A court in Kimberley, South Africa on May 18 stayed the provisional winding-up order against three subsidiaries of Rockwell Diamonds which had been issued by another judge in the same city in March 2017, the Company has said in a press release. The March order was passed in response to a interim liquidation application brought by C-Rock Mining Limited against the three – Rockwell Resources RSA (Pty) Ltd (Rockwell RSA), HC van Wyk Diamonds Ltd (HC van Wyk) and Saxendrift Mine (Pty) Ltd (Saxendrift).

The May 18 order placed the three in business rescue support (as opposed to liquidation). Rockwell’s contention was that there is a reasonable prospect of rescuing the subsidiaries and restoring them to long-term profitability.

As a result of the order, all legal proceedings against the subsidiaries are stayed, and the liquidation process is suspended, Rockwell said. The Company will also pursue its criminal and civil claims against CML and certain individuals involved in the business of CML, it added.

Business practitioners Peter van den Steen and Trevor Murgatroyd of Metis Strategic Advisors have been appointed by the Court on an interim basis, subject to ratification by creditors within the next 10 business days, the Company stated.

They will also work with management to review and refine the current business plan and assess whether there are further opportunities for optimization and implementation. Rockwell reported that the strategy remains the completion of the ramp-up of Wouterspan Mine to full production and to assess and where feasible implement measures to further increase production.

A strategic review of all assets and opportunities will also be conducted to assess possibilities of realizing short term value which may assist in expediting the repayment of creditors, and to ensure the businesses have sufficient capital to return to normal commercial operations where required, according to Rockwell.