5th Apr 2016 07:52
LONDON (Alliance News) - DiamondCorp PLC on Tuesday said it sold the first kimberlite diamonds to be taken from the Lace mine in South Africa for almost a century during the first quarter of 2016.
The company said it sold 8,648 carats in the quarter to the end of March through a combination of direct sales and competitive tender, marking the first sale of kimberlite diamonds from the Lace mine since 1931.
DiamondCorp said the demand for its product was decent, selling all the lots it made available during the quarter. Of the total carats sold, 6,247 carats were greater than 1.25 millimetres in diameter and these were sold for around USD175 per carat, yielding a total of USD1.1 million in sales.
The remaining 2,401 carats were from tailings production and were less than 1.25 millimetres in diameter. They only managed to achieve an average price of USD19 per carat to contribute a total of USD46,000 in revenue.
Two special stones were included in the sales during the first quarter of 2016, a 22.1 carat diamond that was sold for USD5,000 per carat, suggesting a sale price of around USD110,500, and a 1.08 carat that sold for USD6,363 per carat.
DiamondCorp said the 22.1 carat stone has been cut and polished into two separate stones, a 7.2 carat emerald shape diamond and a 0.85 carat pear shape diamond. Those will now be sold and DiamondCorp will receive an additional 50% of the profit.
DiamondCorp said production in the quarter totalled 3,438 carats.
'We are extremely pleased with the level of demand shown for the Lace production and the prices we achieved in all size categories. Overall sentiment in the diamond market remains relatively positive compared to the end of 2015, and the price increases seen in January are being maintained," said Chief Executive Paul London.
DiamondCorp shares were up 8.7% to 8.42 pence per share on Tuesday morning.
By Joshua Warner; [email protected]; @JoshAlliance
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