, resulting in my decision to join the
Company.'
'We are delighted to welcome James as the new leader of Rockwell
Diamonds. He brings a wealth of experience gained in the diamond sector
at this crucial time when Rockwell Diamonds is embarking on further
investments to achieve its objective of ramping up monthly production
to 10 000 carats within six years,' says David Copeland, Chairman,
Rockwell Diamonds. 'We are confident that with his knowledge and
understanding of the industry he will make a meaningful contribution to
unlocking the underlying value of 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 and 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
annual Form 20-F filing with the United States Securities and Exchange
Commission www.sec.com and the Company's home jurisdiction filings that are available at www.sedar.com.
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on Rockwell and its operations in South Africa, please contact
Mark Bristow Non-executive director and acting CEO 44 778 071 1386
Stéphanie Leclercq Investor Relations 27 (0)83 307 7587