Rockwell Recovers 124 and 145 Carat Stones from Saxendrift Mine
June 30, 10
Rockwell Diamonds Inc. has reported that it recovered a 124 carat and a 145 carat stone from the Saxendrift mine in May. The company also said that it had discovered a 66 carat diamond at its Holpan operation in April. The stones were sold through Rockwell's joint venture agreement with Steinmetz Diamond Group.
The 124 carat stone is F to G in colour and has a line of inclusion set along an internal flaw. The 145 carat stone is a light yellow ("Cape") with rounded octahedral shape and inclusions. The 66 carat stone is a clean white (colour E to F) elongated and slightly flattened stone with minor inclusions.
In its most recent diamond sale, Rockwell achieved an average of $1,735 per carat (p/c) from 3,034.30 carats. The year-to-date average is about $1,216 p/c, 19 percent below Rockwell's long-term average of $1,500 p/c.
Year-to-date, Rockwell has also received approximately $1.27 million from stones manufactured through its agreement with SDG. This profit share derives from stones sold into the SDG beneficiation agreement in November 2009 and February 2010. Rockwell said it has a large number of +10 carat stones currently undergoing beneficiation and sales with SDG and expects to achieve a regular income flow from this source during fiscal 2011.
The company said that overall, the diamonds recovered and sold in 2010 have been in line with its predicted production profile and have been characterized by a high proportion of diamonds larger than 2 carats. So far this year, Rockwell has recovered 125 stones of larger than 10 carats in size.
In his outlook, president and CEO John Bristow said the company was encouraged by the strength and resilience of the rough diamond market and the improvement in prices in almost all categories of Rockwell's production. Bristow said he anticipates a further strengthening in the market in the run-up to the all important holiday season.