To All,
And STS has trouble raising money
Mining venture banks on ancient prophecy
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - The gemstone exploration firm Diamond Rose went public Friday on the Australian Stock Exchange with an unusual mission: It hopes to strike it rich by fulfilling a religious prophecy.
ÿÿÿDiamond Rose executive officer Pnina Feldman said her personal motivation was to find the 12 gemstones of the Hoshen, the breastplate described in the Bible that was said to be worn by the High Priest in the Temple of Jerusalem 3,000 years ago.
ÿÿÿFeldman said the idea to find the gemstones was based on prophecies from the late New York Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
ÿÿÿDespite never having visited Australia, Schneerson told the mining magnate Joseph Gutnick, Feldman's brother, a decade ago that there was gold to be found in Western Australia.
ÿÿÿGutnick indeed made a fortune mining for gold after that in Australia.
ÿÿÿSchneerson also said that the Hoshen stones were Down Under.
ÿÿÿSo Sydney-based Diamond Rose released a prospectus this year issuing 50 million shares in hopes of raising $7.8 million to fund exploration of sites believed to contain several of the Hoshen gemstones.
ÿÿÿThe prospectus said the venture has leases for 30 sites containing kimberlite and lamproite pipes, geologic formations that are indicative of gem stones, as well as nickel.
ÿÿÿShares for the venture were fully snapped up by Friday, mostly by 20 major shareholders, when the company was listed on Australia's stock exchange.
ÿÿÿFeldman, the wife and daughter of a rabbi and the mother of 11 children, predicted big profits for the investors, saying the venture is "truly blessed."
ÿÿÿ"In my heart I'm as happy as ever because I'm convinced it's a sign from the heavens," Feldman said.
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