DiamondCorp Achieves $910K From Sale of Lace Production

Jul 31, 2014 4:33 AM By Deena Taylor

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RAPAPORT... DiamondCorp achieved $909,611 from the sale of diamonds from its 74 percent owned Lace mine in the Free State province of South Africa during the first half of 2014. The company sold 14,853 carats for an average price of $62 per carat.

The company noted that demand for good-quality rough diamonds remains relatively strong, with prices rising between 5 percent and 10 percent compared to prices achieved in December 2013. The company expects the market to be steady to modestly higher for the balance of 2014, with a potential for price strengthening in 2015 as world economies continue to grow.

During the second quarter, DiamondCorp reduced its tailings re-treatment processing rates at Lace. The company processed 96,490 tonnes compared to the previous target of 205,000 tonnes, as a result of diverting the surface earth moving fleet in order to build an additional surface dam in preparation for early production of kimberlite from the underground mine. However, the company still recovered 6,102 carats from tailings during the period, including a 15.20-carat, white, octahedral diamond, the largest stone to be recovered to date from tailings.

DiamondCorp also revised its underground development plan and budget for Lace during the second quarter. The new plan will see the mine ramp up commercial production from underground mining at Lace's Upper K4 Block (UK4) by the first half of 2015, six months ahead of schedule, with an aim to achieve steady production of 30,000 tonnes per month by the second half of 2015.

Ongoing microdiamond analysis confirms that the UK4 Block contains high-grade kimberlite with the potential to yield up to 60 carats per hundred tonnes of ore. The company will issue an updated resource statement, including results from a bulk test of kimberlite extracted from UK4, during the first quarter of 2015.

Tags: Deena Taylor, DiamondCorp, diamonds, Lace