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RAPAPORT... Rockwell Diamonds reported that revenue rose 33.4 percent year on year to $9.9 million in its second fiscal quarter of 2014, which ended on September 30. Rough diamond sales jumped 24 percent to $8.6 million, while beneficiation income surged 185 percent to $1.3 million. The mining company narrowed its loss to $1.4 million compared with $2 million one year ago.
Rockwell's CEO, James Campbell, explained that the company is in a stronger position than two years ago, having delivered on a number of strategic milestones, including having extended the life of its flagship operation at Saxendrift. ''The successful commissioning of the Saxendrift Hill Complex plant, based primarily on bulk X-ray technology, provides us with a blueprint for future mine developments. At Niewejaarskraal, we commissioned the mine in record time and are on track to achieve nameplate capacity by the end of 2013, slightly behind our original plans," he said.
The company extended the ''useful life'' of its processing facility at Saxendrift, internally funded the first phase of its new Niewejaarskraal processing plant, which is on track to fully ramp up by the end of 2013, and it continues to evaluate the next steps at Wouterspan. Four royalty contract miners operated at Tirisano during the second quarter and a fifth is due to start in the third quarter. The company continues to evaluate consolidation opportunities in the southern Africa diamond sector.
Rockwell carried forward an inventory of 2,508 carats into the third quarter and it recorded 6,272 carats in the beneficiation pipeline.
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