DiamonEx share price on the Botswana Stock Exchange plunged to a 52-week low last week following the company's "below expectations" first sale of diamonds from its Lerala Mine.

The junior minor's share price was the worst casualty on the bourse, nose diving 30.8 percent to a year low of 45thebe.

The company received disappointing results for its first sale of 10,613 carats of diamonds from its Lerala Mine that achieved an average price of US$20 per carat for the whole run of the mine parcel, much less than a preliminary valuation.

DiamonEx attributed that to the current difficult market conditions and consequent negative investor sentiment towards stock on the local bourse.

However, the company believes the current diamond prices are not representative of longer-term expectations and is confident that the next sales, which are scheduled for the middle of this month, will perform better.

DiamonEx shareholders is not the only one reeling from the pervasive market slowdown as only one counter, Anglo, managed to register positive gains last week.

The mainstream Domestic Companies Index (DCI) closed the week in negative territory on each trading day on the back of persistent profit taking in some large capitalised counters such as FNBB, Barclays and BIHL. As a result, the DCI came off 1.7 percent to 8,216.96 points during the week under review.

The FCI dipped further by 15.10 percent to end the week at 1,217.75 points on broad-based losses on most counters on the Foreign Equity Board.

"Mining counters on the Foreign Equity Board have mainly been dampened by the turbulent global economic environment and fears of a decline in earnings as a result of weaker commodity prices," says Motswedi Securities' Gary Guma. "Accordingly, the ACI ended the week 13.93 percent softer at 1,374.84 points."

On corporate developments, the BSE on Friday imposed a trading halt on Letshego's Shares to enable the company to make an announcement that could be price-sensitive.

The trading halt will be in force until Letshego issues a cautionary announcement regarding the equity funding initiative it is pursuing.

Letshego is currently seeking to raise about P1 billion to kick-start an expansion drive. The company last week invited prospective investors to take part in a private placement.

The offer, which closed yesterday (Monday), was priced at P12 per share with a minimum subscription of 2,500 ordinary shares, which is equivalent to a binding agreement of a minimum subscription of P30,000.

In another development, property developers PrimeTime have released results for the year ended August 31, 2008. Rental revenue was P28.0million. Operating expenses totalled P12, 097,488.

A profit before tax of P87.3million was registered during the period under review. EPS came in at 20.66thebe. A final distribution of 4.71thebe per linked unit has been declared and is payable on or about December 5, 2008.