Stornoway produced 285851 cts in Q1
Stornoway Diamond provides production and sales results at the Renard Diamond Mine for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018 & says, 399,135 carats sold in three tender sales for gross proceeds of $56.4 million at an average price of US$112 per carat & pre carats bag $141.
Included in the sales was a 37 carat Type II-a, D colour, internally flawless stone that sold for US$1.3 million, US$36,000 per carat, the highest price achieved for an individual stone from the Renard Diamond Mine to date. First quarter diamond production was 285,851 carats.
Subsequent to the quarter end, the Corporation recovered a 189 carat stone that, while of relatively low quality, is notable for being one of the largest diamonds ever reported to have been recovered in Canada. Matt Manson, President and CEO of Stornoway commented: “The first quarter saw a strong performance for Stornoway in sales and pricing, with successively higher prices at each of our three sales reflecting an improved size and quality mix and a strong start to the year for the diamond market.
The quarter also saw the sale of our highest value stone to date, and ended with the recovery of the largest stone to date. To our knowledge, this is one of the largest diamonds ever reported recovered in Canada since diamond mining began in 1998.
Our first quarter also saw lower than expected carat production, which was primarily due to the processing of lower grade ore from stockpile as we complete mining in the Renard 2-Renard 3 open pit and transition to underground mining.
This transition, and the commissioning of our new ore-waste sorting circuit, are progressing satisfactorily. Both are scheduled to be complete by the end of the second quarter, at which time the principal capital expenditure of this long-life project will be behind us.”
