Mining Weekly reports that diamond producer Pangea DiamondFields has signed an agreement for an unsecured, short-term bridging loan with one of its major shareholders. The loan agreement was signed through Pangea’s subsidiary, Efidium.

Efidium borrowed £370 000, repayable on by the end of June 2010, with an interest rate of 7% a year.

Pangea CEO Boris Kamstra stated: “This additional cash underpins our expansion of the Cassanguidi diamond project where we continue to make good progress toward bringing this project to full capacity by the year end.”

He added: “It also demonstrates the confidence which shareholders have in the longer-term potential of the company and enables the Pangea diamond producer to manage comfortably the burn rate in the business in what is a seasonally low time for diamond sales and production.”

Pangea said that the sale of diamonds in Angola typically ceases each year from early December until late January.