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Diavik's 4Q Diamond Production -25%
Jan 19, 2015 5:32 PM
By Jeff Miller
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RAPAPORT... The Diavik diamond mine's production dropped 25 percent year on year to 1.54 million carats in the fourth quarter that ended on December 31.
Diamond recovery weakened as a result of lower realized grades in all three ore bodies at Diavik and a higher proportion of the lower grade from A154 North. Despite the steep drop in production, full calendar year production was basically flat at 7.34 million carats, according to Dominion Diamond Corporation, which owns a 40 percent share in Diavik. Rio Tinto owns the remaining 60 percent stake and operates the mine.
A new mine plan and budget for calendar 2015 has been approved by Dominion and Rio Tinto. Diavik is expected to produce 6.7 million carats this year. Mining activity will be exclusively underground, but in addition to the projected carat production from run-of-mine ore, there will be production from coarse ore rejects, which was not included in the outlook. Based on historical recovery rates, the tonnage of this material that is scheduled to be processed during calendar 2015 could result in about 300,000 carats.
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Tags:
diamonds, Diavik, Dominion Diamond, Jeff Miller, mining, Production
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