Kimberley Diamonds Suspends Work at Ellendale Mine

(IDEX Online News) – Fears for safety at the E9 pit has led Kimberley Diamonds to halt work at the Ellendale mine in Western Australia.

Kimberley Diamonds, previously known as Goodrich Resources, said the suspension at the mine, known for its output of fancy yellow diamonds, would have only a slight impact on production and will not negatively hit its financial results.

The halt in work was caused by slippage of the pit wall below the main access ramp after routine blast work in the E9 open pit which made the ramp unsafe.

The company stressed that there were no workers in the mine at the time, and there was no damage to equipment.

The miner said there were enough ore stockpiles to continue treatment plant work on high-grade ore for at least two months. There is also sufficient lower-grade ore stockpiles for one year.

Kimberley Diamonds bought the mine from Gem Diamonds in April for $15 million.

More than 20,000 carats of fancy yellow diamonds are mined at Ellendale annually.