RAPAPORT...  Rockwell Diamonds recovered a salmon-pink, 30.54-carat stone and two intense fancy yellow stones of 35.54 carats and 36.32 carats at its Saxendrift alluvial diamond mine in October. The 30.54-carat, salmon-pink stone was a mix of pink, orange and brown, with the rough diamond's form described as flat, elongated and approximating a marquise shape. Rockwell described it as an excellent clean clarity, makeable stone that should yield a good recovery factor in the polished form, in spite of its flattened, elongated shape.

The 35.54-carat, intense fancy yellow stone was also of clean, excellent clarity. The shape has a "blocky" form that was previously octahedral, according to the Rockwell announcement, with all of its sides having been removed through the wear and abrasion that occurred during its extensive high-river transport. Three corners of the 36.32-carat, intense fancy yellow stone were broken, which left slight indentations; otherwise, it, too, was of excellent clean clarity and octahedral in shape.

These three stones are being processed through Rockwell's beneficiation agreement with Steinmetz Diamond Group in South Africa. Earlier this year, Rockwell recovered a 22.74-carat, intense yellow stone from Saxendrift, which Steinmetz cut and polished into an 8.88-carat, vivid yellow stone and sold this month.

Rockwell's president, John Bristow, said,  "Our Saxendrift mine continues to yield an array of exceptional diamonds, including large stones and smaller, rare fancy stones of exceptional color. We expect the latest colored stones to attract strong rough prices in an improving market."

LH