Staff Writer
Trustco Group Holdings Limited has announced that Meya Mining Limited, in which the Windhoek-based group holds an indirect equity interest, has secured a US$25 million financing facility from Ecobank Sierra Leone Limited, supported by Ecobank Ghana Plc.
The funding was announced at a signing ceremony on the opening day of the Africa Mining Indaba 2026 in Cape Town.
Meya said the facility was obtained on normal commercial terms and does not include any equity conversion rights or restrictive conditions.
The company said the financing marks a step toward full commercial diamond production under its 25-year exclusive mining licence in Sierra Leone’s Kono District.
Meya will use the funds to acquire diamond processing equipment, mining vehicles and related infrastructure.
Shareholders have invested more than US$100 million so far in developing the resource and setting up the mine. Meya said the Ecobank facility shows confidence by a pan-African banking group in the quality and scale of the diamond asset.
The company said the facility will support local economic activity by processing payments through Sierra Leonean accounts and creating and sustaining more than 400 direct jobs.
It expects more than 90% of employees to be hired locally. Meya said the project aims to strengthen Sierra Leone’s role in the global diamond market through the production of traceable and responsibly mined diamonds, while promoting local cutting and polishing.
Trustco said its exposure to Meya includes an indirect equity interest and a loan receivable of about US$46 million. The loan has not been subordinated to the Ecobank facility.
Trustco said it remains a long-term stakeholder and creditor with an economic interest in the mine’s development and commercialisation.
The group said no transaction has been concluded at Trustco or subsidiary level under the JSE Listings Requirements.
Trustco did not approve the facility at the board or shareholder level and has not provided any guarantees, sureties or security for the loan.
Trustco said the Ecobank facility does not qualify as a transaction under the JSE listing requirements that would require categorisation or shareholder approval. It described the disclosure as a voluntary announcement.
