RESOURCES (98.7% SHAREHOLDING)

Trustco Resources was established in 2015 with the strategic intent to diversify Trustco’s investment portfolio via the natural resources sector. By enabling the group to generate United States Dollar returns, an internalised hedge was created, to offset macroeconomic factors that might impact the group’s traditional markets in Namibia and South Africa in the long run. Whilst the resources mandate is to build a diversified natural resources portfolio, its primary focus currently remains on unlocking and increasing value from its diamond assets.

There are three primary business entities within the resources segment, namely:
• Northern Namibia Development Company (Pty) Ltd – diamond mine in Namibia
• Morse Investments Mauritius – diamond trading globally and
• Meya Mining Ltd Sierra Leone – diamond mine in Sierra Leone.

REVIEW OF OPERATIONS

Since March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the global economic setbacks from a financing as well as trading perspective. The pandemic weighed heavily on the diamond sector in 2020, resulting in production decreases at mines around the globe, with retail closures and fractured supply chains. Given the prevailing circumstances, market conditions and the probability that the global economy would deteriorate even further, management made the decision in April 2020 to suspend the Namibian diamond mining and beneficiation operations, namely Northern Namibia Development Company (Pty) Ltd in northern Namibia and Morse Investments (Pty) Ltd. Focus was shifted towards Meya Mining, a world-class diamond asset, which is well positioned and destined to become a noteworthy participant in the post COVID-19 diamond value chain.