Meya Mining Secures $25M Loan to Advance Diamond Deposit

Meya Mining has received a loan facility of NAD 400 million ($25.1 million) from Ecobank that will help the Sierra Leone-based diamond mine achieve commercial production.

The funding, which was finalized at the Mining Indaba conference in Cape Town, South Africa, last week, will also create more than 400 jobs for Sierra Leone’s citizens and stimulate local supply chains, the Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources for Sierra Leone said in a Facebook post last week.

“This injection of capital will enable Meya Mining to accelerate its transition from early development to full commercial production, creating…thousands of indirect opportunities — more than 90% of which will benefit local Sierra Leoneans,” Mining Minister Julius Mattai explained.

The loan will also deepen the national financial system and ensure greater retention of mining-generated value within the country, the minister added. It is likely to encourage further investment in beneficiation, including cutting and polishing, said Trustco, a minority shareholder in the mining company. Meya will spend a portion of the funds on advanced diamond-processing equipment, mining vehicles and supporting infrastructure.

In total, Meya has received $100 million in funding. In 2023, Trustco, which then owned a majority stake in the company, sold 70% of the asset to Sterling Global Trading in return for $25 million in cash and a $25 million loan. At the time it said it expected to get an additional $25 million from third-party capital sources.

Image: The plant at Meya mine. (Trustco Group)