Letšeng Diamonds' stakeholders

The mining rights for the Letšeng Mine were acquired by Letšeng Diamonds (Pty) Ltd in 1999. Letšeng Diamonds (Pty) Ltd is now 70 percent owned by Gem Diamonds and 30 percent owned by the Lesotho Government.

Gem Diamonds

Gem Diamonds is a world-leading diamond producer that is pursuing an accelerated growth strategy through targeted acquisitions and the development of existing assets. Gem Diamonds' portfolio comprises producing kimberlite, lamproite and alluvial mines, development projects and exploration assets.

Gem Diamonds has a specific focus on higher-value diamonds, a segment of the market that its management believes will deliver superior long-term returns. Operations are situated in Angola, Australia, Botswana, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho and Indonesia.

Gem Diamonds produces some of the world's most remarkable white diamonds from its Letšeng Mine, rare fancy yellow diamonds from its Ellendale Mine, and an array of coloured diamonds from its Cempaka Mine.

Established in July 2005, Gem Diamonds listed on the main board of the London Stock Exchange in February 2007, raising US $635-million. Gem Diamonds trades under the code GEMD.

For further information, visit www.gemdiamonds.com

Government of Lesotho

Known as the Kingdom in the Sky, Lesotho is a nation at peace with itself and its neighbours. Lesotho can be characterised as a stable democracy. It has the Monarch as Head of State and the Prime Minister as Head of Government and local governance structures. Governance has been strengthened by the recently adopted system that has enabled 10 political parties to be represented in parliament.

Notwithstanding higher-than-average growth over many years, Lesotho's challenge at the macro-economic level is to sustain strong investment levels, driven by high domestic saving rates as well as access to international credit markets. This will call for prudent economic and financial sector policies, firstly to promote domestic resource mobilisation and secondly, to retain access to international financial markets.

Key actions that Lesotho has undertaken to integrate into the global economic order include negotiation of trade agreements and bilateral and multilateral cooperation agreements, membership of regional bodies such as CMA, SACU, SADC and retention of support of development partners.

Adopted in June 2004 after a process of inception, consultation and formulation, the Lesotho Vision 2020 document presents a broad, long-term framework and guide to the country's development efforts and the allocation of its modest resources. The document and its vision represents a fundamental shift from the way the country has approached development planning in the past.

For further information, visit www.mines.gov.ls