16th Dec 2015 09:38
LONDON (Alliance News) - DiamondCorp PLC, a Southern African diamond mining, development and exploration company, on Wednesday said production ramp-up has begun from the Upper K4 Block at the Lace mine, in the Free State province of South Africa.
The first UK4 production is coming from the 310 metre level, where the slot is being opened up to the drive vertically above it on the 290m level.
Once the slot is mined by the end of the first quarter of 2016 and all trough tunnels completed during the second quarter of 2016, the company said, longhole ring blasting for production troughs will start.
UK4 production for the three months to March 31, 2016 is scheduled to average 4,000 tonnes per month, the company said, followed by an average of 15,000 tonnes from April to June. Full production of 30,000 tonnes is scheduled from July onwards.
"Today is an historic day for the Lace mine as it marks the start of the ramp up towards commercial production from underground at Lace for the first time since October 1930. Production to date has come from access development and tailings retreatment; from now on production will be dominated by mining development, stoping and block caving," Chief Executive Paul Loudon said in a statement.
Shares in DiamondCorp were down 0.9% at 6.07 pence on Wednesday morning in London.
By Samuel Agini; [email protected]; @samuelagini
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