Stornoway produces 329306 carats in Q3
Stornoway Diamond Corporation Reports third Quarter 2018 Production and Sales Results at the Renard Diamond Mine for the quarter ended September 30, 2018. About 184,620 carats sold in two tender sales for gross proceeds1 of $24.7 million 2 at an average price of US$103 per carat and tender 2 at $134 per carat. Third quarter diamond sales represent diamonds recovered during the second quarter.
Third quarter diamond production was 329,306 carats produced from the processing of 597,761 tonnes of ore at an average grade of 55 cpht. Grade and carat recoveries improved by 39% and 47% respectively compared to the second quarter with the mining of higher grade ore.
Matt Manson, President and CEO of Stornoway, commented: “The third quarter saw the underground mine at Renard attain its full design capacity after a challenging ramp-up period. In addition to higher mining rates, we are also seeing significant improvement in carat recoveries and grade as we open up mining panels in the main body of the Renard 2 kimberlite.
Our carat recoveries have improved each month during the quarter and we expect this trend to continue into the fourth quarter. The new ore sorting circuit, operating since May, is performing well and yielding both lower levels of diamond breakage and higher levels of diamond liberation. Both bode well for future value recovery.”
Matt Manson continued: “During the third quarter, we saw price weakness return to smaller and lower quality diamonds after more than a year of steady price gains. Underlying polished diamond demand remains strong in the US market, but is being impacted by currency weakness in the emerging markets amidst global trade concerns.
This has put pressure on certain segments of the rough diamond trade. However, attendance at our Antwerp tenders remains strong, and we continue to achieve significantly higher pricing than during 2017 based on market strength in our larger and higher quality items.”
