Mining luminary invests in top undeveloped diamond deposit
Star Diamond (TSX:DIAM), owner of the world's largest undeveloped diamond deposit, has raised C$4 million through a private placement and C$800,000 through an unsecured loan with Spirit Resources, a Luxembourg-based private investment company
Star Diamond is a Canadian-based acquirer, explorer and developer of mineral properties with a focus on diamonds in Saskatchewan
Star Diamond stock has given back 21.88 per cent year-over-year and 75 per cent since 2020
Star Diamond (TSX:DIAM), owner of the world's largest undeveloped diamond deposit, has raised C$4 million through a private placement and C$800,000 through an unsecured loan with Spirit Resources, a Luxembourg-based private investment company.
Spirit is owned by Jean-Raymond Boulle, who previously served as chairman, founder and chief executive officer of Diamond Fields Resources, which discovered the Voisey's Bay Mine acquired by Inco in 1996 for $4.3 billion.
Boulle spent a decade at De Beers Diamond Trading Company London working in Zaire, Sierra Leone and Belgium, and maintains interests in numerous diamond exploration and mining assets, including in Namibia and Angola, in addition to controlling luxury retail companies in the downstream industry.
Boulle's decorated career also includes founding mining companies behind discoveries of nickel, cobalt, copper, zinc and titanium, as well as successfully listing companies on the AIM (England), TSXV (Canada), ASX (Australia) and SEM (Mauritius) exchanges, making him a key addition to Star Diamond's development efforts.
The company plans to allocate the proceeds to working capital, general corporate purposes and towards a pre-feasibility study for its Fort à la Corne diamond project. A 2018 preliminary economic assessment on the project's Star and Orion South kimberlites details potential production of 66 million carats over 38 years, representing an after-tax net present value of $2 billion and a payback period of only 3.4 years.
Learn about Star Diamond's near-term plans by reading the company's Q1 2025 results. Financing details
Spirit Resources will pick up 133,333,333 units priced at C$0.03 each, with each unit consisting of one common share and one share purchase warrant. Each warrant is exercisable between C$0.04 within one year and C$0.05 after two years from closing.
Upon closing, Spirit will hold 194,455,143 or 25.82 per cent of Star Diamond's issued and outstanding shares, up from 61,121,810 shares or 9.86 per cent on a non-diluted basis.
The term loan bears interest of 6 per cent per year and will mature upon the earlier of the closing of the private placement or the loan's 180th day after issuance.
The private placement is subject to shareholder approval, which will be sought at a special meeting to be announced. According to Friday's news release, closing must occur by August 29, 2025. Leadership insights
'We are very pleased to welcome Jean-Raymond Boulle as a transformative shareholder to move this incredible diamond project forward. Mr. Boulle's reputation as a successful entrepreneur in the mining sector speaks for itself and his connections in the diamond industry will be extremely useful in the search for financing to build this world-class mine,' Ewan Mason, Star Diamond's president and chief executive officer, said in a statement. About Star Diamond
Star Diamond is a Canadian-based acquirer, explorer and developer of mineral properties with a focus on diamonds in Saskatchewan.
Star Diamond stock (TSX:DIAM) is up by 4.17 per cent on the news trading at C$0.062 per share as of 9:57 am ET. The stock has given back 21.88 per cent year-over-year and 75 per cent since 2020.
Join the discussion: Find out what everybody's saying about this Canadian diamond mining stock on the Star Diamond Corp. Bullboard and check out the rest of Stockhouse's stock forums and message boards.
