Company
Overview

Storm Mountain Diamonds Activity Overview

Storm Mountain Diamonds (Pty) Ltd (SMD) operates Kao Mine in the District of Botha Bothe.

This is the fourth largest kimberlite pipe in Southern Africa - and the largest kimberlite pipe in Lesotho - from a coverage perspective at 19.8 hectares, with an indicated and inferred resource base of 12.7 million carats. Kao’s pipe has been explored and confirmed to a depth of 500m. The mine has approximatey 18 years of operation left.

A deposit with exceptional prospects, Kao yields rare coloured diamonds ranging from purple, pink, blue, yellow and top light brown to the classic whites. Globally, ‘fancy coloured’, also known as rare diamonds, are regarded as an exceptional investment. The blues, pinks and the purples tend to be the rarest with the exception of red; the rarest of the rare.

The company has managed to increase its processing capacity by 40% over the past five years and will continue to look for opportunities to expand.

We employ over 700 people and we have contributed over M700 million to the Lesotho Government fiscus through taxes and levies.

Our diamonds are sold on tender in Antwerp, through our sales and marketing partners; Bonas Couzyn Antwerpen NV.

Company Structure

Storm Mountain Diamonds is jointly owned by Namakwa Diamonds Limited and the Government of Lesotho. The Government of Lesotho holds 25% of the free carry shares in SMD and the operations are entirely funded by Namakwa Diamonds Limited.

Board of Directors

Directorship on our Board of Directors is held by:-

  • Robert Cowley (Chairman)
  • Vladimir Kravets
  • Andrii Brudnyi
  • Relebohile Liphoto
  • Thato Ralebakeng
  • Vladimir Nosov

Our People are our Diamonds

Our 'Attract, Retain and Develop' culture, means we identify potential and talent, we nurture that talent and develop skills.

We currently employ just under 800 people, 97% are Lesotho Citizens, of which 34% come from the local village.

Our Mission

We shall strive through the storms in the mountains to mine SAFELY, COST-EFFECTIVELY and SUSTAINABLY.