Rockwell Loss Shrinks as Rough Prices Surge Upwards
June 01, 10
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Rockwell is engaged in alluvial diamond production with a focus on high value goods, operating the Holpan, Klipdam and Saxendrift mines in South Africa. It sold 26,532.4 carats by tender at a high average price of $1,010.21 per carat.
“As difficult as the past 18 months have been, there have been several highlights (…) that bode well for the company,” Rockwell said Monday. They include what the company dubbed as “regular recovery” of diamonds larger than 10 carats. Among them were nine plus 30-carat diamonds, three of them larger than 100 carats (105.62 carats, 120.45 carats, 122.43 carats).
The miner also received approximately $1.9 million as profit share from the company's beneficiation agreement with the Steinmetz Diamond Group.
Prices received for Rockwell's production increased progressively through the latter part of fiscal 2010, reflecting a strong recovery in rough diamond prices following the sharp decline - 50 percent on average - in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009.
The average price received in the fourth quarter of 2010 was $1,154 p/c, a substantial increase from the average price of $318.32 p/c in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009.
The following is a year-over-year comparison of Rockwell’s production and sales.
| Production | ||||||
| Operation | 12 months ending February 28, 2010 | 12 months ending February 28, 2009 | ||||
| Volume | Carats | Average grade (carats per 100 cubic meters) | Volume | Carats | Average grade (carats per 100 cubic meters) | |
| Holpan | 805,925 | 6,398.2 | 0.79 | 561,583 | 4,127.4 | 0.73 |
| Klipdam | 895,669 | 9,669.8 | 1.08 | 711,924 | 7,041.8 | 0.99 |
| Wouterspan | - | 14.1 | - | 552,293 | 3,897.1 | 0.71 |
| Saxendrift | 1,216,503 | 8,833.8 | 0.73 | 194,287 | 2,436.7 | 1.18 |
| Total | 2,918,097 | 24,915.9 | 0.85 | 2,020,087 | 17,503.0 | 0.87 |
| Sales, Revenue and Inventory | ||||||||
| Operation | 12 months ending February 28, 2010 | 12 months ending February 28, 2009 | ||||||
| Sales | Value of Sales | Average value (US$ per carat) | Inventory (carats) | Sales | Value of Sales (US$) | Average value (US$ per carat) | Inventory (carats) | |
| Holpan | 6,457.7 | 3,166,842 | 492.09 | 780.3 | 3,741.1 | 4,272,511 | 1,142.05 | 839.8 |
| Klipdam* | 10,816.7 | 6,301,240 | 581.26 | 595.4 | 5,657.0 | 18,954,292 | 3,350.61 | 1,742.3 |
| Wouterspan | 591.0 | 280,193 | 475.32 | 0.0 | 3,640.8 | 4,698,121 | 1,290.41 | 576.9 |
| Makoenskloof | - | - | - | - | 212.0 | 1,500,119 | 7,076.03 | - |
| Saxendrift | 8,667.1 | 17,055,281 | 1,967.81 | 533.9 | 2,069.5 | 3,656,268 | 1,766.71 | 367.2 |
| Total | 26,532.5 | 26,803,556 | 1,010.21 | 1,909.6 | 15,320.4 | 33,081,311 | 2,159.30 | 3,526.2 |
*Included in the Klipdam inventories and sales are 322.02 carats at $122,973 from ERF-1 Windsorton, a prospecting right within the Holpan-Klipdam mining area.