The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. For full disclaimer information, please click here.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Vancouver Sun
34 minutes ago
- Vancouver Sun
BC Ferries deal with Chinese shipyard makes waves in Ottawa
OTTAWA — BC Ferries set off a tidal wave of controversy on Tuesday after announcing a major shipbuilding deal with a Chinese state-owned enterprise, with the ripple effects of the decision reaching Ottawa. Vancouver Island Conservative MP Jeff Kibble raised the issue in Wednesday's question period, accusing the Liberal government of rewarding the provincial carrier for selling out Canada's national interest. 'The Liberals are set to hand over $30 million (in federal subsidies) to BC Ferries while BC Ferries hands over critical jobs, investment and industry to China,' said Kibble. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. BC Ferries said in a press release that it had awarded China Merchants Industry Weihai Shipyards (CMI Weihai) a contract to build four new vessels after a 'rigorous' global bidding process. Company CEO Nicolas Jimenez was quoted in the release as saying that CMI Weihai was the 'clear choice' for the contract given, among other factors, its 'proven ability to deliver safe, reliable vessels on dependable timelines.' Kibble blasted BC Ferries in the House of Commons for buying the ships from China instead of a 'proven Canadian shipbuilder' and pressed the Liberal government to tie federal ferry subsidies to buying Canadian-built ships. Liberal Transportation Minister Chrystia Freeland said that she shared Kibble's concerns about procurement 'at all levels of government' but wouldn't comment directly on the BC Ferries contract, calling it a provincial matter. One politician who hasn't hesitated to criticize the deal is the provincial minister responsible for BC Ferries. B.C. Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth was quick to distance himself from the decision, saying he was worried about the message it sends in the midst of Chinese economic aggression. 'I do have concerns around procuring services from any country that is actively harming Canada's economy through unfair tariffs or other protectionist trade practices. I have shared these concerns with BC Ferries,' Farnworth told the media. Yet, despite his reservations, he ruled out blocking the BC Ferries-CMI Weihai deal. 'BC Ferries is an independent company responsible for its own operational decisions,' said Farnworth. He added that he was 'disappointed' that the contract didn't include more involvement from Canadian shipyards. BC Ferries' head of fleet renewal, Ed Hooper, told Postmedia that no Canadian shipbuilders bid on the contract won by CMI Weihai. Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney promised to ramp up Canadian shipbuilding during this spring's federal election campaign. The federal government previously awarded the Chinese state-owned company a contract to build a new vessel for east coast ferry operator Marine Atlantic, according to a 2023 filing from Transport Canada. The ship began service between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland in July 2024. Federal Procurement Minister Joël Lightbound didn't respond to an inquiry from the National Post about the BC Ferries-CMI Weihai deal, and didn't indicate whether the federal government would continue to take bids from the company. A spokesperson with Public Services and Procurement Canada told the National Post that CMI Weihai does not appear on the agency's database of active bids. National Post rmohamed@ Get more deep-dive National Post political coverage and analysis in your inbox with the Political Hack newsletter, where Ottawa bureau chief Stuart Thomson and political analyst Tasha Kheiriddin get at what's really going on behind the scenes on Parliament Hill every Wednesday and Friday, exclusively for subscribers. Sign up here . Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
Toronto Star
an hour ago
- Toronto Star
We found out how Mark Carney hopes to smooth differences with Donald Trump at the G7 summit. Here's what we know
OTTAWA—Prime Minister Mark Carney's G7 summit is designed to find common ground and bridge — if not downplay — differences with a U.S. president viewed by many of the guests as disruptor-in-chief of the world's economic prospects. With that in mind, as the Star reported last Saturday, organizers of the Kananaskis meeting are not working to produce a joint communiqué — contrary to usual practice — that would require a consensus of agreement among leaders of large western democracies and the European Union with Donald Trump amid his tariff war with America's trading partners.
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Business leader says BC Ferries' hiring of Chinese shipyard is ‘informed decision'
VICTORIA – A business leader on ferry-dependent Vancouver Island says BC Ferries made a 'strongly informed decision' in hiring a Chinese shipyard to build four new major vessels. Both the NDP government and B.C. Conservative Opposition have criticized the choice of Chinese state-owned China Merchants Industry Weihai Shipyards. But Bruce Williams, CEO of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce, says it's in the best interests of all who rely on BC Ferries. He says few companies around the world have the capacity to build vessels of such size, and BC Ferries did 'due diligence' for years in a global procurement process that did not receive any Canadian bids. The B.C. Conservatives have called on Premier David Eby's government to cancel the contract that was announced on Tuesday, while accusing Eby of abandoning Canadian workers. Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth says he raised concern with BC Ferries about the contract, but notes that the operator is an independent company that makes its own operational decisions. The provincial government is the sole preferred shareholder in BC Ferries and it receives public funding, but Williams says the purchase decision is not a government decision. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 11, 2025.
