TIMOTHY GEORGE

Board Director

Tim spent his childhood in Zambia and read Mineral Engineering at Leeds University. In 1986 he joined Anglo American and De Beers working in production management in gold, coal and diamond processing plants until 1995. He then transferred to the AAC and De Beers Chairman’s Office where he was responsible for the special projects under the group’s corporate social responsibility program.

In 1997 he took a business development role in then AAC subsidiary LTA Group of construction and engineering companies working on numerous initiatives including concession projects, mining and infrastructure projects involving commercial and financial arrangements. From 1999 to 2001, he was responsible for starting up two new group operations in Nigeria in oil & gas and building sectors. He then moved onto Luanda and started Grinaker-LTA Angola, a general contracting company.

In late 2004 Tim was appointed the Chairman and CEO of Xceldiam, a Bermuda based diamond exploration company with its main interests in Angola, which he lead through start-up, staffing–up, two private placements, culminating in a listing on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange which in total raised £11.6 million. In April 2007, following a positive exploration program, he concluded the sale of the main assets of the company to Petra Diamonds (backed by BHP Billiton) for some £32 million, after which he resigned from the board of Xceldiam to pursue private interests.

Tim is a founder and director of The Elgin Distilling Company, a producer of “terroir spirit” called Malus, in Elgin in joint venture with Paul Cluver Wine Estates. He is also a director of Oubokskraal Ltd which operates a farm and conference centre in Stanford Valley based on ecologically sustainable principles.