DiamondCorp Sales Postponed Due to Slow Going at Lace Mine

(IDEX Online News) – DiamondCorp plc has announced that the company will postpone sales of its diamonds, due to a slower-than-planned development rate at its Lace mine in Free State, South Africa.

To date 4,250 carats of diamonds have been recovered from bulk testing at the mine, but diamond parcels of less than 10,000 carats tend to attract weaker prices than larger volumes. Difficult ground conditions in the Upper K4 Block are thought to be behind the slow going.

Despite the postponement of the sale, the amount recovered was sufficient for an independent valuation of what the diamonds are expected to fetch in commercial volumes. The company’s independent agent in Antwerp Natural Diamond Corporation NV undertook the valuation. It predicted that diamond sales should average between $140 and $160 per carat (p/c) at a 1.00mm bottom screen size cut off, and between $160 and $200 per carat (p/c) at a 1.25mm bottom screen size in the current market. The valuation did not include the occurrence of larger high value stones.

DiamondCorp also announced that the installation of a 400 ton per hour underground conveyor belt system from the first production level to surface level has been successfully completed. It is expected that by the end of the month, commissioning will be complete and that all future kimberlite and development waste will be transported to the surface via the conveyor belt, and not – as currently – by a fleet of dump trucks. The result will be a significant reduction in the cost per ton to load and haul rock.

DiamondCorp CEO Paul Loudon said, “Installation of the conveyor belts ahead of the ramp up in production from the Upper K4 ("UK4") mining block is a significant milestone in the construction of the Lace mine.”