Rockwell provides a diamond value management update and further additions to the board and management team in line with the ongoing rollout of its strategic plan

VANCOUVER, July 4, 2011 /CNW/ --
VANCOUVER, July 4, 2011 /CNW/ - Rockwell Diamonds Inc. ('Rockwell' or
the 'Company') (TSX: RDI; JSE: RDI; OTCBB: RDIAF) announces progress
with the diamond value management programmes which it recently
initiated to enhance diamond recoveries as well as changes to the board
of directors and management team.

Diamond value management update:

Following on from the strategic review which was conducted at the
beginning of the 2011 calendar year, Rockwell is taking further
decisive action to improve the recovery of diamonds and turn its
underperforming assets around. James Campbell, the newly appointed CEO
and President of Rockwell who officially took office on June 1, 2011
explains: 'Two factors crucial to successfully mining alluvial diamonds
are the management of the geology and the metallurgical processes. We
have invested significant time and effort in fully understanding our
resources and the results have been confirmed by our independent
qualified person. The grades and diamond values in our NI 43-101
reports are supported by actual production data and sales prices in
addition to sample estimates. This conservative approach gives us
comfort that they are currently accurate as we implement improved
concentration and recovery technology to translate the resource into
efficient extraction.'

The Company has accelerated a number of projects to enhance the recovery
of diamonds on existing operations as well as at the Tirisano project,
currently under development. These will be driven by Dr Kurt Petersen,
a world renowned diamond metallurgist who has been retained by Rockwell
to improve and sustain the Company's rate of diamond recovery.

A review of the Saxendrift processing plant uncovered opportunities to
considerably improve front end processing efficiencies. Based on these
findings, the Board has approved the replacement of the current
vibrating screen at the in-field screening plant with a 3.0m x 8.0m
DabmarBivitec screen, which is fit-for-purpose technology designed to
process wet and sticky ores at the required processing rates. The
capital cost for the replacement screen will be $600,000.

'A diamond size frequency analysis of Saxendrift's production also
showed that by increasing the recovery cut off from the current 2.5mm
to 5mm, we could significantly improve plant efficiency,' says
Campbell. 'In addition to improving the plant throughput, productivity
gains could be realized by processing less fine materials and lowering
overall waste volumes.'

There is a focus on maximizing the stones exceeding 10 mm in size and
minimizing the costs associated with processing volumes of material
that may provide little reward or even negative returns.

At the Tirisano project, Paradigm Project Management, a mine project
management consulting firm with experience of constructing more than
100 diamond processing plants, has completed a plant review. Their
report highlighted improvements to ensure that Tirisano delivers the
anticipated grades after commissioning.

The mine management team has also been changed and strengthened (see
management changes below) to ensure the effective implementation of the
review recommendations and consequently the commissioning work schedule
has been modified to accommodate the changes. The first two streams of
the processing plant will be commissioned during the course of the
third quarter of calendar 2011. A review of the flow diagrams is
underway by the Company's metallurgists to incorporate the latest
recovery technologies and thereafter construction will resume on the
remaining two streams.

Changes to the board of directors and management team:

The Company welcomes the appointment of James Campbell to the Board of
directors with immediate effect.

'We are pleased to formalize James' appointment to the Board of
Rockwell,' says Dave Copeland, Chairman of Rockwell. 'In his first
month as CEO he has already swiftly put into action a number of
initiatives to improve the Company's long term performance and we are
confident that under his leadership we will achieve our growth and
value creation objectives.'

Rockwell is also pleased to announce the appointment of a new Chief
Operating Officer to replace Graham Chamberlain who has agreed to
assume the critical responsibility of General Manager, Tirisano,
focussing his time on successfully developing this asset which is one
of the Company's most strategic assets, in order to ensure that it
meets its full potential. In addition to these responsibilities, Graham
will assume the role of Director of Rockwell Diamonds Northwest (a
subsidiary of Rockwell) with the responsibility of further developing
the Company's relationship with its strategic regional partner, Magopa
Minerals.

Michael Stanley Hunt will assume the role of Chief Operating Officer of
Rockwell with effect from July 11, 2011. Michael has an excellent track
record in diamond production, spanning more than three decades. Until
joining Rockwell, he worked at Pangea DiamondFields plc as Operations
Manager from 2007, keeping these responsibilities after its merger with
IGE Resources AB, Sweden in December 2010. Previously he worked at De
Beers for more than 20 years in numerous roles including Assistant
Research Manager at the Diamond Research Laboratories; Mine Manager at
their smallest mine, The Oaks and Assistant General Manager at the
world's largest diamond mine, Orapa. Michael has a M.Sc. in Advanced
Chemical Engineering (Georgia Institute of Technology, USA) and is a
professional engineer in South Africa (Pr. Eng.). He is a member of the
Mine Metallurgical Manager's Association of South Africa and the South
African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.

'We are delighted to have attracted a diamond production specialist of
Michael's calibre to the Rockwell team,' explains Campbell. 'Building
on our excellent understanding of Rockwell's resources, our focus has
migrated to diamond value management. Accordingly, we will optimize our
metallurgical processes to consistently recover the high quality gem
stones for which our mines are recognized. Michael is well equipped to
lead these initiatives which are key to the Company's turnaround.'

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 mining
company.  The Company has three existing operations, which it is
progressively optimizing, two development projects and a pipeline of
earlier stage properties with future development potential. Rockwell is
also at an advanced stage of completing the acquisition of the Tirisano
property.

Rockwell also evaluates merger and acquisition opportunities which have
the potential to expand its mineral resources and production profile
and would 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; 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.  In particular there can be
no assurance that refinancing funds will be available to Rockwell on
acceptable terms or any terms at all.

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.

To view this news release in HTML formatting, please use the following URL: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/July2011/04/c2948.html

For further information on Rockwell and its operations in South Africa, please contact