4 Mar 2022 07:00
BlueRock Diamonds PLC / AIM: BRD / Sector: Natural Resources
4 March 2022
BlueRock Diamonds PLC ('BlueRock' or the 'Company')
Diamond Sale Update
Sale Included 4 High Value Diamonds Lifting Tender Average to USD638 Per Carat
BlueRock Diamonds PLC, the AIM listed diamond producer, which owns and operates the Kareevlei Diamond Mine ('Kareevlei') in the Kimberley region of South Africa, is pleased to announce that four gem quality stones were sold in the February tender for a total USD460,000. Notably, the average tender price of the total parcel of USD638 per carat was significantly above the 2021 average of USD465 and follows on the back of the strong January 2022 tender, which had an average price of USD565.
Mike Houston, Executive Chairman said, "As with the January tender, we are seeing a very high demand for Kareevlei's diamonds, and I believe this is the first time we have seen four diamonds selling for an average of over a USD100,000 per stone in a single parcel. The exceptional average price per carat for the total parcel of USD638 marked a 37% jump compared to 2021 and is reflective of the strong retail market conditions and a tightening rough diamond supply of high-quality diamonds such as Kareevlei's. The current geopolitical environment could create further shortages of rough diamonds."
Large stones recovered in 2022
Date sold 2022 | Carats | Value USD000 | Value per carat USD000 |
February | 11.9 | 211 | 17.6 |
8.3 | 96 | 8.3 | |
13.6 | 78 | 5.8 | |
7.5 | 75 | 10 | |
January | 6.8 | 63 | 9.3 |
Top 5 sales 2021 | |||
August | 58.6 | 585 | 10 |
August | 21.6 | 268 | 12.4 |
August | 14.3 | 236 | 16.5 |
January | 14.8 | 163 | 11 |
March | 8.4 | 89 | 10.6 |
Note: It is Company policy to announce all stones sold with a value of in excess of USD50k.
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ('MAR'). Upon the publication of this announcement via Regulatory Information Service ('RIS'), this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.
ENDS
For further information, please www.bluerockdiamonds.co.uk or contact:
Mike Houston David Facey, FD | BlueRock Diamonds PLC
| m.houston@bluerockdiamonds.co.uk dfacey@bluerockdiamonds.co.uk |
Stuart Gledhill Caroline Rowe | SP Angel NOMAD & Broker | Tel: +44 (0)20 3470 0470 |
Isabel de Salis Oonagh Reidy
| St Brides Partners Ltd Financial PR
| info@stbridespartners.co.uk
|
Notes to editors:
BlueRock Diamonds is an AIM-listed diamond producer which operates the Kareevlei Diamond Mine near Kimberley in South Africa which produces diamonds of exceptional quality and ranks in the top ten in the world in terms of average value per carat. The Kareevlei licence area covers 3,000 hectares and hosts five known diamondiferous kimberlite pipes with a combined inferred resource of 10.4 million tonnes / 516,200 carats (February 2021); based on its planned production of 1 million tonnes per annum, this provides a minimum 10-year life of mine.