DiamondCorp sold diamonds from its suspended Lace mine,
raising nearly $591,000, but the sales were marked by the lack of large,
gem-quality diamonds.
Cash-strapped DiamondCorp, which has placed its new mine near Kroonstad in the Free State in a business rescue process, said it had put 5,116 carats up for tender in Johannesburg.
The rough diamonds were mined before the underground kimberlite mine flooded in a heavy downpour of rain and a critical drilling machine was swamped and seriously damaged, putting it out of commission for about three months.
DiamondCorp said the parcel of diamonds had five stones bigger than 10-carats in size, but these were not of gem quality or had cracks in them or blemishes that reduced their value.
The diamonds sold for an average $115.46 per carat, which is below what DiamondCorp had set for an annual target from the mine.
"As a result of this sale, the average carat value achieved for the year has fallen to $146/carat, 11% lower than the $164/carat forecast average," DiamondCorp said.
"While a proportion of this fall is the result of the weaker market in the lowest size fractions, it is largely the absence of high-quality gems amongst the larger stones in the last two sales. One large gem could just as easily swing the average the other direction," it said.
The company, which is listed in Johannesburg and traded on London’s Alternative Investment Market, did not give any further update on the Lace mine or the business rescue process.
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| Picture: REUTERS |
Cash-strapped DiamondCorp, which has placed its new mine near Kroonstad in the Free State in a business rescue process, said it had put 5,116 carats up for tender in Johannesburg.
The rough diamonds were mined before the underground kimberlite mine flooded in a heavy downpour of rain and a critical drilling machine was swamped and seriously damaged, putting it out of commission for about three months.
DiamondCorp said the parcel of diamonds had five stones bigger than 10-carats in size, but these were not of gem quality or had cracks in them or blemishes that reduced their value.
The diamonds sold for an average $115.46 per carat, which is below what DiamondCorp had set for an annual target from the mine.
"As a result of this sale, the average carat value achieved for the year has fallen to $146/carat, 11% lower than the $164/carat forecast average," DiamondCorp said.
"While a proportion of this fall is the result of the weaker market in the lowest size fractions, it is largely the absence of high-quality gems amongst the larger stones in the last two sales. One large gem could just as easily swing the average the other direction," it said.
The company, which is listed in Johannesburg and traded on London’s Alternative Investment Market, did not give any further update on the Lace mine or the business rescue process.
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