Attention Business Editors

Rockwell Updates Diamond Sales Noting Price Improvements

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40-ct Stone Sells US$15,200 per Carat; 21-ct Stone Sells US$17,400 per

Carat

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VANCOUVER, Aug. 18 /CNW/ - Rockwell Diamonds Inc ("Rockwell" or the

"Company") (TSX: RDI; JSE: RDI; OTCBB: RDIAF) updates production and diamond

sales for 2009. Reported sales are for diamonds produced from the Holpan,

Klipdam, and Saxendrift mines. The Company's fourth operation, Wouterspan,

which is located on the Middle Orange River adjacent to Saxendrift remains on

care and maintenance. All of these mines are located in the Northern Cape

Province of South Africa.

Diamond sales since March 2009 are summarized by month in the table

below. Sales and revenues achieved since the start of 2009 have included a

combination of tenders, direct selling of select goods to specialized

manufacturers, sales to the South African State Diamond Trader, and income

from special stones beneficiated in terms of Rockwell's agreement with the

Steinmetz Diamond Group.

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Revenue Average Value

Month Carats (US$) (US$/carat)

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March 2,872.47 $1,526,521 $ 531

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May 2,243.82 $1,311,929 $ 585

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June 1,564.64 $1,094,857 $ 700

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July (i) 2,486.38 $1,795,188 $ 722

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July (ii) 1,809.38 $2,215,737 $1,225

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Sales data for individual mines and the group average for the two latest

sets of diamond sales are described below.

Early July Diamond sales: An average price of US$722 per carat was

achieved from the first sale in July which included production from the period

of late May and June 2009, shown in the table above as July (i). Diamonds sold

for this period include:

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- 15 stones in the 10-20 carat range

- 6 stones in the 20-30 carat range

- Largest stone was 38.33 carats.

A third of the goods shown in the July (i) sale were marketed through

direct sales and the balance was sold by tender. Fifty-one buyers attended the

tender and 45 buyers bid on parcels. Sales in the 0.5 to 10 carat range showed

an increase of at least 10% above the previous sales. There were also price

increases for cleaner stones. Details by mine are tabulated below:

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July (i) Diamond Sales

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Revenue Average Value

Mine Carats (US$) (US$/carat)

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Holpan 612.39 $ 332,409.73 $ 542.81

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Klipdam 1,042.36 $ 599,345.27 $ 574.99

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Saxendrift 831.03 $ 863,427.58 $1,038.98

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Total 2,485.78 $1,795,182.58 $ 722.18

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Late July Diamond sales: Results from the most recent sale for Rockwell

diamonds (table July (ii) below) for which an average price of US$1,224 per

carat was achieved. These goods were mined in late June and July 2009. A

limited amount of direct sales were done and a greater part of the production

was sold via tender. Diamonds included in these sales figures included the

following:

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- 7 stones in the 10 - 20 carat range

- 3 stones in the 20 - 30 carat range

- 1 stone in the 30 - 40 carats range

- 1 stone in the 40 - 50 carat range

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Two mid-sized stones achieve excellent prices: The largest stone sold in

late July was a 40-carat D-colour flat stone with inclusions in the surface

which achieved a price of US$15,200 per carat. In addition, an excellent

21.69-carat internally flawless stone of E-colour achieved a price of

US$17,400 per carat.

Sales prices for late July showed an approximate 10% increase over the

previous period for small stones (less than 0.75 carats), and approximately 5%

increase for 0.75-2.49 carat stones, whereas 2.50-4.79 carat stones achieved

similar prices to the previous sale for better quality goods. Spotted diamonds

(stones with a large number of inclusions) achieved far lower prices than in

the previous sales period.

