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RAPAPORT... Firestone Diamonds reported revenue rose 166 percent year on year to $10.3 million (GPB 6.5 million) for the fiscal year that ended on June 30. The increase in turnover was primarily the result of including 12 months production from the Liqhobong pilot plant offset by lower turnover from its BK11 property in Botswana, which was placed on care and maintenance in February 2012. The diamond miner reported a loss of $48 million (GBP 30 million), up from $5 million (GBP 3 million) one year ago. Production at the Liqhobong mine in Lesotho came from treated ore at an average grade of 34 carats per hundred tonnes (cpht), resulting in 164,050 carats being recovered. Firestone sold 139,556 carats for $8.2 million at an average price of $59 per carat. Firestone also explained that with a final modification to the pilot plant, it is anticipated that less breakage will occur and a higher dollar per carat will be realized. In Botswana, at the BK11 operation, Firestone had set up a primary crushing circuit and two scrubbing circuits aimed at liberating 70 percent of the diamonds within the upper K1 ore unit. But due to excessive cementation and a relative hardening of the ore, and the absence of a secondary crushing circuit to liberate the diamonds from the cemented material, only 30 percent of the diamonds were recovered. Firestone had intended to purchased a standalone secondary crusher, however, with diamond prices falling and the need for the mine to increase its stripping ratio and capital requirements it was decided to put the operation on hold. For the year, BK11 yielded 11,706 carats. In a note to shareholders, Firestone's chairman, Lucio Genovese, said the company remained focused on becoming a 1 million carat per annum producer and looked forward to commencing the transformation process of Liqhobong from a pilot operation to a significant diamond producer.
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