IRISH mining company African Diamonds has been bought out by its Canadian counterpart, Lucara, for around €58.5 million.

AFRICAN Diamonds – the Dublin-headquartered mining company – has reported pre-tax losses of £205,000 (€230,000) for the first half of its current financial year.

JOHN TEELING’S African Diamonds has reported losses of £261,000 (€385,000) for the six months to June 2005, up from £222,000 in the same period last year.

Publicly-quoted exploration company African Diamonds told the stock exchange yesterday that it was unaware of any specific reason behind the recent movement in the company’s share price.

Publicly-quoted mining company African Diamonds, which is chaired by entrepreneur John Teeling, has finalised a share placing that will raise over £2 million (€3m) from institutional and private investors.