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Clifford Elphick is a kind of a machine - Peter Major, Cadiz
In an interview on Radio 2000 @ 18:00 on Friday, 20 July 2007
[miningmx.com] -- GEM Diamonds was a surefire growth stock after its CEO, Clifford Elphick, supported earlier claims he would aggressively grow the company by making an offer for Kimberley Diamond Company, said Peter Major, a fund manager for Cadiz.
"Cliffie Elphick is definitely a man on a mission. I think he told everybody upfront what he was going to do here a year, a year-and-a-half ago, and he's following it like clockwork; he's kind of a machine," said Major. He was speaking on the Moneyweb Power Hour, a week nightly radio programme.
GEM Diamonds last week unveiled a $263m cash offer for ASX-listed Kimberley Diamond Company, a proposed acquisition that gives GEM Diamonds three operating mines in its endeavours to have five such mines by year-end. The company has earmarked near-term production of 1 million carats/year.
Major said further consolidation in all mining sectors
was likely and diamonds was no exception. As a result, GEM Diamonds was a growth share.
"This looks like one growth share, period - almost like a mini Brian Gilbertson. I don't know if there's any funny accounting going on, etc, but he [Elphick] knows what he wants, he's got good backing and he's a man following a plan.
"I think we'll see more consolidation in this sector and he'll be part of it," said Major.
This is the third acquisition GEM has made since its listing on the London Stock Exchange in February 2007 when it raised $600m towards acquisitions and its internal growth projects.
Its flagship asset is the Letseng mine in Lesotho, which is known for large, good quality diamonds. Letseng will double its production to 100,000 carats next year.
GEM recently acquired alluvial Cempaka project in Indonesia. That operation is in production. GEM has three alluvial diamond mines set to begin production by the end of the year in Democratic
Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic.
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