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July (ii) Diamond Sales

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Revenue Value

Mine Carats (US$) US$/carat

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Holpan 453.60 $ 622,554.00 $1,372.47

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Klipdam 916.36 $ 286,318.70 $ 312.45

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Saxendrift 439.42 $1,306,850.90 $2,974.04

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Total 1,809.38 $2,215,723.60 $1,224.58

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Production and costs: Production statistics for each mine are tabulated

below. The average cash costs of production from March 1 to July 31, 2009

(over the Company's 2010 fiscal year) for the group has been approximately

US$2.78 per tonne. A combination of restructuring, efficiency and plant

throughput improvements, cost control measures, and increasing production are

successfully keeping monthly cash costs below the Company's target range of

US$3.00-3.50 per tonne. This unit cost is expected to remain at the low end of

the range as the Company continues to increase production at existing

operations and improve processing plant efficiencies.

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Production March-July 2009

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Average Grade

Volume (carats/ Cost

Mine (cubic meters) Carats 100 cubic meters) (US$/tonne)

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Holpan 338,351 2,330.50 0.69 2.97

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Klipdam* 404,108 3,667.90 0.91 2.67

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Saxendrift 415,086 2,741.25 0.66 2.68

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Total 1,157,545 8,747.93 0.76 2.78

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* Included in the Klipdam inventory are 199.89 carats from Windsorton,

a prospecting right

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In response to the greater than 50% decrease in diamond prices in the

latter part of 2008, Rockwell suspended diamond sales through late 2008 and

early 2009 and resumed sales in late February 2009. Rockwell's 2009 sales

strategy has achieved some success by a combination of direct sales to select

buyers and manufacturers and sales by tender. Sales during the first three

months of 2009 comprised a combination of direct selling to buyers, and

limited tenders sales given overall buying interest was subdued and

opportunistic buying patterns were apparent for about 30% of the buyers. Since

June, there has been stronger buying interest and attendance at diamond

tenders has increased with the numbers of buyers at the latest tenders

approaching the levels apparent in 2008. Equally encouraging, prices have

remained firm in spite of a large release of diamonds by De Beers in June and

the recent resumption of Russian diamond sales.

Overall Rockwell has noted good demand in the 2 to 10 carat rough stone

range, with the strongest buying focussed on the 2 to 5 carat market segment.

Demand and prices for 3 carat rough stones have been extremely strong since

March 2009 and prices realized have been similar to those for early 2008 for

better quality goods. Demand and prices for plus 10 carat stones, however,

have remained subdued, although top quality white and yellow stones have

started to move with prices at about 60 to 75% of last year.

President and CEO John Bristow commented, "Rockwell is encouraged by the

improvement in buying activities by diamantaires and manufacturers along with

the concomitant increase in prices. Based on results to date and our view on

demand, sales, and production trends, we foresee a steady overall improvement

in prices, albeit staying well below the highs of 2008, for our production

going forward through the remainder of the 2009 calendar year. We believe that

our swift response to cut costs and production in late 2008 and early 2009 has

allowed the Company, largely, to weather the worst of the market conditions.

At prices of about US$1,000 per carat and monthly production of 2,400 carats,

the Company is cash flow positive, and as prices improve further Rockwell will

return to profitability. Rockwell is ideally placed to resume operations at

Wouterspan as the market strengthens and thereafter resume its growth and

consolidation plans in the medium term."

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John Bristow

President and CEO

No regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information

contained in this news release.

Forward Looking Statements

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This release includes certain statements that may be deemed

"forward-looking statements". Other than statements of historical fact all

statements in this release that address future production, reserve or resource

potential, exploration drilling, exploitation activities and events or

developments that each Company expects are forward-looking statements.

Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such

forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such

statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or

developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking

statements. There is no certainty of the financing completing. Factors that

could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking

statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes,

changes in and the effect of government policies regarding mining and natural

resource exploration and exploitation, availability of capital and financing,

geopolitical uncertainty and political and economic instability, and general

economic, and market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any

such statements are not guarantees of future performance and that actual

results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the

forward-looking statements. For more information on Rockwell, Investors should

review Rockwell's annual Form 20-F filing with the United States Securities

and Exchange Commission www.sec.com and the Company's home jurisdiction

filings that are available at www.sedar.com.

　

　

　

　

　

-30-

/For further information: For further details on Rockwell Diamonds Inc.,

please visit the Company's website at www.rockwelldiamonds.com or contact

Investor Services at (604) 684-6365 or within North America at 1-800-667-2114/