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Gem Diamonds Puts Ghaghoo Mine on Hold
Feb 16, 2017 5:53 AM
By Rapaport News
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RAPAPORT... Gem Diamonds will stop production at the Ghaghoo mine in
Botswana, effective immediately, due to a slump in prices, the company said
Thursday.
The miner has decided to place the asset on “care and
maintenance,” meaning it will put diamond recovery on hold but keep managing
the site until market conditions improve.
The average price of rough diamonds extracted from Ghaghoo
fell to $142 per carat at the most recent sale in December, from $210 per carat
in early 2015, according to the company’s statement.
The miner added that it would “continue to monitor market
conditions for a time when commencing full production would make economic sense.”
Gem Diamonds opened the Ghaghoo mine in 2014. In February
2016, the company said it would downsize operations there due to a drop in
selling prices, with the intention of expanding the project if prices were to
pick up.
The company also owns the Letšeng mine in Lesotho. Diamonds
from that project fetched an average of $1,695 per carat in 2016 – a 26-percent
drop from the previous year.
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Tags:
Botswana, Gem Diamonds, Ghaghoo, Ghaghoo Mine, Lesotho, Letšeng, mines, mining, Rapaport News, Rough Diamonds, rough prices
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