26th Jan 2017 11:15
LONDON (Alliance News) - Firestone Diamonds PLC on Thursday said the Liqhobong diamond mine in Lestho has been constructed and is now ramping up to nameplate capacity, with the first diamond recovered in October.
Firestone said over 20 special stones larger than 10.8 carats have been recovered since then, with the largest being a 37 carats white diamond alongside a number of fancy yellow stones.
In the quarter to the end of 2016, Firestone said lower grade stockpiles were processed to produce 58,000 carats at a grade of 4.4 carats per hundred tonnes of ore. A total of 402,000 tonnes of ore was treated by the processing plant, where nameplate capacity was achieved "on multiple occasions", it said.
Operating costs averaged USD12 per tonne in the quarter, at the bottom end of its guidance. Cash and available facilities stood at USD18 million at the start of 2017, with a further USD15 million standby facility also available.
The first sale of diamonds from the mine will be held between February 6 and February 10 in Antwerp, Belgium. Thereafter, the company expects to host two sales per quarter with the second auction due late in the first quarter of 2017.
"At this stage of the ramp up, we have encountered the normal commissioning challenges and these are being addressed by our team in a methodical way," said Chief Executive Stuart Brown.
Firestone shares were up 4.3% to 49.0 pence per share on Thursday.
By Joshua Warner; [email protected]; @JoshAlliance
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