5 Nov 2015 07:00
BlueRock Diamonds PLC ("BlueRock" or the "Company")
5 November 2015
Finalisation of contract with Diacar and operational update
Diacar contract
Further to the information included within our interim results for the period to 30 June 2015, the Board of BlueRock is pleased to announce that the Company has concluded an agreement with Diacar Mining and Plant Hire (Pty) Limited ("Diacar") to act as our subcontractor. Under the terms of this agreement Diacar has established a second processing plant at the Kareevlei site at Diacar's cost in order to process kimberlite of over 70mm in size ("Oversize Material"). Diacar is required to process Oversize Material (>70mm), which we currently do not have the machinery to process, at a rate of over 40 tonnes an hour.
The agreement is for a period of five years although it is reviewable by BlueRock on an annual basis based on the performance of Diacar in the preceding 12 months. Under the terms of the agreement Diacar is responsible for all costs other than the mining of the Oversize Material and diesel. Diacar is responsible for producing concentrate to be sorted by BlueRock.
BlueRock retains ownership of and is responsible for the marketing of all diamonds recovered from the concentrate. BlueRock is entitled to 60% of all revenues arising from the Diacar operations net of licence fee, taxes and selling costs.
This agreement will enable BlueRock to increase production at no capital investment cost. It is expected that once Diacar is fully operational this will effectively double our processing throughput. It is expected that Diacar will commence operations in November.
Operational update
Following the extension of the CLN, we have now completed our next scheduled drilling and blasting programme comprising 190 drill-holes (a total of 1,705 metres) and generated approximately 80,000 tonnes of weathered kimberlite for the plant. We have begun to process this ore from the lower open pit bench at the expected rate of around 600 tonnes a day in a single shift. The transition to operating over a double shift has now commenced.
We look forward to providing a further update in due course.
Enquiries:
BlueRock Diamonds plc
Riaan Visser, CEO
www.bluerockdiamonds.co.uk
+27 (0) 84 431 0118
SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP
Nominated Adviser & Broker
David Facey / Stuart Gledhill
+44 (0) 20 3470 0470