Mineral Rights & Tenure

Koidu Holdings holds two mining leases in Sierra Leone: the Koidu Kimberlite Project and the Tonguma Project

Koidu Kimberlite Project

The Koidu Kimberlite Project mining lease, located within the Tankoro Chiefdom of the Kono District, measures approximately 4.9 km² and hosts two small kimberlite pipes, No. 1 Pipe ("K1") and No. 2 Pipe ("K2"), and four kimberlite dyke zones, along which four small blows or enlargements have been discovered.

The Company inherited the initial 25-year mining lease agreement signed in 1995 from the previous mineral right holders. After the second successful post-war democratic election in 2007, when the All People's Congress unseated the Sierra Leone People's Party, elected in 2002, the new government undertook to review all mining agreements in the country. The Mining Review Process commenced in July 2008 and Koidu Holdings' mining lease for the Koidu Kimberlite Project was tackled first. A new mining lease agreement was entered into between the Republic of Sierra Leone and Koidu Holdings on 6 September 2010. The term of the mining lease was extended to 22 July 2030 and may be renewed for a further period of 15 years.

Tonguma Project

The Tonguma Project mining lease is located approximately 68 km south of Koidu, in the Lower Bambara Chiefdom, Kenema District, in the Eastern Province. The mining lease area is approximately 142.07 km² and contains several narrow kimberlite dyke zones. The project consists of the original Tongo Diamond Field Project mining lease, to which the area covered by the Panguma Exploration licence was added.

In May 2004, after successfully competing in a tender process for the rights to the Tongo Diamond Field exploration licence, Koidu Holdings set out to accomplish the two major tasks proposed in their application, namely, to refurbish the road between Koidu and Tongo, and to undertake a bulk sampling programme on the dyke zones to verify historical grades. By September 2007, the Company had completed a large scale bulk sampling programme and a mining feasibility study which demonstrated that an economically viable dyke mining operation could be developed at Tongo, prompting the Company to submit an application for a mining lease. Koidu Holdings received approval for a mining lease for the Tongo Diamond Field Project on 11 July 2008.

The Panguma exploration licence is situated adjacent to Koidu Holdings' Tongo Diamond Field mining lease. The property measures approximately 53.57 km² and covers the strike extensions of northernmost Tongo dyke zones. Koidu Holdings submitted an application to Government to have the Panguma exploration licence incorporated into the Tongo Diamond Field Project mining lease agreement and developed plans to access the Panguma dykes from the underground infrastructure to be developed on the Tongo property. The application was approved and the combined Tongo-Panguma Project became known as the Tonguma Project.