British diamond miner to be delisted from botswana stock exchange

British diamond miner Firestone Diamonds announced Wednesday that it will be delisted from the Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) by the end of February following the suspension of its mining project in Botswana in 2012. The company said since its listing on the venture capital board in June 2011, less than 0.02 percent of the company's ordinary shares have moved onto the BSE and trading on the BSE has been "negligible," with 92,828 ordinary shares having been traded on nine days in 35 separate trades. "In light of these circumstances, the directors formed the view that the administrative costs of maintaining the listing are no longer justifiable and, accordingly, Firestone shareholders voted in favor of a delisting from the BSE at the annual general meeting held on Nov. 29, 2013," said the company. Firestone's principal investment in Botswana is BK11 mine which commenced production in August 2010, and projected to produce about 1 million carats of diamonds over its 10-year life. The mine was suspended in February 2012 due to "operational challenges and current weakness in the diamond market." The company later announced that it would focus on its flagship Liqhobong mine in Lesotho, which has been proven large scale diamond recoveries. Firestone put BK11 on the market for possible full or partial disposal in October last year. The planned disposal will also include Firestone's exploration leases in Orapa, Tsbong and Kokong in Botswana. However, the company said that "extracting fair value from the asset in the current investor climate could be challenging." Last year, Australian-based mining company Aviva Corporation voluntary delisted from BSE after selling its Mmamantswe Coal Project in the south-east Botswana to African Energy.