Kelowna: Diamcor Mining Inc announced that its second tender of rough diamonds during the current quarter had resulted in sale of 3,265.07 carats of rough diamonds for gross proceeds of USD $702,635.70, resulting in an average price of USD $215.20 per carat.
The Company said that the rough diamonds in the tender were from the processing of material in the +1.0mm to -45.0mm size fractions through the newly expanded facilities at the Company’s Krone-Endora at Venetia Project.
The tender included the sale of three rough diamonds in the specials category (+10.8 carats): a 12.80 carat, a 12.89 carat gem quality, and a 13.51 carat rough diamond, Diamcor also reported.
Earlier, in April, the Company has announced an initial tender and sale of 2,900.62 carats of rough diamonds from the newly expanded facilities, which generated gross proceeds of US$ 810,106.26, resulting in an average price of USD $279.29 per carat. That tender included the sale of four rough diamonds in the specials category (+10.8 carats), all of which were gem quality: a 12.13 carat, a 15.46 carat, a 17.97 carat, and a 29.1 carat, Diamcor said.
The total of rough diamonds tendered and sold from processing through the newly expanded facilities thus totals 6,165.69 carats, with seven individual rough diamonds being in the specials category (+10.8 carats), generating gross proceeds of US$ 1,512,741.96 and resulting in an average price of US$ 245.35 per carat. The Company plans to complete a third tender and sale prior to the end of the current quarter.
Diamcor’s CEO Dean Taylor commented, “We’re very pleased with the results of these initial tenders and sales of rough diamonds from our newly expanded facilities, especially at a time when many operators are experiencing lower than expected results due to continued weakness in rough diamond prices.”
He added that the fact that these results are from the initial processing of material at a time when the new components are being calibrated and refined “certainly point to the potential benefits that the crushing and treatment of material up to 45.0mm through these new facilities have when compared to previous tenders and sales of material processed through the previous facilities in the +1.0mm to -15.0mm size fractions”.
The Company also presented an Operational Update stating that while increased processing capacities and reliabilities are now being achieved, further efforts are underway to reduce the total quantity of fines in the current material reporting to the Main Treatment Plant including the addition of a high-frequency screening unit at the Project’s In-field Dry Screening Plant, which is expected to be completed and incorporated into the processing circuit prior to the end of the current quarter.
It said that it aimed to further enhance the overall quality and pre-concentration of the material being delivered to the Main Treatment Plant through the removal of additional fines, while providing for additional savings in water consumption and enhancing overall long-term processing capacities.
Diamcor has a long-term strategic alliance and first right of refusal with Tiffany & Co. Canada, to purchase up to 100% of the future production of rough diamonds from the Krone-Endora at Venetia Project at then current prices to be determined by the parties on an ongoing basis with a first right of refusal.
