Mining Weekly reports that following the sale of its South African subsidiary companies to New African Mining and African Renaissance Holdings, Lonrho Mining is now choosing to focus on its joint-venture Lulo diamond project in Angola.

Mining Weekly quotes Lonrho CEO Miles Kennedy: “It is with a sense of great relief that this particular chapter in the diamond company’s affairs, which accounted for most of the accumulated losses, has now ended. Our intention is now to focus on, explore and hopefully develop the Lulo diamond project in Angola.”

Kennedy noted that a large part of the funds that the company raised in the past year was spent on South African diamond operations and its failed Aim listing.

Lonrho’s JV partner in the Lulo diamond project, the Angolan state-owned diamond company Endiama, invested funds to enable the continuation of exploration activities on the Angolan project. Lonrho, which owns 39% of the Lulo diamond project, has thus incurred debt of $430, 000 which will have to be repaid soon.

The company announced that it will undertake a capital raising of some $4-million to repay the Lulo commitments, fund exploration and fund development activities.

Kennedy added: “If funds are not immediately forthcoming, we shall miss the opportunity to commence diamond exploration work prior to the onset of the wet season, which commences in December. This means that the real work would only be able to start in March 2010.”