Rockwell Completes $7.4 Million of Previously Anno

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Rockwell Diamonds Inc. ("Rockwell" or the "Company") (TSX: RDI; JSE: RDI; OTCBB: RDIAF) announces that it has now completed approximately $7.4 million of the planned $12.5 million of financings announced December 2,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], 2009. The shares issued under this financing will be subject to four month resale restricted periods from their issuance dates in December 2009 and January 2010. The Company also intends to increase the originally planned $12.5 million of financings by approximately $2.2 million, and it has received Toronto Stock Exchange approval for such increase. The Company expects to complete the remaining financings in January 2010.
The remaining portion of the Company's recapitalization will be sought through a rights offering planned for January 2010. Completion of at least $3.1 million of this rights offering is guaranteed by another new principal investor, Daboll Consultants who are associated with the Steinmetz Diamond Group.
Appointment of New Director
Together with completion of the initial part of the financing, Rockwell has appointed Mr Yong Guo as a director of the Company. Mr Guo is the managing partner of Godia Capital Partners ("Godia"), one of the first Chinese private equity funds created to focus on investment opportunities in resource projects in Africa. Mr Guo and his investment partners also have a sound knowledge of the emerging Chinese diamond manufacturing sector and, over the past year, have done an extensive assessment of mining opportunities in southern Africa. Mr Guo has been involved in the successful launch and management of Omaha Capital China and CMT China Value Partners,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], two venture capital funds focussed on early growth investment opportunities in China. He is also the Vice President of Business Development for ChinaEDU, Beijing,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], a leading on-line education company in China, and iSoftStone Technology, Beijing, a successful IT outsourcing company in China. Mr Guo holds a Bachelor of Computer Sciences from Southeast University, Nanjing, China,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], and a Master of Computer Science from Syracuse University in the USA.
President and CEO John Bristow commented "We are pleased to have completed the majority of our planned financing. These funds provide the basis on which we can strengthen our balance sheet, modernize and re-commission the processing plant at Wouterspan - the Company's fourth operation which has been on care and maintenance since January 2009, take advantage of increasing diamond prices,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], and re-commence our growth plans. We welcome Mr Yong Guo to our board and look forward to his assistance in tapping into the Chinese investment markets and identifying opportunities in the rapidly expanding Chinese diamond manufacturing and retail sector."