Stellar Diamonds (#STEL) - achieves maiden sales of $417k
- 2015-03-24 00:30:26
UK 17:17 Wednesday, 23 September 2026
Breaking news and expert analysis on fast-moving AIM and LSE listed shares
Karl Smithson, chief executive of Stellar Diamonds (STEL), faces a challenging 2015, as he awaits results in two to three weeks of the AIM-quoted company’s maiden sale of stones from its Baoule kimberlite project in Guinea and seeks $20 million (£13.3 million) to take its high-grade Tongo Dyke project into production in Guinea’s West African neighbour, Sierra Leone. According to Smithson, Stellar, which the other day raised £1m at a lowly 1.16p to fund continuing trial mining at Baoule, has 6,000 carats from there in Antwerp at present and he suggests Baoule could soon be exporting at the rate of 2,000 carats a month for potential monthly cash flow of $300,000 ‘at profitable margins’.
Stellar Diamonds (STEL) may have lost 94% of its stockmarket value since floating on AIM in 2007 and its may operate in Guinea and Sierra Leone, the West African states most beset by the ebola virus. But the Romanian-backed company and Karl Smithson, its chief executive officer, have been making determinedly bullish noises over the Christmas period, fired by encouraging trial mining and bulk sampling results and significant resource increases.
The West African state of Guinea may be at the centre of the deadly ebola epidemic and shares in regional gem explorer Stellar Diamonds (STEL) may have fallen 94% since their 2007 AIM float. But chairman Lord Daresbury sounds optimistic about the company’s ‘near-term objective to become a significant diamond producer in the West African region…at a time when the outlook for rough diamond prices is positive.’
The second presentaytion on Monday was from Stellar Diamonds (STEL) and the video is below. To ensure that you get priority booking for future seminars (the next one is on 27 October ) and features myself, Amanda van Dyke of Bluebird Merchant Ventures, Rob Proctor of Audioboo and Cathal Friel of Fastnet Oil & Gas register HERE.
Foradex, the Romanian exploration services group that is already the largest shareholder in West Africa-focused Stellar Diamonds (STEL), has invested another £396,180 in the company at an above-market (though depressed) 1.55p. The money, topped up with warrants for half as much again by next April, will enable Stellar to buy Foradex earth-moving equipment for its gem projects at Baoule in Guinea and Tongo in Sierra Leone.
AIM listed Stellar Diamonds (STEL) has lost 93% of its stockmarket value since floating on AIM at 20p seven years ago, with its shares at 1.375p valuing the company at £9.6 million. But chief executive officer Karl Smithson hopes to change investors’ perceptions by fast-tracking one of its key West African projects, the Baoule kimberlite pipe in Guinea’s gem-rich Aredor region, and analysing sampling results from a bankable feasibility study now under way at another, Tongo Dyke in Sierra Leone.
Broker Sanlam Securities has published a detailed note on Stellar Diamonds (STEL) upgrading its stance from “hold” to “buy” at 1.3p with a target price for the shares of 2.1p.
Stellar Diamonds (STEL) - has become the third company to sign up to present at the new ShareProphets evening seminars. It will be on stage on Monday 13th October, two weeks after Adam Reynolds from Premaitha (formerly Vialogy) (NIPT) and David Bolton of K3 Business Technology (KBT) will be on stage. We will start taking bookings for each event when all three CEO speakers & the guest share blogger are confirmed and priority alerts for bookings will go to those registered wth ShareProphets seminars. So TODAY...
