DiamondCorp Antwerp Diamond Sales to Commence in August

(IDEX Online News) – South African diamond miner DiamondCorp plc has released an operational update on its Lace Diamond mine, which includes revising the schedule of diamond sales.

Production from the first mining block on the 310 meter underground level at the Lace mine, which was successfully restarted last month following a temporary suspension to mining operations due to an incident with explosive misfires, is proceeding at the planned rate of 30,000 tons per month.

This month represents the first period of commercial production and processing of kimberlite mined for the month-to-date is averaging 31 carats per hundred tons in line with estimates.

DiamondCorp introduced an updated fleet of rolling stock, helping to ensure that production targets could be met. Older trucks, which have been taken out of frontline service, will not enter a rebuild program to ensure back-up vehicles are always in place in the future.

Diamonds recovered from the mining of the slot and diamonds recovered from tailings retreatment operations are currently undergoing the export process to Antwerp for the next diamond sale at the end of August. The sale is expected to be of approximately 7,000 carats, which is slightly lower than forecast due to sale of parcels in Johannesburg during the export process in June (which comprised 1,838 carats of run-of-mine kimberlite diamonds and 1,679 carats of tailings diamonds).

The company said that it was searching for a finance director and member of the board in South Africa to oversee the existing finance team. DiamondCorp is also looking to strengthen the board through the recruitment of new non-executive directors in South Africa and the UK.