LONDON (Alliance News) - DiamondCorp PLC on Thursday said it has installed the underground conveyor belt system on the first production level at the underground Lace mine in South Africa, which will increase the amount of ore it can transport to the surface ten-fold.
The conveyor belt can transport 400.0 tonnes of ore per hour from the first production level of the underground mine, transporting it to surface where it can be treated and processed. Chief Executive Paul London said it was a "game changer" that will significantly improve its capacity and lower costs.
"Not only does the conveyor belt provide Lace with the ability to increase development rates, the cost of future development will decrease in the absence of the need for trucks for waste hauling as the underground loaders will now empty their buckets directly onto the end of the conveyor belt which keeps getting extended as the development goes deeper," said London.
London said trucks will now only be used to haul ore from the Upper K4 block production level to the conveyor belt going forward until it begins block cave production.
Importantly, the conveyor belt has been sized so it is double the current front-end capacity of the processing plant, meaning it has excess capacity to utilise as DiamondCorp ramps-up production, ensuring it is not constrained by the conveyor belt.
"The company can also confirm that the current drought conditions in South Africa will not impact kimberlite mining ramp up as the additional storage dam capacity constructed last year is full and holding enough water to process all kimberlite mining planned for the next 12 months," said the company.
DiamondCorp shares were up 2.3% to 7.80 pence per share on Thursday morning.
By Joshua Warner; joshuawarner@alliancenews.com; @JoshAlliance
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